Lack of water. Lack of food. But mostly, lack of real protection from one of the biggest problems to exist on the planet, Global Warming.
Global Warming has impacted everyone on this planet, unknowingly to some. But some families have been even more impacted by climate change because of their race and their income. For example, big companies will dump their waste or indirectly put toxic gases into low-income neighborhoods. This is called environmental injustice. Families are being discriminated against because of their race and income, and as a result, are growing up in a less healthy environment. This is very dangerous for children who grow up in these neighborhoods, because they can get ill or have other health problems later in life.
An example of environmental injustice is the Flint Water Crisis in 2014. In 2014, Flint’s drinking water source changed from Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River because it was cheaper. Officers did not put corrosion inhibitors (a liquid that decreases the amount of rust that can be produced), in the water. As a result, lead got into Flint’s drinking water. Around 100,000 people were exposed to this water, and some of them developed learning disabilities, especially children.
All of this happened because government officials wanted to use the least money possible in a low-income city like Flint. This happens all over the world, especially in communities where people already are treated terribly because of their race/ethnicity or social/economic status. Now, because of COVID-19, they are being treated even worse. Many families don’t have a sturdy access to water or healthy food, which is detrimental to their health, especially because it is necessary now to wash hands very often.
“It’s not that people do not like the idea of handwashing,” says Kenya-based indigenous rights activist Ikal Ang’elei, “It’s like this: Do you make your child wash his hands after he comes back from school, or do you save the water for cooking?” In many places including Kenya, people are not washing their hands as often as they should because of water shortage. Water shortage is impacting many families more dramatically now, and scientists are seeing higher rates of COVID-19 infections in those areas because of that.
This pandemic has created even more proof to show that not everyone has access to necessary resources like water, clean air, green recreational spaces, and healthy food. It is up
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