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Environmental Justice and "Greening Urban America"
The environmental justice movement is the struggle to have healthy, environmentally-fit communities where there are large minority populations and/or poor populations. Studies have shown that these populations have been affected the most by pollution though industry and waste disposal sites. In 1994, President Clinton signed Executive Order 12898 which required government agencies to address environmental justice matters within their existing structures. In March 2004, the Inspector General's office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that the very agency assigned to protect the environment had not integrated environmental justice into its daily operations, had not identified the populations addressed in the order, and had not defined or developed criteria for determining the disproportionately-impacted communities.
Although there have been great strides made in the movement in the last decade, it is not enough. Envirosource wants to repair the damage to the communities by introducing "green" industries, promoting environmental clean-up, and obtaining jobs and economic growth for those areas that have historically been burdened by pollution.
The National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM) has been a major force in the political arena for 33 years. Through partnership with NCBM, Envirosource will bring the "Greening Urban America" initiative to the NCBM Member Cities. The primary goals of this initiative are to build healthy communities, heighten economic empowerment through creating "green" manufacturing industries, and increase wealth through greenhouse gas (GHG) investments.