MDL Blue Brownfields Affirmative Packet

7/31/2019 MDL Blue Brownfields Affirmative Packet

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MDL 2008-2009 November Evidence Supplement (Blue Division)

Brownfields Affirmative PacketExplanation..................................................................................................................................................2Brownfields 1ac...........................................................................................................................................3Brownfields 1AC.........................................................................................................................................4Brownfields 1AC.........................................................................................................................................5Brownfields 1AC.........................................................................................................................................6

Brownfields 1AC.........................................................................................................................................7Brownfields 1AC.........................................................................................................................................8Brownfields 1AC.........................................................................................................................................9Brownfields 1AC.......................................................................................................................................10Brownfields 1AC ......................................................................................................................................11Brownfields 1AC ......................................................................................................................................12Brownfields 1AC ......................................................................................................................................13InherencY extensions AT: Incentives Exist Now....................................................................................14Inherency extensions Redevelopment Expensive....................................................................................15Inherency extensions Brightfields Lack Funding....................................................................................16Inherency extensions Current Incentives Dont Decrease Liability .......................................................17AT: No Environmental Racism .................................................................................................................18

AT: No Environmental Racism .................................................................................................................19Brownfields Bad Health .........................................................................................................................20Brownfields Bad Local Economies ........................................................................................................21Brownfields Bad Local Government/Tax Revenue ................................................................................22Brownfields Bad Education ...................................................................................................................23Environmental Racism Impacts Legacy of Slavery................................................................................24Environmental Racism Impacts Environment ........................................................................................25Racism Impacts War/Eugenics ............................................................................................................. .26Brownfield Redevelopment Key to Environmental Justice .......................................................................27AT: Gentrification Turn............................................................................................................................28Global Warming Advantage .................................................................................................................. ...29Solvency Incentives General ...............................................................................................................30

Solvency Tax Incentives ........................................................................................................................31Solvency Incentives Perception-Magnifiers.........................................................................................32Solvency Global Modeling ................................................................................................................ ....33Brightfields Key to Renewables Market ...................................................................................................34Wind Turbines on Brightfields Good.........................................................................................................35Brightfields Key to Solar Industry .......................................................................................................... ..36AT: Spending Disadvantage 2AC Frontline............................................................................................ ..37At: Spending Disadvantage 2AC Frontline................................................................................................38AT: Spending Disadvantage 2AC Frontline............................................................................................ ..39AFF- Extensions to # 4 No Fiscal Discipline..........................................................................................40AFF Extensions to # 7 US Not Key to Global Economy .......................................................................41

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Brownfields Affirmative Packet

EXPLANATION

The Affirmative: The affirmative case explores the connection between irresponsible corporateand governmental policies and minority neighborhoods. In the 1AC, you will find arguments

that indicate:

There are industrial sites, many of which used to be manufacturing centers, that areabandoned

These abandoned sites endanger urban populations, especially poor, minoritycommunities

These sites should be restored to produce alternative energy, such as solar or wind power

These restored sites are referred to as brightfields This affirmative also addresses the issue of environmental racism, by highlighting the

injustice inherent in the government and private industry believing it is okay to pollute inpoor, minority communities

With this affirmative, you also have the option of claiming that the plan will result in asubstantial decrease in the threat of global warming because other countries will modelthe plan

The negative: The negative has direct answers to the affirmative case claims. These argumentsindicate the following:

The federal government is currently cleaning up these sites The harms of environmental justice and racism are overstated The plan cannot solve these problems, and attempts to solve these problems will only

make matters worse for a number of reasonsThe negative also can claim that a disadvantage will occur. The disadvantage is called aSpending Disadvantage. It says:

The plan will cost too much money and that this additional drain on the federal budgetwill destroy the US economy

How to use this packet: The evidence in the packet is presented in the following way:

A claim that the evidence supports.

Underlined parts are parts students need to read to understand the context, though theymay wish to highlight it further

Bold parts of the evidence are included to encourage students to emphasize, whilespeaking, the important and memorable phrases they might want the judge to recall

There are also some arguments are made without evidence. They are called analytics. Itis important that students realize that not every argument needs evidence and they shouldfeel free to add analytical claims to their debates, as in encourages critical thinking

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Contention One Inherency:

American energy policy is shaped by structural racism our nations addiction to fossilfuels and status quo policy put urban, minority communities on the front lines of Americas

war against the planet today

Maya Wiley, Director of the Center for Social Inclusion, Summer2006, Overcoming Structural Racism, Race,Poverty, and the Environment, Vol. 13, No. 1, online: http://www.urbanhabitat.org/node/504, accessed July 12, 2008

Last winter, the ground never froze in Brooklyn, New York. In January, I was digging up dandelions that hadtaken over my yard and preparing new flowerbeds. Climate change is hitting close to home. The NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted eight to 10 hurricanes in the North AtlanticOcean this seasonabout half-a-dozen of them expected to be at least a category three. Katrina was acategory three hurricane. So, New York could be the next New Orleans. One thing climate change makesclear: what happens to one community can happen to allacross neighborhoods, across cities, acrosscountries.

But we can stop the tragedy of New Orleans from repeating itself. We can even turn New Orleans tragedyinto an opportunity to understand better the human landscape that for so long has been sowed with thepoisonous seeds of racism. By understanding and addressing the inequities brought on by structural racism,we can and will improve our environment in every possible way, including socially and economically.Often, when we talk about global warming, issues of racial inequity are left out. We focus on dirty energy,our governments failure to regulate corporate polluting and reluctance to create incentives for clean andrenewable energy alternatives. We criticize our consumer culture with its insatiable appetite for SUVs, andour preference for suburban living with its long commutes. All of these are, of course, important factors increating and perpetuating a climate crisis that is finally being acknowledged in the U.S., thanks to the hardwork of environmental activists. While no one can say for sure that global warming caused hurricaneKatrina, the science strongly suggests that storms are getting fiercer and more destructive because of carbonemissions.A Hurricanes Eye View of Global Warming

New Orleans has given us an opportunity to understand and address the racial causes and consequences ofglobal warming. The broken levees are a metaphor for a weakened and fragmented government. Over the lastfour years alone, the US Congress has aggressively cut the revenue sources that enable government at alllevels to invest in communities. Tax cuts of over a trillion dollars for the wealthiest five percent (annualincome over $300,000) has meant severe cutbacks for disaster relief and a safety net.2 Consider, for example,President Bushs proposed $708 million cut to the Army Corps of Engineers budget. A whopping $71.2million of that money was earmarked for hurricane and flood prevention in New Orleans. Unfortunately,such budget cuts have become common and are part of a larger attack on federal responsibility for a socialsafety net.3Public willingness to accept the notion of a small, limited federal government developed in the historicalcontext of slavery. The more powerful slaveholding families used these concepts to oppose abolition.The Republican Partys infamous Southern Strategy of using racism to win the ideological fight forcorporate prerogatives and limited social investments began in earnest in 1928.4 The limited government,

self-help ideology translated into the explicit exclusion of Black people from the New Deal social safety netpolicies, like Social Security and unemployment benefits. Post-World War II government policies thatcreated and preserved racially segregated white suburbs and the white middle class, intentionally excludedAfrican Americans in particular, and people of color in general. (One of the many consequences of thesepolicies has been the environmental degradation brought on by an increased dependency on automobiles to

