U.S. Gives Liberal Activists Environmental Justice Grants

In a crusade to help minority and indigenous communities, the Obama Administration is doling out nearly $2 million in “environmental justice grants” to dozens of leftwing groups, including some dedicated to helping illegal immigrants.

Ignored by the mainstream media, the story was reported this week by a conservative news service that links a government list of the community groups that will soon get U.S. tax dollars for “environmental justice” causes. The money will be issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help poor, minority communities increase recycling, reduce carbon emissions through “weatherization,” participate in “green jobs” training and avoid heat stroke.

The agency has issued environmental justice grants for a decade and a half, but this year the Obama Administration allocated the largest award—$1.9 million—in more than a decade. The money will go to nearly 80 community groups and government agencies that will help minority and low-income populations obtain the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards as wealthy communities.

Among the recipients is a New Jersey group (Lazos America Unida) that claims to represent and advocate on behalf of the “Mexican immigrant community.” It will use its government cash to create a “lead-safe backyard gardening” program that will protect community members for the risks associated with gardening in lead contaminated soil. The program also aims to reduce solid waste to local area landfills, according to the group.

Another 2010 EPA grant recipient, a migrant farm workers’ group in Missouri, will use Uncle Sam’s money to explain symbols and key words on television weather advisories and to “increase awareness about the dangers of sun and heat exposure” in migrant communities. The cash will also be used to help explain the dangers of lead poisoning, including how to “evaluate toys and find out about toy recalls.”

Other environmental groups will teach residents of public housing about recycling, senior citizens about reducing their “carbon footprint,” inner city residents about “climate-change readiness” and students at a middle school with a “disparate economic and racial/ethnic composition” how to “identify and mitigate air pollution and solid waste disposal issues.” To view all of the 2010 EPA environmental justice grant recipients click here.