Sec. 201. Findings
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Congress finds that— minority and low-income communities in the United States are disproportionately affected by the causes of climate change because— according to a 2012 study by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People— the nearly 6,000,000 people in the United States who live within 3 miles of a coal power plant have an average per capita annual income of $18,400, which is lower than the national average of $21,587; and among the people who live within 3 miles of a coal power plant, 39 percent are people of color, while people of color comprise only 36 percent of the total population of the United States; 82.3 percent of Native Americans and Alaska Natives live within 50 miles of major sources of NO and NO 2 and 65.8 percent of Native Americans and Alaska Natives live within 25 miles of PM–10 point sources; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that— African-Americans are 2 to 3 times more likely to die from asthma than any other racial or ethnic group;
African-American and Hispanic children visit emergency departments for asthma care more often than Caucasian children; more than 1 in 4 African-American adults cannot afford routine doctor visits; nearly 1 in 7 Hispanic adults cannot afford routine doctor visits; Hispanic individuals are 30 percent more likely to visit the hospital for asthma; and Hispanic children are 40 percent more likely to die from asthma than Caucasian children; and minority and low-income people of the United States are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change because— hurricanes disproportionately impact low-income and minority communities, and regarding Hurricane Katrina in 2005— after the hurricane, people of color were much less likely to return to the homes in New Orleans from which those individuals were evacuated; according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, only 54 percent of African-Americans who were evacuated during Hurricane Katrina returned to New Orleans, compared to 82 percent of Caucasian evacuees; the damage occurred in areas— with populations that were 45.8 percent African-American, compared to undamaged areas with populations that were 26.4 percent African-American; and in which 20.9 percent of the households had incomes below the poverty line, compared to undamaged areas in which 15.3 percent of the households had incomes below the poverty line;
African-Americans are estimated to have accounted for approximately 44 percent of the Hurricane Katrina victims; 1/5 of the individuals displaced by Hurricane Katrina were likely to have been poor, and 30 percent of those individuals had incomes that were below 150 percent of the poverty line; and nearly 1/2 of all individuals aged 65 or older who live in flooded or damage-affected areas report having a disability, and 26 percent of those individuals report having 2 or more types of disabilities; extreme weather disproportionately impacts low-income and minority communities, and regarding Hurricane Sandy in 2012— 80,000 residents living in low-income housing lost power, heat, and hot water for more than 2 weeks in the middle of winter; 1 in 5 public housing units and almost 1 in 7 affordable rental housing units were damaged; in contrast to the effects of Hurricane Sandy on low-income communities, Wall Street went back to business with the lights on and stock tickers running only 2 days after Hurricane Sandy hit New York City; 55 percent of the victims of Hurricane Sandy in New York City were very-low-income renters, with incomes that averaged $18,000 per year; 67 percent of recipients of assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were low-income individuals; and the median rent paid by households affected by Hurricane Sandy has increased $200 per month since the date Hurricane Sandy hit New York City; heat waves disproportionately impact low-income and minority communities because— African-Americans are 52 percent more likely than Caucasians to live in dense, urban neighborhoods that may be 22 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than rural neighborhoods, which increases the risk of health complications for African-Americans, including death from heat-related complications; although access to air conditioning lowers the risk of mortality from heat-related health complications by 80 percent, 1 in 5 low-income households has no access to air conditioning; in 2011 and 2012, drought and heat waves affected communities with median incomes that were 5 percent lower than the national average; heat waves— cause more deaths in the United States than all other weather events combined; and are particularly dangerous for Hispanic people, who are disproportionately likely to have low incomes; the number of unhealthy red alert air quality days in more than 12 cities in the eastern United States— will likely double due to increased ozone formation caused by rising temperatures; and will increase rates of asthma complications for Hispanic people, who are also at risk for cardiovascular conditions; and by the end of the 21st century, climate change is projected to triple the average number of extremely hot days in the United States, the consequences of which— include— thousands of premature deaths annually by 2100; nearly 2,000,000,000 lost labor hours per year; and over $100,000,000,000 in lost wages annually; and disproportionately burden Hispanic people, who comprise— 42 percent of construction laborers; and approximately 75 percent of agricultural field workers; floods disproportionately impact low-income and minority communities, for example— in 2011 and 2012, floods affected communities with median incomes that were 14 percent lower than the national average; and in June 2011, extreme Missouri River rain runoff hit record highs and caused $1,500,000,000 in damages, including damages in communities in Arkansas and Mississippi with median incomes that were 23 percent and 30 percent lower, respectively, than the national average; tornadoes disproportionately impact low-income and minority communities— because even though mobile homes comprise only 8 percent of housing in the United States, 1/2 of all fatalities during tornadoes are fatalities of individuals who reside in mobile homes; and with the deadliest tornado in the history of the United States having occurred in Joplin, Missouri, a community with— a median income that is 29 percent lower than the national average; and a 20-percent poverty rate; wildfires disproportionately impact low-income and minority communities, for example— the Ash Creek Fire devastated an Indian reservation on which— 1/3 of the families live below the poverty line; and 2/3 of the adults are unemployed; and the most destructive wildfire in Texas history destroyed almost 1,700 homes in Bastrop, a community with 14 percent of households at, or below, the poverty line; droughts disproportionately impact low-income and minority communities because— droughts are expected to increase the prices of fruits and vegetables by roughly 3 percent in 2015, which increases the economic burden of nutrition on low-income families; in California, farmworkers, of whom 92 percent identify as Latino and 3/4 earn less than 200 percent of the Federal poverty level, are projected to experience significant employment difficulties related to drought; all of the Indian tribes in the State of Arizona and several Indian tribes in the States of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California have Indian reservations (as defined in section 3 of the Indian Financing Act of 1974 ( 25 U.S.C. 1452 )) within the Colorado River watershed, which is predicted to be reduced by approximately 45 percent by 2050; and approximately 30 percent of the people of the Navajo Nation— are not served by municipal water systems; and risk severe water shortages due to worsening droughts caused by climate change; and sea level rise and erosion disproportionately impact low-income and minority communities; in 2008, the Comptroller General of the United States found that more than 86 percent of the 216 Alaska Native villages are already subject to flooding and erosion caused by increasing temperatures due to climate change; and the land under the village of Newtok, Alaska, is eroding at the rate of 72 feet per year, which may require the village to move.
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