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WILEY CONTINUED NO TEXT REMOVED

commute from suburbs to job centers.) It is still the case that public support for social safety net programs,

like welfare, decreases if the perceived beneficiaries of such programs are African American.5New Orleans (and the U.S.) by NumbersIn 1970, 54 percent of the New Orleans metropolitan regional population lived in the city, was much moreracially integrated, and had fewer neighborhoods of concentrated poverty.6 By 2000, the city had only 36percent of the regions populationover two-thirds of which was Black7indicating a loss of both jobs andrevenues for New Orleans. In fact, between 1970 and 2000, the city saw a shocking 24 percent decline injobs.National and international studies show that fairer, more equitable countries and states have betterenvironmental quality. Fairness and equality are measured by such indicators as income distribution, politicalrights, civil liberties, level of education, and access to healthcare.8 When we look at the major structuralimpediments to improving income distribution, political rights, and other indicators of a vibrant and healthydemocracy in the U.S., we have to look at the policies affecting communities of color.When entire communities of color are marginalized and excluded from a regions civic and political life, they

become invisible to the white communities. Whites will fight tooth and nail against the location of a wastetreatment facility or an incinerator in their own neighborhoods, but accept their location in the invisiblepoor neighborhoods. (One example of an environmental insult is the attempt to create a landfill in the EastNew Orleans wetlands, strongly opposed by the Black and Vietnamese communities who wish to rebuildtheir homes there.)9 These privileged communities are thus able to avoid the questions raised by theirunbridled consumerism and its effect on the environment.On the other hand, if the government works to reduce poverty in urban communities of color, it has the effectof creating more jobs and reducing poverty in surrounding regions.10 When communities of color are ableto participate in civic and political life, they are better able to attract investments to build and strengthen localeconomies and defend themselves against environmental insults.Racialized Poverty and Global WarmingAt a recent conference on the racial and socio-economic implications of the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast,Laurie David, a Hollywood producer and tireless anti-global warming activist, spoke passionately about theclimate crisis we face and the importance of U.S. leadership on carbon emissions reduction. When askedabout the role of racialized poverty in New Orleans, David responded that the reality of global warming wassuch that a lot of people will get hurt. David is certainly right, and we all have to care about climate change.But we also need to have a better answer to the question of race and poverty in global warming.The floodwaters of Lake Ponchartrain washed away any illusions of a racially equitable society. Althoughabout 28 percent of New Orleans population was poor, there were many more poor African Americans (35percent) than poor Whites (11.5 percent).11 And of all city dwellers, nearly one-third of all Blackhouseholds did not have access to a car while only 10 percent of White households lacked auto access.13While there were no evacuation plans for the poor, the elderly, and the disabled either, it was commonknowledge that the lowest ground in New Orleans was occupied by communities of color, which made upnearly 80 percent of the population in these flooded neighborhoods.14 It is no wonder then that most of thefaces in the Superdome were Black.Racialized poverty puts the poor communities of color at the frontlines of our war with our planet. They are,as Professor Lani Guinier points out, our miners canaries. Their vulnerabilities shine a light on everyones

vulnerabilities and we should pay careful attention to them when dealing with our public resources.How do our Gardens Grow?The environmental justice community understands that racial inequity is one of the biggest barriers to healthycommunities and a healthy nation.15 Nature is not bound by governmental jurisdiction. It may, however, beinfluenced by race and political privilege. So it is up to the privileged, the resourced, and the included, towork with communities of color, and not just for them. It requires funders to resource communities of colorfor civic engagement. It also requires us to build a public will for a government that will strengthen the socialsafety net for our most vulnerable communities and rein in corporate prerogative.

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Contention Two Harms: The Complexion of Protection

First, the location of toxic industrial waste in poor, minority neighborhoods is proof of

white Americas flight from the inner city and the politics of not in my back yard. The

continued neglect of brownfields is a continual source of racial subordination

Bullard et al 08(Robert D., Director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, Paul Mohai, Professorof Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Robin Saha, an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at theUniversity of Montana, and Beverly Wright, Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Dillard University, Toxic Wastesand Race at Twenty: Why Race Still Matters After All These Years, 38 Environmental Law, 371, Lexis)

Despite progress in research, planning, and policy, low-income and people of color neighborhoods and theirresidents suffer from greater environmental risks than the larger society. For example, lead poisoning continues to bethe number-one environmental health threat to children in the United States, especially poor children, children of color, and childrenliving in older housing in inner cities. n20 "Black children are five times more likely than white children to have lead poisoning" n21and "one in seven black children living in older housing has elevated blood lead levels." n22About 22% of African American children and 13% of Mexican American children living in pre-1946 housing suffer from lead

poisoning, compared with 6% of white children living in comparable types of housing. n23 Recent [*378] studies suggest that a youngperson's lead burden is linked to lower IQ, lower high school graduation rates, and increased delinquency. n24 Lead poisoning causesabout two to three points of IQ lost for each 10 ug/dl lead level. n25

The nation's environmental laws, regulations, and policies are not applied uniformly, resulting in someindividuals, neighborhoods, and communities being exposed to elevated health risks. In 1992, staff writers fromThe National Law Journal uncovered glaring inequities in the way the federal EPA enforces its laws. n26 The authors write:

There is a racial divide in the way the U.S. government cleans up toxic waste sites and punishes polluters.White communities see faster action, better results and stiffer penalties than communities where blacks,Hispanics and other minorities live. This unequal protection often occurs whether the community is wealthyor poor. n27These findings suggest that unequal protection is placing communities of color at special risk. The National LawJournal study supplements the findings of earlier studies and reinforces what many grassroots leaders have been saying all along:

namely,people of color are differentially impacted by industrial pollution and they also can expect differenttreatment from the government. Environmental decision making operates at the juncture of science,

economics, politics, special interests, and ethics. The question of environmental justice is not anchored in adebate about whether or not decision makers should tinker with risk management. The framework seeks to preventenvironmental threats before they occur. n28

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (formerly the U.S. General Accounting Office) estimates that there are up to 450,000brownfields (abandoned waste sites) scattered throughout the urban landscape from New York to California -most of which are located in or near low income, working class, and people of color communities. n29 Morethan 870,000 of the 1.9 million housing units for the poor, who are mostly minorities, sit "within about a mileof factories that reported toxic emissions to the Environmental Protection Agency." n30More than 600,000 students in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and California attend nearly 1200 public

schools - with [*379] populations largely made up of African Americans and other children of color - that are located within ahalf mile offederal Superfund or state-identified contaminated sites. n31 An astounding "68 percent of African Americans livewithin 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant - the distance within which the maximum effects of the smokestack plume are

expected to occur" - compared with 56% of white Americans. n32

In September 2005, the Associated Press (AP) released results from its analysis of an EPA research project showing African

Americans are "79 percent more likely than whites to live in neighborhoods where industrial pollution issuspected of posing the greatest health danger." n33 Using EPA's own data and government scientists, the AP study, More Blacks Livewith Pollution, revealed that "in 19 states, blacks were more than twice as likely as whites to live in neighborhoods whereair pollution seems to pose the greatest health danger." n34 Hispanics and Asians also are more likely to breathe dirty air insome regions of the United States. The AP study found that residents of the at-risk neighborhoods were generally poorer and less

educated, and unemployment rates in those districts were nearly 20% higher than the national average. Brownfields 1AC

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Second, the result of these failed policies is that Americas cities are filled with garbage

humans. The politics of pollution have created two Americas one that has an

environment worthy of protection and one that does not

Mills 01 (Charles W., Professor of Philosophy at the University of Illinois, Chicago, Faces of EnvironmentalRacism: Confronting Issues of Global Justice (2nd ed.,), p. 84-89)

