Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice on Climate Change in Detroit

How will Detroit fare as the climate changes? 

That is the topic of discussion on Detroit Today as host Stephen Henderson speaks with director of public policy for the Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice Kimberly Hill Knott on the environmental impact of climate and environmental changes in the city.

WDET

Here are some key points of their conversation:

• The new Detroit Climate Action Plan examines climate change in the city and provides data and reports that examine air and water quality in Detroit.
• The study was done in collaboration with the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources & Environment and includes a greenhouse gas assessment at the municipal and community levels. A greenhouse gas assessment is an inventory of natural and human-caused emissions used in developing atmospheric models.
• Knott distinguishes between “adaptation,” an inevitable step that the global population will take to acclimate to changing climates, and “mitigation,” the attempt to reduce potential environmental damage on the local and individual level.
• Knott relates that environmental organizations, such as the DWEJ and the Sierra Club, can work with communities in order to make companies and government act in a way that does “not benefit corporations at the expense of public health,” such as efforts to resolve pollution issues in the neighborhood surrounding Marathon’s oil refinery.
• They also discuss current environmental affairs in the city including the most polluted zip codes in Detroit, and the links between asthma and air quality.

Click on the audio link above to hear the full conversation.