Hurricane Melissa wreaked havoc across Jamaica, hitting the Caribbean and Latin America. The U.S. is pledging aid — but calling it generosity ignores its role in fueling the very climate crisis devastating the diaspora.
Hurricanes are acts of nature. Climate change intensifying them is not. The Caribbean contributes less than 1% to global greenhouse gas emissions, but are on the frontlines of climate change. The U.S., though, has produced 25% of global emissions since 1751, outpacing the rest of the world.
Trump recently cut and canceled millions of dollars in grants for 22 environmental and health projects in predominantly Black, Southern communities, projects addressing issues like sewage leaks, flooding, and pollution. A White House spokeswoman emphasized the administration’s hostility to “the left’s radical climate agenda” and “out-of-control spending.” But, somehow, it’s fine to spend on policing and the tech autocracy that exacerbates the environmental racism they’re ignoring.
With bloated budgets, police are bolstered by police foundations, which fund anti-environmental projects and receive direct donations from oil companies. Increasing police surveillance reduces tree coverage in Black neighborhoods. Former D.O.G.E. lead Elon Musk invested billions in a South Memphis data center, creating pollution with his supercomputers’ methane gas turbines. Community members from places like Louisiana’s Cancer Alley were even criminalized for sharing air quality information.
Environmental and racial justice are intertwined across the diaspora. When we do secure the state resources to mitigate harms the state caused, they can still be snatched away. As civilians, how can we pool our resources and skillsets internally to save ourselves?