The Lingering Shadow of Redlining: Fossil Fuel Power Plants and Air Pollution

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25250/thescbr.brk742

Keywords:

racism, air pollution, environmental justice, energy

Abstract

Historically redlined communities in the U.S. today have lower home values, poorer health, and greater exposure to environmental hazards. Our research found that between 2000 and 2019, fossil fuel power plants were 31% more likely to be built near and upwind of neighborhoods that were redlined in the 1930s.

Author Biographies

Lara Cushing, UCLA

Assistant Professor

Shiwen Li

PhD student

Original article reference

LJ Cushing, S Li, B Steiger, JA Casey “Historical redlining is associated with fossil fuel power plant siting and present-day inequalities in air pollutant emissions” Nature Energy (2022), doi: 10.1038/s41560-022-01162-y

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Published

2023-09-12

Issue

Section

Earth & Space