Tuesday, November 13, 2007

NY Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance Issues EJ Report

The New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance (NYAREA) has issued an environmental justice report entitled, "Environmental Justice: A Growing Movement." In New York State the problem of respiratory illnesses is particularly acute. An earlier 2000 Abt Associates study estimated that in New York State in 2007 (with improvements in air quality taken into account from 2000), airborne particulate matter would be the cause of 1,200 premature deaths, 744 cases of chronic bronchitis, 481 hospital admissions, 273 asthma related emergency room visits, 2,180 cases of acute bronchitis, 23,300 asthma attacks, and more than 200,000 work loss days.

One of the major Environmental Justice issues in New York City is the connection between asthma and power plant emissions and automobile exhaust. In New York, the Council of the City of New York reported in May 2003 that “a recent study found that one in every four children in the South Bronx and Central Harlem was afflicted with asthma, one of the highest rates in the country.“ Laurent Lawrence, upper left, is coauthor of the report with Norris McDonald, President, African American Environmentalist Association.

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