Lisa Jackson: Blacks Should Get Serious About Climate Change

By: Michael H. Cottman

Black environmental experts are spreading the word to African-Americans everywhere: Go green.

“Climate change is a clear and present danger to communities of color across the country,” Lisa Jackson, the new director of the Environmental Protection Agency, told a group of black college students and members of the Commission to Engage African Americans on Climate Change at a meeting at Howard University last week.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies created the Commission last year. It hosted the meeting and invited students and faculty from a number of black colleges to discuss climate issues and its impact on the African-American community.

“We must act now to not only end, but also reverse, the ravaging effects inflicted upon our homes, schools and neighborhoods,” said Jackson, the first African-American to head the EPA.

“There is no need to choose between green in our pockets and going green,” Jackson said. “EPA and this administration are on the job and will work tirelessly to protect our environment and the family, friends and neighbors impacted by it.”

Jackson and other experts said that President Barack Obama’s plans to improve water and air quality will eventually help black Americans and improve living conditions in African-American communities across the country.

Lisa Jackson: Blacks Should Get Serious About Climate Change....