Only with a more realistic sense of this moral and political history, then, and with a correspondinglymodified conceptual apparatus, can one hope to understand the problem of waste disposal and why it couldbe political. The functioning of the state, the structure of space, the historic stigmatization of blackswithin the white political community, the resulting partitioned ethic , all need to be taken into accountin understanding the distribution of pollution costs.What should we do with trash? It depends on who the we are. If the polity is racial, and politicalpower significantly racialized, then there will be a white we whose collective rationality and moralgroup psychology differ from the black minority and who have differential power over them. For thiswhite population, the full members of the polity, blacks themselves have historically been so looked

down on that black trash has been close to pleonastic. White trash is an admonition, a cautionaryepithet for those white people who do not, so to speak, live up to the responsibilities of whiteness, and thuslose their full status. Black trash, by contrast, is redundant, because black already has the connotations oftrashiness. So from this perspective, blacks are not part of the we who are facing the environmentalproblem of what to do with our refuse. Rather, there is a sense in which blacks themselves are an

environmental problem, which we full humans (that is, the white population) have to deal with.In his definitive history of Jim Crow, Leon Litwack describes the growing alarm in the posthellum South about the dark menace of freed and increasinglyassertive blacks:The very language employed to describe the growing Negro menace suggested that the problem be treated like any other epidemic or virus threatening thehealth and security of the community. To assess the results of emancipation was to raise the specter of blacks inoculated with the virus of equality. To talkabout black political participation was to talk about the cancer on the body-politic which, if not cured, will make of it a carcass. To consider the socialdanger posed by blacks was to contemplate the need to avoid and reduce contamination, to dilute the black poison in the body of the South (as Atlantaschief health officer expressed it) to the point where it lost its toxicity. . . . If black people had become a source of social danger and contamination, the needto control, contain, and quarantine them in every conceivable fashion could no longer be questioned.28Various solutions were considered for dealing with this threat to the white body politic. In the immediate post-Emancipation period, hopes had beenentertained that blacks would solve the problem themselves by simply dying off: The notion that black Southerners, no longer confined to the paternalisticcustody of slavery and doomed to compete with whites, were destined for racial extinction enjoyed immense popularity in the late nineteenth century.29But unfortunately, the 1880 census showed their numbers to be increasing, so these Darwinian hopes had to be abandoned. An exterminist program to assistuncooperative nature had support in some quarters but was deemed somewhat on the extremist side. Colonization, simply purging blacks from the body

politic, was a more respectable approach and had been considered at different times by Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. But there were practicaldifficulties of organization, cost, suitable destination, and possible black unwillingness to go. In the end, Litwack points out, most white Southerners settledon containmentnot education or even gradual uplift but submission and permanent subordination, what one white frankly described as back into slavery,without the name. 30 Sharecropping, convict labor, debt peonage, and above all the formal introduction of Jim Crow, legal segregation, can be seen asdifferent ways of carrying out this program.Segregation by law is the clearest manifestation of the physical control of the space of an inferior group, a group excluded f rom full membership in thepolity, a group that must be morally, politically, and physically contained. And such containment would become the policy in the North also. In theiraccount of what they call American apartheid, Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton argue that before 1900, blacks and whites were relatively integratedin both northern and southern cities. But all this would change with Jim Crow and mass black migration from the South. Through a series of self-conscious actions and purposeful institutional arrangements that continue today,.. . actions and practices that had the passive acceptance, if not the activesupport, of most whites in the United States, blacks were deliberately denied entry to white neighborhoods. By contrast, new European immigrants formedat worst ethnic enclaves rather than ghettoes. These enclaves were never homogeneous, were not particularly isolated, and unlike permanent blackghettoes, were a fleeting, transitory stage in the process of immigrant assimilation. Thus they were all eventually spatially assimilated. For blacks, onthe other hand, the racial contract would inscribethrough neighborhood associations, real-estate dealers, redlining, restrictive covenants, and mob violencewhen necessarya geography of aversion that would ultimately make blacks the most spatially isolated population in U.S. history.31

Race, then, is the basic organizing spatial principle of the extended body of the polity. Fanon points out thatConsciousness of the body . . . is a third-person consciousness.32 Similarly, Gail Weiss has devised the concept of intercorporealityto signify the multiple, reflexive interrelations between our bodies, our perceptions of our bodies, and the reciprocal shaping of those

perceptions by seeing ourselves through the perceptions of others: To describe embodiment as intercorporeality is to emphasize that theexperience of being embodied is never a private affair, but is always already mediated by our continual interactions with other humanand nonhuman bodies. Our body images are thus constructed through a series of corporeal exchanges that take place both within andoutside of specific bodies.33 Applying this concept to political theory, one could say that the white members of the body politiccontinually exchange their whiteness with each other, recognizing each others bodies in the light of their full membership in the polity,and so reciprocally creating that polity. As white, as a full citizen, ones body mirrors the larger body. One walks with confidence in theknowledge that ones citizenship will be recognized, since it is written on ones bodyit is ones body. And the image of the white body

politic is then extended through relations of equal intercorporeal recognition throughout a whitened space. There is a macro-body, the

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MILLS CONTINUED NO TEXT REMOVEDcollective white body, sustained by intersubjective, artificial, contractual agreement between the full humans, whose space is the locusof the body politic proper. And it is recognized as appropriate, through relations of unequal corporeal exchange, that the black bodyina sense the nonhuman bodybe excluded from the macro-body.

Mainstream environmentalism is thus the environmentalism appropriate to this bodythe normativebody, the white body. Since white space has been historically privileged, white environmentalists canplace their emphases on preservation and conservation, slogans appropriate for those whose spaces havebenefited from full incorporation intothe white macrobody. If the role of the sovereign, as soul (Hobbes) of the body politic, is to maintain thebodys health, then the role of the whitesovereign is to ensure the health of the white body. For a state founded on the racial contract, this willmean the differential allocation of resources to the creation and protection of white spaces. Andhistorically, the state has in fact made both space and race, through demarcating by law the populationscoded as races, through enforcing segregation, and through divergent treatment of the respective dividedspaces. Desmond King, an English political scientist, points out the disingenuousness of a mainstream U.S.political theory that little acknowledges the obvious fact that the federal government constituted a

powerful institution upholding arrangements privileging Whites and discriminating against Blacks.34 Theracial state acts on behalf of the white citizenry, pouring resources into the privileged white spacesschools, infrastructure, job creation, highways, mortgage assistance, police protectionsince they are ourspaces, the spaces that we, the full citizens of the polity, inhabit. So there is no common space, as in themythical raceless social contract. Rather, there are our spaces and their spaces.But even their spaces are in a sense oursthey are the spaces we concede to them, insofar as (short ofoutright expulsion) they have to occupy some space. Originally, it is explicit, then, that blacks do not havefree range over the topography of the body politic. Rather, they are restricted to second-class spaces,

as befitting their second-class, subperson status:Niggertown, Darktown, Bronzeville, the black belt, the ghetto, the inner city, in housing arrangements;and, when they are allowed to enter the public white space, the back of the bus, the seats in the balcony, thecrowded car at the end of the train. These spaces become identified as black spaces, and are derogated assuch, signaling their nomncorporation in the respectable flesh of the white body politic. King describes

how:Prior to the end of segregation, the United States was subnationally a divided polity. Two political systems,mirroring two societies, the one democratic and the other oligarchic, existed side by side. . . . Segregationwas an arrangement whereby Black Americans, as a minority, were systematically treated in a separate, butconstitutionally sanctioned way. As the NAACP observed, they were treated almost as lepers.35And this leprous flesh, the boundary of political, moral, and spatial exclusion from the body politic proper, marks the limits of thesovereigns full responsibilities. As derogated space, inhabited by beings of lesser worth, it is a necessary functionalist space analogousto the body parts below the belt, the ones we keep hidden. Since the normative body is the white body, the black body, or theunavoidable black parts of the white bodyits waste products, its excretaneed to be kept out of white sight. White space needs to bemaintained in its character as white and preserved from contamination by the ever- threatening dark spaceevil, shitty, savage,subproletananized. On the collective white macro-body, these spaces are literally blots on the landscape that we have to tolerate but that

must not be allowed to trespass beyond their borders. The politics of racial space then requires that the line be drawn,

the boundaries not crossed. These spaces must stay in their place. The racial contract is in part an agreement tomaintain certain spatial relations, a certain spatial regime, the incarnation of the white body politic, the physical manifestation of thewhite Leviathan.

