No. 140: Race-Conscious Cleanups

Environmental justice was a hot topic over the last four years in an effort to mitigate the disproportional environmental impacts on poor and marginalized communities. Those efforts are being dismantled under the current administration, but the work is not finished: we're discussing a review of toxic cleanup data in San Francisco – one of the cities you'd think would get it right on environmental justice – where cleanups are taking unreasonably long in high proportion BIPOC neighborhoods.

Elsewhere, I'm pointing you to an accounting software company supporting America's independent farmers and ranchers. Accounting software? I know! Not the sexiest social impact topic around, but I love jobs where you feel like you're supporting the little guy, and this company is no slouch in that area. I really think you're going to appreciate their mission.

~ Greg

What we're reading

The San Francisco Public Press reviewed data on toxic cleanups in the Bay Area and found that cleanups in high proportion BIPOC neighborhoods – Black, Indigenous, and other people of color – lagged far behind those in low proportion BIPOC neighborhoods. (Inside Climate News)

• In short, environmental cleanup in San Francisco is not race-neutral. The cleanups in BIPOC neighborhoods take over four years longer than in majority-white areas.
  • If you're like me, your first question would be "four years longer relative to what amount of time?" It's not good: the median duration for a cleanup in low proportion BIPOC areas is 0.53 years compared to 4.83 years for high proportion BIPOC areas. I would have liked to see the average and standard deviation as well to ensure these aren't outliers, but given the sample size – nearly 3,000 toxic cleanups – these comparisons are relatively sound.
• They also looked at areas of higher social vulnerability, which takes things like economic status and overcrowding into account. Race was a better predictor of cleanup delays, but cleanups still took longer in areas of higher social vulnerability compared to those of lower social vulnerability.
• Given the data, the agencies responsible for the cleanups should be taking race and social vulnerability into account when deciding which cleanups to prioritize.
  • At least one agency, the Water Board, said they consider environmental justice along with exposure risk when setting priorities. I couldn't tell you what percentage of cleanups fall under their jurisdiction, but it would seem those policies – perhaps well-intended – are not generating the desired results.
  • That said, prioritization only goes so far. If you shuffle the order of cleanups around, you're still facing cleanups that take years to address. It's the kind of thing that appears underfunded on face value – no one should have to wait so long it leads to long-term environmental and health impacts.
• On the other side of the country, the EPA is dismantling environmental justice offices that might help address the issues in San Francisco and elsewhere.
  • Will cities and states hold themselves accountable in the absence of federal oversight? If the Bay Area is any indication, it's unlikely – and that's about as environmentally-conscious an area as we're likely to find.

Job of the week

It seems more important than ever to put our support behind small businesses, especially those making a difference. You might already be "voting with your wallet," but if throwing your weight behind small business resonates with you on a deeper level, consider taking a look at the job opportunities at Ambrook. They're building accounting software to support America's foundational small businesses, starting with farmers and ranchers.

You can read more about their CEO's perspective here, but what stood out to me is their focus on improving the lives of individuals trying to eke out a business in the face of climate change and government regulation. This is not an easy job, and you'd be helping take a load off their backs – that's the kind of thing that gets me excited to get out of bed in the morning.

They're looking for a Growth Marketing Lead amongst other opportunities, and they have offices in New York, San Francisco, and Denver. If you are a software developer, you'll find a bunch of additional roles on their careers page.

Community roundup

• The World Health Organization Pandemic Agreement was passed this week after three years of negotiations. The intent is to improve global collaboration during future pandemics to avoid the scale of losses experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. (The Guardian)
• Fire weather days – moderate to high temperatures coupled with high winds and relative humidity "within 5% of regional thresholds" – are increasingly common throughout the United States but especially in the West. (Axios)
  • Climate Central reviewed data between 1973 and 2024 and found that parts of Texas, California, and New Mexico experience an additional two months' worth of fire weather days now than they did in the past. That increases the risk that fires become especially damaging – the Palisades Fire is perhaps the most notable recent example.
• Sea level rise from warming temperatures poses risks of forced migration due to the percentage of people who live near the coasts. Researchers have released a new study in Communications Earth & Environment this week that shows we're on track for the sea level to rise more than 1 centimeter per year by the end of the century. (The Guardian)
  • A 20-centimeter rise by 2050 would result in flood damages exceeding $1 trillion per year for the largest coastal cities.
• A while back, we talked about how JP Morgan had left a green banking alliance and come under fire for its ESG funds investing in fossil fuel companies. They've now created a new role in Europe for a head of green economy banking that is supposed to support companies trying to lower their emissions targets and make investments in the green economy. (Reuters)
  • I point this out because it represents one of the uncomfortable tensions of social impact at large corporations. Social enterprises with a handful of people who are fully values-aligned can make a difference; if a large corporation – perhaps one that doesn't exhibit the values alignment we might want – tackles a social impact issue, does that also make a difference?
  • I'd say yes, but not without reservations about greenwashing. The world is more complex than we give it credit for sometimes – I'll take the wins where we can get them.
• Doctors have administered the first gene-editing treatment to fix a genetic disorder in a baby with CPS1 deficiency. Children with CPS1 have developmental delays and are highly likely to die shortly after birth. (NYT)
  • This is fantastic news and bodes well for people with genetic disorders more generally, not just for children with CPS1. It relies on CRISPR; CRISPR-Cas9 is the breakthrough gene-editing technique whose developers won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry a few years ago.

