By Haleemah Atobiloye, Program Manager
We say it all the time: environmental justice is health justice.
We keep saying it because the data linking environmental exposures to an increased risk of breast cancer is ever-growing, and we remain relentlessly committed to connecting the dots, boldly naming the environmental causes of this disease, and demonstrating how environmental policies impact our health. We must take action together!
Our January advocacy work included supporting the following actions, alongside our coalition partners:
Our commitment to environmental justice was front and center when we joined over 70 organizations in signing a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom and other legislators, demanding an end to fossil fuel subsidies and tax benefits in California. By reallocating these funds to essential services like environmental protection, we can take a critical step toward addressing the disproportionate health impacts faced by marginalized communities.
Just three Big Oil companies, Chevron, Aera Energy, and California Resources Corporation, are responsible for 68% of CA’s idle wells. Given the connection between cancer-causing chemical exposures produced by fossil fuels and increased breast cancer risk, Big Oil must be held accountable for the growing toxic mess they left when they abandoned these wells. That’s why we’ve signed on as supporters of the Make Polluters Pay Coalition. Visit the coalition’s website to learn more about the urgent need for accountability from this industry.
We are wary of ANY climate solutions put forth by the industries that CAUSED the climate crisis in the first place. This is why we endorsed a letter regarding carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) written by environmental justice groups in San Joaquin Valley, CA, advocating for robust protections to prevent further harm to frontline communities. We agree that CCUS projects must prioritize equity and justice, ensuring that marginalized communities do not disproportionately bear the burdens of environmental degradation.
Reducing our exposure to toxic substances, addressing health inequities, and creating healthier environments for ALL individuals and their communities will take us closer to addressing and ending the breast cancer crisis.
Thank you for your support and your solidarity in sharing this vision. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with this advocacy work in real-time, and in action together, we will demand more robust environmental policies as we all work toward a world free from breast cancer.