In this revised conceptual framework, then, it becomes unsurprising that the United Church of Christs Commission for Racial Justice found in the first national study on the topic(1987):

Race is the single most important factor (i.e., more important than income, home ownership rate, andproperty values) in the location of abandoned toxic waste sites.36Some black residents of these areas feel We dont have the complexion for protection.37A national investigation (1992) by the National Law Journal of Enviromnental Protection Agency cleanupefforts concluded that the average fine imposed on polluters in white areas was 506 percent higher than theaverage fine imposed in minority communities and that cleanup took longer in minority communities, eventhough the efforts were often less intensive than those performed in white neighborhoods.38

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Mainstream white environmentalists are perceived as caring more about parks and owls than peopleof color.39Institutional resistance to providing information [on environmental issues] is likely to be greater for groupssuch as racial minorities.

In general, Public officials and private industry have, in many cases, responded to the NIMBY [Not in MyBlack Yard] phenomenon using the PIBBY principle, Place in Blacks Back Yards. 41In effect, then, these spaces can be written off because these people can be written off. The devalued spaceinteracts with its devalued inhabitants. They are outside the boundaries of empathy, not like us, notan equallyvalued body in the intercorporeal community that is the collective white body. As Bill Lawsonpoints out in chapter 3, Living for the City: Urban United States and Environmental Justice (p. 41):[R]acial and spatial difference marks important differences that must be given weight in our moraldeliberation.. . . Environmentalists have a natural conception of pollution as a negative norm. If a place

is thought to be already polluted by racial identifiers, we need to contain the pollution by keeping it inthat area. Since these are already waste spaces, it is only appropriate that the waste products of

industrialization should be directed toward them. Like seeks likethrowaways on a throwawaypopulation, dumping on the white bodys dumpsite.So the environment is not the same for these distinct and spatially segregated communities. Black relations to nature have

always been mediated by white power, the sinews and tendons running through the white body. The combination of

environmental with social justice concernsso strange and radical from the point of view of traditional white

environmentalismthen is simply a recognition of this fact. Conservation cannot have the same resonance

for the racially disadvantaged, since they are at the ass end of the body politic and want their space

upgraded. For blacks, the environment is the (in part) white-created environment, where the waste products of

white space are dumped and the costs of white industry externalized. Insofar as the mainstream

environmentalist framing of issues rests on the raceless body of the colorless social contract, it will

continue to mystify and obfuscate these racial realities. Environmentalism for blacks has to mean

not merely challenging the patterns of waste disposal, but also, in effect, their own status as the

racialized refuse, the black trash, of the white body politic. Mainstream white environmentalists areperceived as caring more about parks and owls than people of color.39Institutional resistance to providing information [on environmental issues] is likely to be greater for groupssuch as racial minorities.

In general, Public officials and private industry have, in many cases, responded to the NIMBY [Not in MyBlack Yard] phenomenon using the PIBBY principle, Place in Blacks Back Yards. 41In effect, then, these spaces can be written off because these people can be written off. The devalued spaceinteracts with its devalued inhabitants. They are outside the boundaries of empathy, not like us, notan equallyvalued body in the intercorporeal community that is the collective white body. As Bill Lawsonpoints out in chapter 3, Living for the City: Urban United States and Environmental Justice (p. 41):[R]acial and spatial difference marks important differences that must be given weight in our moraldeliberation.. . . Environmentalists have a natural conception of pollution as a negative norm. If a place

is thought to be already polluted by racial identifiers, we need to contain the pollution by keeping it inthat area. Since these are already waste spaces, it is only appropriate that the waste products of

industrialization should be directed toward them. Like seeks likethrowaways on a throwawaypopulation, dumping on the white bodys dumpsite.So the environment is not the same for these distinct and spatially segregated communities. Black relations to nature have

always been mediated by white power, the sinews and tendons running through the white body. The combination of

environmental with social justice concernsso strange and radical from the point of view of traditional white

environmentalismthen is simply a recognition of this fact. Conservation cannot have the same resonance

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for the racially disadvantaged, since they are at the ass end of the body politic and want their spaceupgraded. For blacks, the environment is the (in part) white-created environment, where the waste products of

white space are dumped and the costs of white industry externalized. Insofar as the mainstream

environmentalist framing of issues rests on the raceless body of the colorless social contract, it will

continue to mystify and obfuscate these racial realities. Environmentalism for blacks has to mean

not merely challenging the patterns of waste disposal, but also, in effect, their own status as the

racialized refuse, the black trash, of the white body politic.

Finally, environmental justice must be the chief imperative of our energy policy

systematic environmental racism ensures global environmental collapse and the extinction

of all humanity

Bunyan Bryant, Professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment, and an adjunct professor in the

Center for Afro-American and African Studies at the University of Michigan, 1995, Environmental Justice: Issues,Policies, and Solutions, p. 209-212

Although the post-World War II economy was designed when environmental consideration was not a problem, today this is no longerthe case; we must be concerned enough about environmental protection to make it a part of our economic design. Today, temporal andspatial relations of pollution have drastically changed within the last 100 years or so. A hundred years ago we polluted a small spatialarea and it took the earth a short time to heal itself. Today we pollute large areas of the earth as evidenced by the international

problems of acid rain, the depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, nuclear meltdowns, and the difficulties in the safe storage of

spent fuels from nuclear power plants. Perhaps we have embarked upon an era of pollution so toxic and persistent

that it will take the earth in some areas thousands of years to heal itself.To curtail environmental pollutants, we must build new institutions to prevent widespread destruction from pollutants that know nogeopolitical boundaries. We need to do this because pollutants are not respectful of international boundaries; it does little good if one

country practices sound environmental protection while its neighbors fail to do so. Countries of the world are intricately

linked together in ways not clear 50 years ago; they find themselves victims of environmental destruction

even though the causes of that destruction originated in another part of the world. Acid rain, global

warming, depletion of the ozone layer, nuclear accidents like the one at Chernobyl, make all countries vulnerable toenvironmental destruction.The cooperative relations forged after World War II are now obsolete. New cooperative relations need to be agreed upon cooperative

relations that show that pollution prevention and species preservation are inseparably linked to economic

development and survival of planet earth. Economic development is linked to pollution prevention even though the marketfails to include the true cost of pollution in its pricing of products and services; it fails to place a value on the destruction of plant andanimal species. To date, most industrialized nations, the high polluters, have had an incentive to pollute because they did not incur thecost of producing goods and services in a nonpolluting manner. The world will have to pay for the true cost of production and to practice

prudent stewardship of our natural resources if we are to sustain ourselves on this planet. We cannot expect Third World countries toparticipate in debt-for-nature swaps as a means for saving the rainforest or as a means for the reduction of greenhouse gases, while aconsiderable amount of such gases come from industrial nations and from fossil fuel consumption.Like disease, population growth is politically, economically, and structurally determined. Due to inadequate income maintenance

programs and social security, families in developing countries are more apt to have large families not only to ensure the survival ofchildren within the first five years, but to work the fields and care for the elderly. As development increases, so do education, health, and

birth control. In his chapter, Buttel states that ecological development and substantial debt forgiveness would be more significant inalleviating Third World environmental degradation (or population problems) than ratification of any UNCED biodiversity or forest

conventions.Because population control programs fail to address the structural characteristics of poverty, such programs for developing countrieshave been for the most part dismal failures. Growth and development along ecological lines have a better chance of controlling

population growth in developing countries than the best population control programs to date. Although population control is important,we often focus a considerable amount of our attention on population problems of developing countries. Yet there are more people persquare mile in Western Europe than in most developing countries. During his/her lifetime an American child causes 35 times theenvironmental damage of an Indian child and 280 times that of a Haitian child (Boggs, 1993: 1). The addiction to consumerism of highlyindustrialized countries has to be seen as a major culprit, and thus must be balanced against the benefits of population control in ThirdWorld countries.

