Radical Noesis - Thinking outside the box

"While planning to end a program to protect poor and minority communities, the EPA's Northwest regional office says it will deliver more environmental justice. Although unlikely, that's theoretically possible.

We can think of several key ingredients for transforming the promise from window-dressing to credible: an administration that really cares about the poor; adequate funding; and a strong focus throughout the agency on transforming a poor record on environmental justice to a strong point.

Unfortunately, viewed on those criteria, the Environmental Protection Agency seems to be in a preposterous position. As the Seattle P-I's Lisa Stiffler reported, the agency is trying to save money. Its record on environmental justice nationally has been repeatedly faulted. And we will leave the defense of Bush administration's concern for the poor to those who can still say "compassionate conservative" like it was 2000 and there was an election to grab.

Seattle is like most of the country. Environmental threats tend to congregate in the poorest neighborhoods. If there's a noisy, noxious facility to site, South Seattle residents don't need a sixth sense to guess where it will be proposed. It's also easy to forecast the outcome if the EPA cuts its program with the idea of embedding its environmental justice in other efforts. Burial of a good cause is likely."