GreenRoots to Speak at Senator Markey’s Press Conference on Climate Impacts and Community Resilience
Environmental justice is critical to effectively respond to increasingly severe weather conditions
Boston (October 15, 2024) – GreenRoots’ Executive Director Roseann Bongiovanni, Director of Climate Justice & Waterfront Initiatives John Walkey, and Waterfront Initiative Organizer Noemy Rodriguez will speak at a press conference hosted by Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today, Tuesday October 15, 2024 on the impacts of recent extreme weather events in North Carolina and Florida and their direct connection to the federally designated environmental justice communities of Chelsea and East Boston.
Chelsea and East Boston residents are familiar with the damaging effects of historical disinvestment. Low-income and Black, brown, and immigrant residents shoulder a disproportionate burden of environmental hazards, leading to challenges in physical health, mental health, access to open space, and more.
“The recent hurricanes that devastated western North Carolina and Florida illustrate the hazard not only of coastal flooding but the risk that exists inland from climate change-related weather events,” says John Walkey, GreenRoots’ Director of Climate Justice & Waterfront Initiatives. “Our current flood maps and flood insurance programs are based on past weather experiences and do not reflect today’s increased risk. So many people are just one unexpected expense away from serious financial difficulty. The prospect of a storm wiping out their home, which is the generational wealth they have accumulated and depend on, is horrifying.”
According to FEMA, just one inch of floodwater in a home can cause roughly $25,000 in damage. Even a small increase in flooding in a low-income area could potentially blow out the budgets of many low-income homeowners who are barely getting by, adding to the economic strain caused by climate change. In the face of these stark realities, GreenRoots builds climate resilience and advocates for climate and environmental justice through resident-led community organizing.
“If anyone needed proof of climate change, it just showed itself through two back-to-back storms that have wreaked havoc in the southeastern United States. Unfortunately, frontline environmental justice communities see disproportionate climate impacts on a daily basis”, said Roseann Bongiovanni, Executive Director of GreenRoots. “Until our country can come together and prioritize climate change with one voice and bold, immediate action, we will see many more communities be decimated by more frequent and severe weather events. This is not the time for disinformation, it is the time for unity and action.”
WHO:
- Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.)
- Brian Swett, Chief Climate Officer for the City of Boston
- Roseann Bongiovanni, Executive Director, GreenRoots
- Noemy Rodriguez, Waterfront Initiative Organizer, GreenRoots
- John Walkey, Director of Climate Justice & Waterfront Initiatives, GreenRoots=
WHEN: Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 11 AM Eastern
WHERE: LoPresti Park, 33 Sumner St, Boston, MA 02128
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