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BRYANT CONTINUED NO TEXT REMOVED

Worldwide environmental protection is only one part of the complex problems we face today. We

cannot ignore world poverty; it is intricately linked to environmental protection.If this is the case, then howdo we deal with world poverty? How do we bring about lasting peace in the world? Clearly we can no longer afford a South Africa as itwas once organized, or ethnic cleansing by Serbian nationalists. These types of conflicts bankrupt us morally and destroy ourconnectedness with one another as a world community. Yet, we may be headed on a course where the politically induced famine,

poverty, and chaos of Somalia today will become commonplace and world peace more difficult, particularly if the European CommonMarket, Japan, and the United States trade primarily among themselves, leaving Third World countries to fend for themselves.

Growing poverty will lead only to more world disequilibrium to wars and famine as countries become moreaggressive and cross international borders for resources to ward off widespread hunger and rampant unemployment. To tackle these

problems requires a quantum leap in global cooperation and commitment of the highest magnitude; it requires development of aninternational tax, levied through the United nations or some other international body, so that the world community can become moreinvolved in helping to deal with issues of environmental protection, poverty, and peace.

Since the market system has been bold and flexible enough to meet changing conditions, so too must public institutions. Theymust, indeed, be able to respond to the rapid changes that reverberate throughout the world. If they failto change, then we will surely meet the fate of the dinosaur. The Soviet Union gave up a system that was unworkablein exchange for another one. Although it has not been easy, individual countries of the former Soviet Union have the potential ofreemerging looking very different and stronger. Or they could emerge looking very different and weaker. They could become societiesthat are both socially and environmentally destructive or they can become societies where people have decent jobs, places to live,educational opportunities for all citizens, and sustainable social structures that are safe and nurturing. Although North Americans areexperiencing economic and social discomforts, we too will have to change, or we may find ourselves engulfed by political and economicforces beyond our control. In 1994, the out-sweeping of Democrats from national offices may be symptomatic of deeper and morefundamental problems. If the mean-spirited behavior that characterized the 1994 election is carried over into the governance of thecountry, this may only fan the flames of discontent. We may be embarking upon a long struggle over ideology, culture, and the very

heart and soul of the country. But despite all the political turmoil, we must take risks and try out new ideas

ideas never dreamed of before and ideas we thought were impossible to implement. To implement these ideas

we must overcome institutional inertia in order to enhance intentional change. We need to give up tradition and business

as usual. To view the future as a challenge and as an opportunity to make the world a better place, we must be willing to take

political and economic risks.The question is not growth, but what kind of growth, and where it will take place. For example, we can maintain current levels of

productivity or become even more productive if we farm organically. Because of ideological conflicts, it is hard for us to view the Cubanexperience with an unjaundiced eye; but we ask you to place political differences aside and pay attention to the lyrics of organic farmingand not to the music of Communism. In other words, we must get beyond political differences and ideological conflicts; we must find

success stories of healing the planet no matter where they exist be they in Communist or non-Communist countries, developed orunderdeveloped countries. We must ascertain what lessons can be learned from them, and examine how they would benefit the world

community. In most instances, we will have to chart a new course . Continued use of certain technologies and chemicalsthat are incompatible with the ecosystem will take us down the road of no return. We are already

witnessing the catastrophic destruction of our environment and disproportionate impacts of

environmental insults on communities of color and low-income groups. If such destruction continues, itwill undoubtedly deal harmful blows to our social, economic, and political institutions.As a nation, we find ourselves in a house divided, where the cleavages between the races are in factgetting worse. We find ourselves in a house divided where the gap between the rich and the poor has increased. We find ourselvesin a house divided where the gap between the young and the old has widened. During the 1980s, there were few visions of healing thecountry. In the 1990s, despite the catastrophic economic and environmental results of the 1980s, and despite the conservative takeover of

both houses of Congress, we must look for glimmers of hope. We must stand by what we think is right and defend our position withpassion. And at times we need to slow down and reflect and do a lot of soul searching in order to redirect ourselves, if need be. We mustchart out a new course of defining who we are as a people, by redefining our relationship with government, with nature, with oneanother, and where we want to be as a nation. We need to find a way of expressing this definition of ourselves to one another.

Undeniably we are a nation of different ethnic groups and races, and of multiple interest groups, and if we cannot live in peace and inharmony with ourselves and with nature it bodes ominously for future world relations.

Because economic institutions are based upon the growth paradigm of extracting and processing

natural resources, we will surely perish if we use them to foul the global nest. But it does not have to be

this way. Although sound environmental policies can be compatible with good business practices and quality of life, we may have to

jettison the moral argument of environmental protection in favor of the self-interest argument, thereby demonstrating thatthesurvival of business enterprises is intricately tied to good stewardship of natural resources and

environmental protection. Too often we forget that short-sightedness can propel us down a narrow

path, where we are unable to see the long-term effects of our actions.

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BRYANT CONTINUED NO TEXT REMOVED

The ideas and policies discussed in this book are ways of getting ourselves back on track. The ideas presented here will hopefully

provide substantive material for discourse. These policies are not carved in stone, nor are they meant to be for every city, suburb, or rural

area. Municipalities or rural areas should have flexibility in dealing with their site-specific problems. Yet we need to extend ourconcern about local sustainability beyond geopolitical boundaries, because dumping in Third Worldcountries or in the atmosphere today will surely haunt the world tomorrow. Ideas presented here may irritatesome and dismay others, but we need to make some drastic changes in our lifestyles and institutions inorder to foster environmental justice.Many of the policy ideas mentioned in this book have been around for some time, but they have not beenimplemented. The struggle for environmental justice emerging from the people of color and low-incomecommunities may provide the necessary political impulse to make these policies a reality.

Environmental justice provides opportunities for those most affected by environmental degradation

and poverty to make policies to save not only themselves from differential impact of environmental

hazards, but to save those responsible for the lions share of the planets destruction . This struggle emergingfrom the environmental experience of oppressed people brings forth a new consciousness a new consciousness shaped by immediatedemands for certainty and solution. It is a struggle to make a true connection between humanity and nature. This struggle to resolveenvironmental problems may force the nation to alter its priorities; it may force the nation to address issues of environmental justice and,

by doing so, it may ultimately result in a cleaner and healthier environment for all of us. Although we may never eliminate all toxicmaterials from the production cycle, we should at least have that as a goal.

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BROWNFIELDS 1AC

Thus, the plan:

The United States federal government should substantially increase all

necessary incentives to promote and pursue alternative energy development

on Environmental Protection Agency designated brownfields in the United

States.

