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File #: 230054    Version: 0 Name:
Type: Resolution Status: ADOPTED
File created: 2/2/2023 In control: CITY COUNCIL
On agenda: Final action: 2/2/2023
Title: Recognizing February 2023 as Environmental Justice Month in the City of Philadelphia.
Sponsors: Councilmember Gilmore Richardson, Councilmember Squilla, Councilmember Harrity, Councilmember Bass, Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Lozada, Councilmember Brooks, Councilmember Thomas, Councilmember Phillips
Attachments: 1. Signature23005400
Title
Recognizing February 2023 as Environmental Justice Month in the City of Philadelphia.

Body
WHEREAS, In 2014, February was designated Environmental Justice Month by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to commemorate the signing of historic Executive Order 12898: "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations" in 1994; and

WHEREAS, Executive Order 12898, for the first time, directed federal agencies to create strategies to address the overwhelming adverse human health and environmental impacts of their programs on communities of color and low-income communities, and it created the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice; and

WHEREAS, Environmental Justice is defined by the EPA as "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies"; and

WHEREAS, The Environmental Justice movement has been championed by Black, Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Native Americans to combat the systemic environmental racism that exists in America; and

WHEREAS, The World Meteorological Organization reports there is a now 40% chance the global temperature will reach 1.5?C, exceeding the sensitivity threshold; and

WHEREAS, A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that pollution exposure among Black and Hispanic people far outweighs the amount of pollution they cause; and

WHEREAS, Environmental racism is well-documented with peer-reviewed studies finding a wide range of disparate impacts of pollution on communities of color and low-income communities; and

WHEREAS, Frontline communities are disproportionately communities of color, low-income communities, and areas that lack access to healthy food. Additionally, research has found these communities have high cancer risks and respiratory hazards; and

WHEREAS, Rece...

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