As the city’s Equity Office says, “Austin has a long history of systemic racism and racial inequity that continues today.” That’s why we apply an equity lens to everyday reporting, writing stories that investigate the intersection of equity and the outdoors, climate change, and even the food that we eat.
Now that the flood waters are beginning to recede in some parts of Texas, attention is being turned to the environmental consequences that Hurricane Harvey has left in its wake. More research, studies, and stories will surely be published in the coming weeks and years, but for
Want to get more involved in Austin’s local environmental justice movement? Then be sure to check out Huston-Tillotson University‘s fourth annual “Building Green Justice Forum” on Thursday, September 28th. This year’s theme is “Organic Activistology.” At the event, the university will be inviting presenters and participants to reflect on their roles
Hurricane Harvey struck Texas nearly a week ago, but its effects will continue to be felt by the state and the entire country for the next weeks, months, and years to come. Houston is underwater. Rockport has suffered widespread destruction and Beaumont has lost access
Austin’s park system ranks 46th amongst the 100 largest US cities. That’s according to the latest ParkScore rankings, which were just released by the Trust For Public Land last week. The biggest reason we weren’t ranked higher? A lack of equitable park access. Each year, the
In order to encourage action and facilitate education beyond the Austin People’s Climate March (happening this Saturday, April 29th), its organizers dubbed April 23rd through April 28th as Austin Climate Justice Week. The week has been marked by a series of educational panel discussions all aimed at “an equitable
This Saturday, thousands of people will gather together to host climate marches in cities all over the world… including Austin. “We are one earth, one people, one community,” says the Austin People’s Climate March Facebook page. “We demand: slashed greenhouse gases, a clean energy economy, and climate
“A truly great city leaves no one behind.” These are the words of the newly released report from the Mayor’s Task Force on Institutional Racism and Systemic Inequities. Organized by Austin Mayor Steve Adler late last year in response to the police shooting of 17-year-old
High up on a hill in East Austin is the beautiful Red Bluff Vista. Often called the Mount Bonnell of East Austin, Red Bluff has long been ignored and neglected by the city. Together, a group of neighbors and environmental advocates are trying to change
Construction on the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline has resumed. That’s despite the work of thousands of protesters who gathered throughout the country decrying the potential negative effects of the pipeline on the environment, as well as on Native American land and water. The protests had
Across the United States, people of color make up less than 16 percent of the staff of major environmental organizations. That’s a problem, both for the environmental movement and for the communities they serve. So what can the environmental community do to address this problem?
Change. That was the theme of Austin Mayor Steve Adler’s “State of the City Address,” which he delivered to a packed crowd at City Hall last Saturday. “But change – even in the form of growth – is not our enemy,” Adler said, encouraging Austinites
The Standing Rock protests have come to Texas. What is the Standing Rock protest all about? For those that have not been following along, for the past few months, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota (along with environmentalists from around the country) have