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BROWNFIELDS 1AC

Contention Three Solvency

First, the plan solves and is key renewable projects on brownfields can only succeed with

new incentives

Northeast-Midwest Institute 08 [Northeast-Midwest Institute, The National Brownfields Coalition, AProposal to Establish Pilots for Sustainable Development and Alternative Energy Reuse of Brownfields, March,http://www.nemw.org/EstablishPilots4SustainDev-AltEnergy.pdf]

The connections between brownfields and sustainable development, greening, and alternative energy

have been established by many pioneering projects, but a larger effort, with a separate funding source,

would not only produce more successes, but also produce more models. If viewed from a strategic

point of view, carefully chosen pilots could help establish new greening technologies, new ways to

integrate environmental restoration with development, new incentives or regulatory strategies that

could help reach sustainability objectives, and new ways to produce sustainable energy.

The recommendation, therefore, is to establish a pilot program, with a separate funding authorization of at

least $20 million, forsustainable development and

alternative energy reuse of brownfields. The pilot shouldwork within the funding parameters of the current brownfields program, using funds for site assessments,cleanup, site planning and preparation, feasibility analysis, and engineering studies on sites that will beredeveloped with high performance/green buildings, green infrastructure, parks/greenspace/trails, ecosystemrestoration, and/orrenewable energy production.

And, alternative energy is the key Brightfields, or brownfield projects using alternative

energy, are key to reversing the cycle of urban abandonment the plan is key to creating a

model that spills over to other urban renewal projects. ONLY Brightfields projects create

environmental justice and sustainability

Moskal 03 [John, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, April, Brockton Brightfields: InnovativeGreen PowerMarketing Pilot, http://www.epa.gov/swerrims//docs/iwg/BrocktonBrightfieldsfinal.pdf]

Monetizing the environmental benefits of various projects has been a long-standing environmental challenge.

The innovative financing and growth concepts proposed by this pilot seek to provide a carrot to encouragethe market to support long-term contracts for RECs, thereby monetizing them for purposes of supportingfinancing and revenue forecasts. The specific innovative elements include the use of excess cash flows tofund capacity expansions and provide rights to the associated increases in REC output to customers thatenter into long-term contracts. In addition, Brightfields are themselves an innovative use of blightedbrownfields that might not otherwise be redeveloped because of their limited reuse potential. BENEFITSThe project will develop a clean energy source on an abandoned industrial property with few other

development options, and no development options as sustainably desirable as the Brightfield (noemissions, noise or traffic). Further, beautification efforts on the site perimeter will transform a blightedproperty into a community asset. This model will enable Brockton to expand its project by reinvestingin generation assets. There are even greater benefits to the state and EPA in that Brocktons experiencewill help to grow the market for renewable energy while creating a replicable model for other

communities. Growth of the green power market has clear environmental and public health benefits

for all stakeholders.

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INHERENCY EXTENSIONS AT: INCENTIVES EXIST NOW

( ) Federal funding for brownfields is down, particularly for brightfields projects that promote renewable

energy continued neglect will kill the program

Rodenberger 5 (Farah, special counsel for Parker, Poe, Adams & Bernstein, L.L.P. in Charleston, South

Carolina, Fordham U. JD, Southeastern Environmental Law Journal, 13 Southeastern Envtl. L.J. 119, Spring, p. 119,LN)Despite these successes, between 2000 and 2003, funding for the Brownfields Program decreased by 60%. 88 Inresponse, Congress passed a bill in 2004 that included a provision to promote brownfields redevelopments andexplore innovative funding strategies. 89 In one of the bill provisions, Congress authorized $ 5 million for eachfiscal year from 2004 to 2008 90 to provide for "brightfields," which are brownfields implementing solar energytechnologies. 91 The future success of the Brownfields Program will likely depend on further legislative andfinancial support

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INHERENCY EXTENSIONS REDEVELOPMENT EXPENSIVE

( ) Costs of redevelopment deter brownfield projects now theyre being forgotten in favor of cheaper

suburban sites

PeterMeyer, consultant for E.P. Systems Group, a consulting firm specializing in brownfields redevelopment,

December1999, Assessment of State Initiatives to Promote Redevelopment of Brownfields, online:http://www.huduser.org/publications/econdev/assess.html, accessed July 9, 2008Public sector economic development efforts targeted to economically distressed communities date back to theDepression of the 1930's, and have deep roots in a variety of programs. More recently, concerns with theredevelopment of environmentally contaminated land and facilities, or brownfields has evolved. These sites areoften inferior to undeveloped suburban greenfields in the competition for investment capital for industrial,commercial, or residential development. Brownfields sites typically require land clearing, building removal, andextensive environmental assessment and clean-up. Individual sites may also be too small for modern developments,requiring the aggregation of many smaller plots, which may substantially add to the cost of development.

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INHERENCY EXTENSIONS BRIGHTFIELDS LACK FUNDING

( ) Brightfields projects have been successful but are crippled by lack of finances

Northeast-Midwest Institute8 [The National Brownfields Coalition, A Proposal to Establish Pilots forSustainable Development and Alternative Energy Reuse of Brownfields, March,

http://www.nemw.org/EstablishPilots4SustainDev-AltEnergy.pdf]While a number of successful brownfields-to-alternative energy projects have been carried out, they are mostlyisolated examples. There is potential for a much larger effort that would begin to produce more substantial energybenefits.

( ) Despite success, the federal Brightfields program has been abandoned and lacks any financial support

Renewable Energy Focus 7 [Waste to Watts, March/April, http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/articles/solarpass/features/Waste_to_watts.pdf]The DOEs Brightfields program had great promise, but fell short and was ultimately abandoned. The fatal flaws ofthe DOEs program were a failure to provide sufficient technical and financial resources for Brightfield cities tosucceed, an inability to build local capacity required to ensure success, and an unrealistic business model thatpromoted small assembly plants in the midst of an industry trend towards increasingly large factories.

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INHERENCY EXTENSIONS CURRENT INCENTIVES DONT

DECREASE LIABILITY

( ) Current incentive programs for brownfields fail to reduce liability, rendering them ineffective

Peter B. Meyer, consultant for E.P. Systems Group, a consulting firm specializing in brownfields redevelopment,

and Wade Van Landingham, VanLandingham Consulting, August 2000, Reclamation and EconomicRegeneration of Brownfields, online:http://www.eda.gov/ImageCache/EDAPublic/documents/pdfdocs/meyer_2epdf/v1/meyer.pdf, accessed July 9, 2008The emergence over the past five years of insurance coverage for the exceptional risks associated with brownfieldshas the potential to significantly change the prospects for redevelopment efforts (4, 47, 88, 92). Three different types of

policies have emerged, each with its own set of options and conditions, and each playing a different role in supporting brownfields redevelopmentby capping and quantifying risk for investors and their financiers (91):Cleanup Cost Cap policies protect against cost-overruns on pollution containment and removal actions. Theseoverruns may result either from unexpected costs to address known conditions or from contaminants not identifiedwhen the cleanup was designed and approved. The policies normally can be acquired for a short time period, sincethey are intended to cover the actual period of remediation. Some cleanups, such as those that rely onphytoremediation (using plants to gradually neutralize toxics in the soil) or those that involve extended pump andfiltering operations (for contaminated groundwater), may require longer term policies.

