09x09 - Environmental racism

[bunniefuu]

LAST WEEK TONIGHT
WITH JOHN OLIVER

Welcome to "Last Week Tonight",
I'm John Oliver.

Thank you so much for joining us.
It's been another busy week.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine
entered its third month,

Elon Musk continued
to Musk everything up,

and Madison Cawthorn,
Congress's freshest-faced idiot,

brought a loaded handgun
to an airport. Again.

But instead of that, we're going
to focus on this year's elections.

A lot of governors and local officials
are on the ballot this year,

and some have been trying
to make a splash with big stunts,

like Ron DeSantis,
governor of Florida

and a man who has what I can only
describe as "Green Book" vibes.

Now, we've talked before
about his Don't Say Gay bill,

and Disney's belated
condemnation of it.

Last week,
DeSantis took a bold step to retaliate.

As promised, Florida Republican
governor Ron DeSantis

signing a law ending Disney's
self-government and tax breaks.

The self-government at Disney is called
the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

It provides fire, EMS,
electricity, and other functions,

like any other government would.

It's true. In the part of central
Florida where Disney World is,

the company technically functions
as a self-contained government,

providing essential services,
except, crucially, a morgue.

Why? Because no one, look at me,
no one has ever d*ed at Disney.

And no one will ever die at Disney.
Do you hear me?

There is no f*cking morgue at Disney.
Nod if you understand me.

Very good.

There are plenty of signs that DeSantis
didn't really think this through,

with experts pointing out
that the law may actually

"violate the contract clause
of the Florida Constitution",

and also that Florida state law
requires the county

assumes the district's debt
when it's dissolved.

Which could mean
that Orange and Osceola counties,

where the district is, inherit upward
of a billion dollars in bond debt.

It is no wonder that there are concerns
about all the potential disruption here.

Thankfully, DeSantis
had some reassuring words.

We're gonna take care of all that.
Don't worry.

This is all,
we have everything all thought out.

Don't let anyone tell you

that somehow Disney
is gonna get a tax cut out of this.

They're going to pay more taxes
as a result of this.

Okay, there is just nothing more
immediately off-putting

than someone starting a sentence
with "don't worry".

He sounds like a frat boy

trying to reason with the cops
after a noise complaint.

"Don't worry, man,
we're gonna take care of all of that.

We've got everything thought out.
You guys want a beer or something?

You want to hang out?"

And follow-up statements
from DeSantis's office

continued to be vague on details,

with one spokeswoman
admitting "the governor's office

does not have a written plan
on how the dissolution will proceed."

Which, of course it doesn't.

And look, do I think it's bad
if Disney pays more taxes?

No, I don't!
That would be a good thing.

I don't love that it might happen
not through meaningful tax reform,

but on the whim
of one right-wing dipshit

who's scared of gay people and doesn't
understand the First Amendment,

but hey, ends, means,
what are you gonna do?

The thing is, it's not just DeSantis
engaging in harmful stunts.

In Texas, Greg Abbott has been
doing exactly the same.

You may remember
a few weeks ago, he announced

that he'd be sending charter buses
of migrants to Washington, D.C.

But he also recently
decided to subject

every commercial truck crossing
the border to strict inspections,

causing absolute chaos.

These trucks are already

inspected by U.S. Customs and
the U.S. Department of Transportation,

but now, per Governor Abbott, DPS
is also conducting safety inspections

with the stated goal of stopping
cases of human smuggling.

Normally, it takes these trucks
that you see behind me

about 30, 40 minutes to cross,

but earlier today
we heard of one truck driver

that sat in line for 12 hours trying
to bring product into the US.

There is no greater hell

than being pointlessly stuck in traffic
for 12 hours because of Greg Abbott,

except that there is, being stuck in
traffic for 12 hours with Greg Abbott.

That is a road trip movie
that no one wants to see.

Abbott called the scheme off
after just eight days,

which is a good thing, especially
given that, by some estimates,

Texas lost $4 billion
from the disruptions,

while finding no migrants,
and "zero dr*gs,

weapons, or any other
type of contraband".

Apparently, all Abbott's inspections
did manage to find

were things like oil leaks
and flat tires.

Meaning that he caused
a hellish traffic jam

only to do the work of the world's
most expensive Jiffy Lube.

And then there was L.A. County
sheriff Alex Villanueva,

seen here looking
like a potato cowboy.

His re-election bid this year has been
overshadowed by claims in L.A. Times

that he directed
a cover up of an incident

where one of his deputies knelt
on a detainee's head for three minutes.

