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The focus of my project is to shine light on environmental injustice in our country, specifically following Hurricane Fiona on the island of Puerto Rico. It is no secret that hurricanes are common in the Caribbean. With Puerto Rico being part of the United States, the island and its citizens deserve to receive hurricane relief from the nation.
My research question is, how have the citizens of Puerto Rico been affected by the lack of environmental justice following Hurricane Fiona?
Environmental injustice is when impoverished or minority communities are intentionally harmed by pollution, creating disparate effects of climate change.
Environmental justice is directly related to sustainability and racism.
This is obvious in Puerto Rico.
Hurricane Fiona hit the island in September of 2022, causing devastation across the whole island.
Relief was not sent nearly soon enough. The United States Government failed to care for the people of Puerto Rico.
The storm also revealed a crisis: the crumbling electrical grid.
Electrical problems were ignored for years, and this hurricane was the final straw. People on the island were left without power for MONTHS.
Had this been an affluent, white community, relief would have been seen instantly.
(Climate Justice in Puerto Rico)
The storm caused $150 million dollars of agricultural loss.
Over 90% of commercial crops in Puerto Rico were ruined
Puerto Rico sustained winds of 69 miles per hour during Hurricane Fiona.
Many parts of the island received up to 16 inches of rainfall during the storm.
Over 760,000 people on the island experienced interruption in their water service because of the storm.
Framework:
I have chosen a conceptual framework to describe different concepts and their relationships to each other. It is crucial that people see that we cannot have sustainability without environmental justice.
Methods and Justification:
I have chosen a descriptive study design for my project. The population of interest will be Puerto Rico. I will be pulling information from data about the effects of the hurricane on the island. I will use numbers and statistics along with effects that cannot be described by numbers. Examples: Number of homes destroyed, number of people left without power, number of casualties, monetary amount of damage, firsthand reports of how Puerto Ricans felt after this tragedy, etc.
Before and After Comparisons
References
References
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Gaps, issues, and ... Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Publishers . https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/env.2010.0043
Atiles-Osoria, J. M. (2014, October 1). Environmental colonialism, criminalization and
resistance: Puerto R... RCCS Annual Review. A selection from the Portuguese journal Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais. https://journals.openedition.org/rccsar/524
Author links open overlay panelMarisa Sotolongo a, a, c, b, Highlights•Environmental justice
analysis shows inequitable hurricane recovery in Puerto Rico.•Central rural communities and Black communities were last to have power restored.•EJ index construction requires contextual environmental and demographic variab, & AbstractThis paper uses an environmental justice framework to explore whether existing vulnerabilities in Puerto Rico are associated with the rate of electricity restoration after Hurricane María. Based on the literature discussing the relationship betwee. (2021, April 27). Using environmental justice to inform disaster recovery: Vulnerability and electricity restoration in Puerto Rico. Environmental Science & Policy. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901121001015
Bullard, R. D. (1993). Anatomy of Environmental Racism and the Environmental Justice
Movement. CONFRONTING ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM. https://cafethorium.whoi.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2021/02/Anatomy-of-Environmental-Racism-and-the-Environmental-Justice-Movement.pdf
Federico Subervi-Vélez University of Wisconsin–Madison
Sandra M. Fábregas-Troche Latino Center for Bioethics and Humanities. (2023). Risk and health communication during Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico and Hurricane Ian in Florida. Natural Hazards Center. https://hazards.colorado.edu/public-health-disaster-research/risk-and-health-communication-during-hurricane-fiona-in-puerto-rico-and-hurricane-ian-in-florida
Gredia Huerta-Montañez, M. (2023, January 1). Children, climate justice, and lessons
from Puerto Rico. JAMA Pediatrics. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2798837?casa_token=4yeGPDzzOOMAAAAA%3ApAaxpMuXHfLyU12HvZriFMzk2V50SL91FibLR2Kokj6Nt37BniRKr09X1mG8E8pqTkUMSat3fD0
Huerta-Montañez, G., & Bernstein, A. (2022, November 16). Children, Climate Justice,
and Lessons From Puerto Rico. Jama Network. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2798837?casa_token=PkB1tIyT_jsAAAAA%3AMMfvJhsrM7kAALNIzbbWQGMXpRPNU3wI8QYjiCpiHiQSaNT0mK6TdSwTh5sGHq40GV1cTB50rmCD
Knoble, C., & Yu, D. (2023, February 16). Environmental justice: An evolving concept in a
dynamic era. Wiley Online Library. https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/doi/full/10.1002/sd.2519
Marxuach, S. M. (2022, October 25). Puerto Rico Recovery Task Force. CNE.
https://grupocne.org/2022/09/28/puerto-rico-recovery-task-force/
Mohai, P., Pellow, D., & Robert, J. T. (n.d.). Environmental justice - annual reviews. Annual
Reviews. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-environ-082508-094348
McSorley, Anna-Michelle Marie (2022, October 3). Hurricane Fiona exposes more than crumbling infrastructure
in Puerto Rico. Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice & Health. https://www.racialhealthequity.org/blog/annamichellmcsorley/puertorico/hurricanefiona
Pasch, R. J., Reinhart, B. J., & Alaka, L. (2023, March 23). Atlas des Cyclones des Antilles
Françaises. NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORT. http://atlas.amicale-des-ouragans.org/dossiers/fiona2022/2022_Fiona.pdf
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