Pollution Liability policies provide the insured party with protection against lawsuits involving any of the specialbrownfield risks, regardless of the claimant, and includes coverage for both damages and legal defenses againstlawsuits. This form of coverage is usually acquired for an extended period. Policies may be written so thatsuccessive owners inherit the protection and are constructed to cover both regulatory agency and third party claims.This extended protection contributes to maintaining the value of the property in successive transactions, despite itspossible history of past contamination.Secured Creditor policies protect lenders against loss of principal for brownfield loans in the event of defaults,eliminating any need for foreclosures. These policies do not protect developers or new owners from risks, so otherforms of coverage may be needed by those undertaking redevelopment if they hace concerned about their liabilities.The policy term purchased is generally the term of the loan. Banks and other lenders can buy policies themselves,passing the cost on to borrowers, or may demand that borrowers obtain coverage as a condition for lending.

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AT: NO ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM

( ) Current environmental law trades the lives of minorities for profits and political expedience America is

de-facto segregated via the unequal division of environmental harm

Bullard 99 (Robert D, Ware Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Director of the Environmental JusticeResource Center at Clark Atlanta University, Dismantling environmental racism in the USA, Local Environment,Feb99, Vol. 4, Issue 1, Academic Search Premier)

The environmental protection apparatus in the USA does not provide equal protection for all communities.

The current paradigm institutionalises unequal enforcement, trades human health for profit, places the

burden of proof on the 'victims' and not on the polluting industry, legitimates human exposure to harmful

chemicals, pesticides and hazardous wastes, promotes 'risky' technologies, exploits the vulnerability of

economically and politically disenfranchised communities and nations, subsidises ecological destruction,

creates an industry around risk assessment and delays clean-up actions, and fails to develop pollution

prevention, waste minimisation and cleaner production strategies as the overarching and dominant goal.

The environmental justice movement emerged in response to environmental inequities, threats to public health,unequal protection, differential enforcement and disparate treatment received by the poor and people of colour. Thismovement has redefined environmental protection as a basic right. It has also emphasised pollution prevention,waste minimisation and cleaner production techniques as strategies to achieve environmental justice for all

Americans without regard to race, colour, national origin or income.

( ) Race explains environmental injustice independent of class several studies prove

Bullard 99 (Robert D, Ware Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Director of the Environmental JusticeResource Center at Clark Atlanta University, Dismantling environmental racism in the USA, Local Environment,Feb99, Vol. 4, Issue 1, Academic Search Premier)

Numerous studies reveal that low-income persons and people of colour have borne greater health and

environmental risk burdens than the society at large (Mann, 1991; Goldman, 1991; Goldman & Fitten, 1994).Elevated public health risks have been found in some populations even when social class is held constant. Forexample, race has been found to be independent of class in the distribution of air pollution, contaminated fishconsumption, municipal landfills and incinerators, abandoned toxic waste dumps, the clean-up of superfund

sites and lead poisoning in children (Commission for Racial Justice, 1987; Agency for Toxic Substances andDisease Registry, 1988; West et al., 1992; Bryant & Mohai, 1992; Lavelle & Coyle, 1992; Goldman & Fitten, 1994;Pirkle et al., 1994).

Childhood lead poisoning is another preventable disease that has not been eradicated. Figures reported in theJuly 1994 Journal of the American Medical Association from the Third National Health and Nutrition ExaminationSurvey (NHANES III) revealed that 1.7 million children (8.9% of children aged 1-5) are lead poisoned, defined ashaving blood levels equal to or above 10 microg/dl. The NHANES III data found African-American children to belead poisoned at more than twice the rate of white children at every income level (Pirkle et al., 1994). Over

28.4% of all low-income African-American children were lead poisoned compared to 9.8% of all low-incomewhite children. During the time-period between 1976 and 1991, the decrease in blood lead levels for African-

American and Mexican-American children lagged far behind that of white children.

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AT: NO ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM

( ) The majority of evidence concludes race is a central factor in determining exposure to

environmental risk their denial of races importance is what enables racism to continue

Northridge, Shepard 97 (Mary E and Peggy M, Harlem Center for Health Promotion and Disease Preventionand Harlem Environmental Action, Inc, Comment: Environmental Racism and Public Health, American Journalof Public Health; May97, Vol. 87 Issue 5, p730-732, 3p, EBSCO)

To discount racism as a potential contributor to disparities in health by race and ethnicity is to ignore well-

established social history, not to mention the experience of many afflicted persons. Denial serves to

perpetuate inequity. It also forecloses studies of racism focusing specifically on ill health and prematuremortality.

Sorting out the health effects of racism is no simple task. The relationships between race, ethnicity, social class,segregation, discrimination, and pattems of disease are complex. The researchproblems are thorny and difficult to

assess, especially in data collected for other purposes. These difficulties have not and should not keep rigorous,compassionate, and creative public health researchers from trying.'^2" Indeed, the gaps in rates of morbidityand mortality between African Americans and White Americans (which not only persist^'^^ but grow wider^-*)demand that we do no less. Public health has a fundamental role in preventing disease and a secure andlegitimate role in helping to formulate policies and initiate programs toward that end. Engagement should be

no less vigorous than on any other health initiative. The core of the problem surely lies in the racial

segregation that continues to afflict most urban and other communities in the United States. A number ofreports support the commonplace observation that disadvantaged locales bear a disproportionate share ofenvironmental hazards. A widely cited,if hotly con- tested, study was published by the Corpmission for RacialJustice of the United Church of Christ,^^ Zip code areas containing one hazardous waste site had, on average,24% people of color, compared with 12% in areas without a hazardous waste site. Zip code areas containing

either (1) two or more facilities or (2) one of the five largest hazardous waste landfills in the nation had, on

average, 38% people of color.

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BROWNFIELDS BAD HEALTH

The economic and health impacts of brownfields are dangerous and unethical, they deny

communities basic health standards

Ding 8 (Eric L, Research Fellow, Harvard School of Public Health, Brownfield Remediation for Urban Health: ASystematic Review and Case Assessment of Baltimore, Maryland, The Journal of Young Investigators,http://www.jyi.org/research/re.php?id=630)

From a simple perspective, one might ask: what exactly is so dangerous and unethical about leaving a former-

industrial property idle? While it may seem that these unused lands do not cause harm, the truth is that the

continued existence of fallow brownfields has major detrimental effects on human health and the economy.

Because brownfields may potentially be contaminated by industrial wastes and toxic chemicals, there is

reasonable biologic plausibility that such pollutants may harm humans. This can potentially occur throughincreased local exposures to volatile chemicals emanating from a contaminated site, leaching of toxins into the

surrounding soil, which vegetable gardens of local residents may absorb, or perhaps through children

exploring and playing on the brownfield site and directly coming into contact with such chemicals andindustrial wastes. Any such hazardous exposures may result in serious detrimental effects on the health of

local residents.

Such scenarios of exposures from industrial sites and toxicological effects have not only been affirmed by

experts as plausible and likely (Evans 2002), but they have also indeed been corroborated by research and

historical events. One study found that increased residential proximity to industrial sites contaminated withpolychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) is associated with higher rates of low-birth-weight infants (Baibergenova 2003).PCBs were, in fact, one of the categories of toxins found by researchers analyzing Baltimore brownfields (Litt &Tran 2002). Additionally, other research by Ding et al. (2005) has shown that such environmental pollutants foundin brownfields may contribute to the high infant mortality rate in Baltimore, MD.

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BROWNFIELDS BAD LOCAL ECONOMIES

Undeveloped brownfields cost $26 million for Baltimore alone, cause unemployment,

decrease property values

Ding 8 (Eric L, Research Fellow, Harvard School of Public Health, Brownfield Remediation for Urban Health: ASystematic Review and Case Assessment of Baltimore, Maryland, The Journal of Young Investigators,http://www.jyi.org/research/re.php?id=630)

While health impact may be a speculated consequence of brownfields, there is virtually no debate regarding

the economic ramifications of idle brownfields. According to official EPA estimates ("Brownfields 2003 GrantFact Sheet" 2003), Baltimore loses approximately $26 million a year in lost tax revenues from abandoned andunderused brownfield land.