It is a damning story about abuse
of power and lack of transparency,

and Villaneuva took swift action
against those responsible

for everyone finding out about it.

The sheriff says there's now
a criminal investigation

into who released
the video to the L.A. Times.

So here are the three individuals
that we want to know a lot about.

He pointed out his political opponent
in the race for sheriff,

the inspector general,
and an L.A. Times reporter.

The matter is under investigation.
This is stolen property

that was removed illegally
from people who had some intent,

criminal intent,
and it'll be subject to investigation.

When you're accused of being
complicit in a terrible act,

being more concerned about
who said it than the accusation

doesn't exactly convey innocence.

If someone said, "John Oliver likes
to be called 'Big Daddy Zazu

with the Long, Long Beak'
around the office",

and my response was,
"Who said that? Was it Joseph?

I'm going to investigate Joseph".

That would be more than
a little suspicious, wouldn't it?

Besides, that would never happen,
because, of course,

Big Daddy Zazu runs a tight ship.

Now, legally, I have to tell you,
Villanueva denies any wrongdoing

and says that he only learned
of the kneeling incident

"eight months after it occurred and
immediately launched an investigation,"

although a former top official in
his department has now filed a claim,

saying that she watched the video
with him and two others

just five days
after the incident happened.

And sweeping things under the carpet
seems to be Villanueva's style.

Because despite campaigning
four years ago

as a reformer in an infamously
corrupt department,

his record
since then has not been great.

A 2019 IG report found that,
over just a two-month period,

officials working under him canceled
"45 administrative investigations"

into his employees,

some of which involved
domestic v*olence, child abuse,

and sexual misconduct
with an inmate.

And he's not just breaking
promises to reform,

it seems his re-election bid is going
to involve going full culture-w*r.

I think 2022
is going to be a special year.

I think it's going to be a referendum
on a national disease,

is going to finally
see a cure coming along.

Wokeism is on the ropes.
Let's put it out of its misery.

That's fun, isn't it?

You probably thought that the national
disease he was referring to there

was the literal one that's k*lled almost
a million Americans in two years.

Or the figurative one that is BTS fever.

And by the way, Yoongi, marry me.
I have the documents.

But instead, he meant the bullshit
disease that means you're not allowed

to make fun of your nephew
for being a sociology major.

You know, the real tragedy.

But perhaps Villanueva's piece
de résistance is a new campaign ad

which honestly may be one of the
dumbest things that I've ever seen.

I'm going to show you
all 30 seconds of it, mainly because

I cannot think of a single part of it
that you don't need to see.

I fear for my home's future.

The California dream
has turned to a nightmare.

The politicians have let us down.

Let's stand up to the corruption.
Let's fight for ourselves.

Let's bring the dream back.

I'm Alex Villanueva,
and I approve this message.

Now, obviously, that is all idiotic,

from the 1990s rollerblader,

to the song choice for your "California
dream" ad being "Ave Maria"

and not, I dunno,
"California Dreamin'"

to the fact that everyone there
is having an absolute ball,

including the people
experiencing a break-in.

I've honestly never seen anyone
this happy while getting robbed,

and I saw Glenn Close
at the Oscars eight times.

But perhaps the weirdest decision
comes at the end,

when an inexplicably wet Villanueva
works a look that can best be described

as "high school coach
minutes before being busted

for spying
on the girls' locker room",

and announces,

"Let's stand up to the corruption,
let's fight for ourselves,"

which, given that he's the one who's
been in charge the last four years,

seems like a pretty good slogan
for anyone running against him.

But the thing is it seems that
he's going to get re-elected this year.

Bullying a reporter
might actually help him,

just like DeSantis and Abbott's
harmful stunts are likely to help them.

Because the name of the game
in politics these days

seems to be less "can you help
the most people?" and more,

"how much can you hurt the people
your supporters hate the most?"

Even if all voters get in return
is a massive logistical headache,

a 12-hour traffic jam,

and the most unwatchable depiction of
Southern California since "La La Land".

It's just not great.

And now, this!

And now...

Shaquille O'Neal Can't Stop Explaining
How to Save Money on Gas.

I didn't want to get a certain vehicle

because of the amount of gas
I would have to spend.

It costs like $80 to fill it up.
And he said, then you said...

When it gets to half, then you put $20,
you bring it back to full.

You're complaining about when it
gets to zero, you spend it 80, right?

When it gets to half, you put 20. Then
when it gets back to half, you put 20.