Civic corner

• Verizon has been trying to close an acquisition of Frontier Communications that has been held up by the FCC. The Federal Communications Commission is meant to be an independent agency of the government, however, Verizon appears to have ended its DEI policies to placate the FCC to ensure the deal could close. (NPR)
  • Early on, President Trump signed an executive order that prohibited DEI at federal contractors. They've since pressured public companies to follow suit, and this is the latest example.
• The Secretary of Health has ordered a review of mifepristone based on a report that asserts "serious adverse effects" from the pill that could threaten its approval at the Food and Drug Administration. (The Guardian)
  • I'm seeing shades of the Utah fluoride ruling in this story, where the government latches onto one piece of research to set policy. In this case, the report itself is from the Ethics and Public Policy Center – a conservative think tank – and the research has not been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal.
  • Mifepristone is used in nearly two-thirds of abortions nationwide, and pro-life activists have been pushing for more restrictions on the pill. In particular, some blue states have implemented shield laws such that a doctor in one state can prescribe medication for a patient in another state where abortion is banned, ensuring they still have access to abortion care.
• DOGE has tried to embed with nongovernmental agencies that receive federal funding but ultimately lie outside the government, like the Vera Institute for Justice and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. (NPR)
  • The full article is worth a read to see the pattern, but my take is that we actually haven't heard much out of DOGE in a while because the large-scale slashing came early in the administration and included the added publicity of Elon Musk. DOGE is still making cuts to agencies that advance social causes – the Peace Corps, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and the National Endowment for the Humanities for example.

Hot job opportunities

• Strategic Account Associate – Orijin – West Tennessee
• Partnership Marketing Manager – Findhelp – Austin, TX
• Senior Volunteer Program Coordinator – Washington Trails Association – Seattle, WA (hybrid)
• Health & Safety Manager – EnergySolutions – Oak Ridge, TN
• IT Support Specialist – Unlocked Labs – St. Louis, MO
• Head of Marketing – Swing Left – Remote
• Software Product Manager, Salesforce Ecosystem – Omnidian – Location
• Founding Account Executive – DonorAtlas – New York, NY
• Area Sales Manager – TOMRA – Remote
• Senior Manager of Growth Marketing – Cotopaxi – Remote

Resource of the week

One of the resources I like to share with people when they're ready to explore a social impact career is the list of Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations. These were adopted in 2015 as a blueprint for social and environmental impact, and reviewing them can be a great way to see what resonates with you.

To take the idea one step further, you can visit the SDG Academy for free courses on your SDG of choice. The courses I reviewed are all self-guided, so you can take them at your own pace, and they take no more than a few hours of commitment per week. If you're looking for a new career, I'd highly encourage you to use these two resources to find and research an area of impact before seeking out related job opportunities.

Test your knowledge

Last week I asked about which country was the first to introduce a carbon tax, which is a relatively popular way to encourage companies to reduce their use of fossil fuels. Finland was the first country to do so, and their carbon tax went into effect in 1990. They are far from the only country with a carbon tax, although you're unlikely to find a universal approach. For example, we talked last October about how Denmark became the first to include livestock emissions in their carbon tax.

How is your knowledge of conservationists? Let's find out:

Who co-founded the Sierra Club and served as its first president?

Email me your guess, and I'll send one lucky winner a couple of One Work stickers!

I am scoping out local trails for the long weekend. I am ready to get outside and find some peace – provided I find a trail far enough off the beaten path.