Such a tremendous loss of economic potential from brownfields takes into account the estimated loss of

income from commercial property tax, loss of economic development investment, and loss of production of

goods and services. Additionally, the economy in Baltimore also suffers from loss of employment and social

revitalization as result of brownfield underdevelopment. Moreover, vacant lots and fallow brownfieldswithout economic vitality also decrease local property values (England-Joseph 1995; Greenberg 2002).From an investment perspective, brownfields impose two additional barriers to redevelopment. First, the potentialof dangerous contamination is enough to discourage companies from being willing to develop and reuse the

brownfield land (Schoenbaum 2002). Second, even if companies are willing to invest in cleanup andredeveloping brownfield land, financial institutions, insurance companies and other creditors are unlikely to

be willing to provide loans and funding for such projects out of fears of hazard liability (England-Joseph1995). Thus, fallow brownfields likely have adverse implications on the economics of the local geography.

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BROWNFIELDS BAD LOCAL GOVERNMENT/TAX REVENUE

( ) Brownfields cause a ripple effect of harm on local governments

Sigurani 6 [Miral Alena, Assistant Attorney General, Brownfields: Converging Green, Community, andInvestment Concerns, AZ Attorney, Vol. 43, p. 38, December, l/n]

Brownfields and vacant properties are known for their pollution, unemployment, poverty, racial isolation,crime, drugs, declining public services and architectural eyesores. n13 Idle brownfields are said to depressproperty values, discourage investment, foster blight and dampen tax revenues for local governments. n14Because of the dangers associated with idle brownfields, many communities are building programs to encouragetheir use. Brownfields are commonly found within the urban core, near public transportation and otherconveniences, making them exceptional development sites for residential housing, commercial sites or sites for

service-related industries.

( ) Brownfields cause massive losses in local tax revenues

Pepper 98 [Edith M., Strategies for Promoting Brownfield Reuse in California A Blueprint for Policy Reform,October, http://www.cclr.org/pdfs/PolPaper02.pdf]

The U.S. General Accounting Office reports that there are roughly 450,000 brownfield sites nationwide.Although typically associated with the more heavily industrialized rust belt states in the Northeast and Midwest,brownfields are peppered throughout California. Estimates vary considerably from 38,000 to 93,000 sites butregardless of the true number, the challenge is formidable. San Francisco alone hosts 5,000 to 15,000 idle

brownfields, depriving the city of $16 million to $100 million in tax revenues.

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BROWNFIELDS BAD EDUCATION

Brownfields cause a variety of public ills including poor education.

Pepper 98 [Edith M., Strategies for Promoting Brownfield Reuse in California A Blueprint for Policy Reform,October,http://www.cclr.org/pdfs/PolPaper02.pdf]

Left unaddressed, brownfields pose lingering public health threats, exacerbate neighborhood blight, and serveas magnets for drug dealing and other criminal activity. They typically generate little if any local taxrevenues, causing area schools and public services to suffer greatly. When brownfields languish for years, thesurrounding neighborhood eventually begins to erode as well a process that is often characterized by the

deterioration of older infrastructure, such as roads and water and sewer lines.

The trend in California and elsewhere has been to leave these struggling areas behind and push outward toever greener pastures, installing new infrastructure and schools in emerging communities while turning our

back on existing ones. This pattern is not sustainable from an economic or environmental standpoint over the

long haul. In recent years, the plight of brownfields has captured the national spotlight. At every level ofgovernment, it seems, there is a growing recognition that through brownfield redevelopment, we can begin tochip away at a host of pressing and seemingly entrenched urban problems crime, poor housing,

unemployment, poverty while also helping to curb the pace ofurban sprawl.

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ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM IMPACTS LEGACY OF SLAVERY

Environmental racism is a continuation of the legacy of slavery

Bullard 2, (Joseph, Director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University,http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:S0SkCJTUZKoJ:www.ejrc.cau.edu/PovpolEj.html+environmental+racism+impact&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us)

People of color around the world must contend with dirty air and drinking water, and the location of noxiousfacilities such as municipal landfills, incinerators, hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilitiesowned by private industry, government, and even the military.[3] These environmental problems areexacerbated by racism. Environmental racism refers to environmental policy, practice, or directive thatdifferentially affects or disadvantages (whether intended or unintended) individuals, groups, or communities basedon race or color. Environmental racism is reinforced by government, legal, economic, political, and militaryinstitutions. Environmental racism combines with public policies and industry practices to provide benefits for thecountries in the North while shifting costs to countries in the South. [4] Environmental racism is a form ofinstitutionalized discrimination. Institutional discrimination is defined as "actions or practices carried out bymembers of dominant (racial or ethnic) groups that have differential and negative impact on members of subordinate(racial and ethnic) groups." [5] The United States is grounded in white racism. The nation was founded on the

principles of "free land" (stolen from Native Americans and Mexicans), "free labor" (African slaves brought tothis land in chains), and "free men" (only white men with property had the right to vote). From the outset, racismshaped the economic, political and ecological landscape of this new nation. Environmental racism buttressed

the exploitation of land, people, and the natural environment. It operates as an intra-nation power arrangement--especially where ethnic or racial groups form a political and or numerical minority. For example, blacks in the U.S.form both a political and numerical racial minority. On the other hand, blacks in South Africa, under apartheid,constituted a political minority and numerical majority. American and South African apartheid had devastatingenvironmental impacts on blacks.

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ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM IMPACTS ENVIRONMENT

Solving Environmental racism is key to solving for the environment

Bullard 2, (Joseph, Director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, http://209.85.173.104/search?

q=cache:S0SkCJTUZKoJ:www.ejrc.cau.edu/PovpolEj.html+environmental+racism+impact&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us)

Radioactive Colonialism and Threatened Native Lands. There is a direct correlation between exploitation ofland and exploitation of people. It should not be a surprise to anyone to discover that Native Americans have

to contend with some of the worst pollution in the United States . [24] Native American nations have becomeprime targets for waste trading. [25] The vast majority of these waste proposals have been defeated by grassrootsgroups on the reservations. However, "radioactive colonialism" is alive and well. Winona LaDuke sums up this"toxic invasion" of Native lands as follows: While Native peoples have been massacred and fought, cheated, androbbed of their historical lands, today their lands are subject to some of most invasive industrial interventions

imaginable. According to the Worldwatch Institute, 317 reservations in the United States are threatened byenvironmental hazards, ranging from toxic wastes to clearcuts. Reservations have been targeted as sites for 16proposed nuclear waste dumps. Over 100 proposals have been floated in recent years to dump toxic waste in Indiancommunities. Seventy-seven sacred sites have been disturbed or desecrated through resource extraction and

development activities. The federal government is proposing to use Yucca Mountain, sacred to the Shone, adumpsite for the nation's high-level nuclear waste.

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RACISM IMPACTS WAR/EUGENICS

Allowing brownfields to fester and contaminate minority populations is an extension of

postevolutionist logic, bent on cleansing society of the perils of another race

Elden 2 (Stuart, PhD of poli sci, Boundary 2 The War of Races and the Constitution of the State: Foucaults Ilfaut dfendre la socit and the Politics of Calculation pg.126)

Modern racism replaces the theme of the historical war with the biological theme, postevolutionist, of the

struggle for life. It is no longer a battle in the sense of a war, but a struggle i

MDL Blue Brownfields Affirmative Packet

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