I'll keep stopping, putting 20 in, and
it'll be, 80, the same amount of gas!

- I already paid the 80, right?
- Yep.

- And when I get to half...
- Now you're out of gas.

No. When I get to half,
that's Valdosta, right?

Now I'm gonna have 20.

But if you let it get
to half by Wednesday,

then you pay 20,
that gets it back up to full.

No! It won't get to half by,
but if Wednesday it's going to be 40.

- Then on Friday it'll be 40 again.
- Not 40, 20.

If I'm at half,
I don't want to keep driving.

- But where are you driving to?
- Shut it up!

Half of 80 is 40.

- But no, listen to what I'm saying.
- I did.

When we get to half, spend 20 and fill
it back up, booboo. That's my point.

When I get to half, I'm gonna put 20,
that's going to bring a little full,

if I'm at half and I keep driving,
I'm going to go down.

- But if I'm at half and I get 20...
- Where you're driving matters!

- I never drive my car again ever?
- You're complaining about the $80.

- Yes. I'm complaining.
- Right, so, at zero is 80.

We've heard it so many times.

Shaq, how much gas do you think
you can get for $20 right now?

Don't start
about half full and filling!

If I add 20,

it's going to give me some cushion
so I can go home and come back.

And you'll be back here tomorrow.
Case closed. Shut the hell up!

- Case closed indeed.
- Yes.

- Yeah, please.
- Trust me. My gas method works.

Moving on. Our main story
tonight concerns pollution.

It's the thing that PSAs
have been warning us about

for more than half a century.

Before you take another breath,

think what air pollution
may be doing to your lungs.

Hold it now! Think, what
are you going to do about it?

If there are groups in your town
fighting to make the air clean,

join them or write to Clean Air
Washington, D.C.

By the way,
holding your breath is not the answer.

CLEAN AIR

Flawless. Not a single flaw.
The only thing I'd say there is,

you could have had a little more fun
with what's written on the balls.

You're already the flirtiest weirdo


You could have gone with, "Bet you
didn't know these were in my mouth",

or, "These are Kermit's eyes",

or, "Robert Kennedy
will be sh*t on June 5th, 1968!"

The world was your oyster there!

We all suffer from exposure
to pollution in this country,

but some significantly
more than others,

thanks to what's called
environmental racism.

Black Americans are exposed
to 38 percent more polluted air

and are "75 percent more likely

to live in communities
that border a plant or a factory".

And crucially,

the disparity in exposure persists
even when controlling for income.

One study found that on average,
Black Americans making $200,000

were exposed to more air pollution
than white Americans making 25,000.

Proving that yet again,

racism is one of the few things in this
country more powerful than money.

In fact, I believe America's
current top five power rankings go:

racism, beef, viral videos of soldiers
reuniting with their dogs,

DJ Khaled's PR team,
and then money.

And while the decisions that lead
to disparate outcomes can be subtle,

they can also be incredibly flagrant.

In 2008, there was a massive spill
of coal ash here, in Tennessee,

with tons of toxic waste dumped
into a largely white community.

Now, the good news is,
they removed four million tons of it.

The bad news is,
it was then dumped 300 miles away,

in this largely Black
community called Uniontown,

where residents were pretty
clear about what had just happened.

Taking that from a white area,
the white people didn't want it,

let's just keep it 100.

Why do you think
it's good enough for the Blacks?

Yeah, she's absolutely right.

It seems when white people
don't want something anymore,

they either dump it
on minority communities,

or sew a hummingbird on it, and list
it on Etsy as handmade vintage.

Let's keep it 100 for a second,
that is garbage.

The fact is, though,
Black neighborhoods in particular

can get targeted
with incredible precision,

and the stakes
could not be higher here.

Pollution is one of the driving factors
behind conditions like heart disease,

asthma, and even death,
with Black Americans

nearly three times as likely to die
from exposure to pollution.

And vast disparities can even exist
even within the same city,

as this environmental
expert breaks down.

The ZIP Code is the most important
predictor of health and well-being.

You tell me your ZIP Code,
I can tell you how healthy you are.

All ZIP Codes
are not created equal.

- Really?
- Yes.

You can find ZIP Codes
that are adjacent to each other

and have a life expectancy
disparity of 10, 15 years

depending on what's in the neighborhood
and what's not in the neighborhood.

That is grim.

"You can live 15 fewer years
depending on your ZIP Code"

is the worst ZIP Code news

since the time that they added
those four bullshit digits at the end.

I don't know what those are,
and I am never gonna learn them.

