We are back with a special 4-part series on transportation justice, trucking, and the climate crisis. In part 2 of this special series we visit Kansas City. Kansas City straddles the border of Missouri and Kansas, serving as a midpoint between the West and East coasts of the United States. This inland port is polluted with rail yards, highways with heavy freight traffic, and petrochemical facilities. In part 2 of The Coolest Show’s Transportation Series, we visit Kansas City and speak with community leaders Beto Lugo-Martinez, the Co-Director of Clean Air Now, and Rachel Jefferson, the Executive Director of Groundwork Northeast Revitalization Group (Groundwork NRG). They bring to life the importance of fighting for transportation justice, centering on the community, local workers, and the environment.
In this special 4-part series we explore transportation challenges and solutions for which dynamic leaders in frontline communities are fighting. Listen to this episode and the other three in this series. We focus on how the larger movement as well as the new administration can take action now to protect and uplift working class Black and brown communities while putting a meaningful dent in our climate pollution emissions. Transportation and warehousing are a fundamental part of the nation’s economy and one of the most significant contributors to the climate crisis. Trucks make up only 4% of vehicles on the road but contribute a baffling 90% of nitrogen oxide and diesel vehicle emissions. We see this reality in neighborhoods near highways, ports, and inland ports across the nation. Racist interstate planning makes Black and brown people most vulnerable to this pollution, elevating cancer risk and lowering life expectancy.
Listen and subscribe here or at TheCoolestShow.com! Follow @Think100Climate and @RevYearwood. #BlackLivesMatter #ClimateJustice #Think100
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