I know my five-digit ZIP Code,
my Social Security number,

my birthday,
one of my children's birthdays,

and that is the end of my numbers.
I'm not learning any more.

Given just how awful its effects are,
let's look at environmental racism.

How it got this bad,

how government and industry
continue to fail people of color,

and what we can do about it.

And the first major factor
to consider here is history.

As we've discussed
before on this comedy show,

it was explicit federal policy
for decades to segregate housing

based on race through a process
known as redlining.

Basically, Black people could not get
government-backed home loans

where white people lived.

The areas where they could live were
often also zoned for industrial uses.

Here's how it worked in Dallas.

So, you can take a redlining map
from the '30s and the maps from '40s

and overlay that on a current
industrial map of Dallas.

And they'll show you Black and Brown
folks are forced to live

side by side by heavy industry

in a way that nobody else in Dallas
is forced to live.

That's basically
the same parts of town!

Which does seem pretty intentional!

I know some things
are just weird coincidences,

like how John Adams and
Thomas Jefferson d*ed on the same day,

or how George Washington
had wooden teeth

and Patrick Henry
d*ed of a**l splinters.

Just a random, true fact that they
don't teach you about in history class.

But this, this is no coincidence!

And that might at least partly explain
why the life expectancy here, in Joppa,

a predominantly Black area
with a lot of industrial zoning,

is just 71, while in the predominantly
white Highland Park, it is 84.

And it definitely helps explain

why certain neighborhoods have to
put up with sh*t like shingle mountain.

That is the work of a company
named Blue Star Recycling,

which claimed that it had a plan to
recycle roofing shingles into asphalt.

So, it started dumping a literal
mountain of them into a lot,

right next to homes in a largely
Black and Latino neighborhood.

Look at it, shingle mountain.

That's 100,000 tons of shingles.

- 100,000 tons of shingles?
- Yes. Exactly.

It kind of smells like...

just rubber,
like raw rubber.

It does,
it smells like burnt pavement.

- Excuse me.
- Bless you.

Bless you.

- I think I'm feeling all this dust.
- I better get you out and back here.

- This is what we're going through.
- You can feel it going up your nose.

Yeah. You can actually
feel it on the mouth.

- Excuse me.
- Bless you.

Sneezing in response
to 100,000 tons of fiberglass waste

is fine a couple of times,
but there is a point

when you're just interrupting people,
and it is rude.

You cannot deny, it is impressive
that it took all of five seconds

for that mountain
to turn Soledad O'Brien

into a woman at the beginning
of an allergy commercial,

when she's still in black and white.

And Blue Star's owner,
Chris Ganter,

did not seem that concerned
about the mess that he made.

Watch what happened

when O'Brien managed to stop sneezing
for long enough to call him.

Let me ask you a question.

When you think of the people
who live there on shingle mountain.

What would you say to them?
It's pretty gross. It smells...

The whole neighborhood
around there's gross.

Everything around there
is an industrial area.

I didn't really go down
there very often

'cause I didn't like being down
in that part of town.

But do you think the people there,
do you feel sorry for them?

Do you feel like, listen, that's where
they live, they get what they get?

Everybody knew what the zoning of the
area was when they, when they bought.

It's kind of like, I don't know,
buying right next to the nuclear place

and then complaining later about it.
It's an industrial area.

And every city has to have
an industrial area. Just the way it is.

Part of me almost appreciates
that level of unapologetic shittiness.

No efforts to spin or dodge it,
just flat-out saying,

"It's an icky part of town full of gross
poors who deserve to live in filth.

Did you get
all of that for your news report?

I can say it again slower
if it helps."

But what Ganter clearly
does not understand there

is that a lot of people didn't choose
to live in an industrial area.

r*cist zoning policies
chose for them.

And while his company
eventually went belly-up,

and local activists got the city
to move the shingles,

it only moved them
just across the highway

to a massive landfill allowed
by the neighborhood's zoning.

But history and zoning
are only part of the story here.

'Cause it also is about
who has the power to push back.

And polluters often assume that Black
communities, in particular,

won't be able to stop them.

Take the Byhalia Pipeline.

It was a joint venture
between these two companies,

who planned for their oil pipeline

to take a very deliberate path
through Memphis.

The path Byhalia proposed winds
down through south Memphis,

cutting through several
historically Black communities.

There is a more direct option,

but that would cut
through predominantly white,

wealthier neighborhoods
in the north.

Yeah, that does seem
a little odd, doesn't it?

Normally, the shortest distance
between two points is a straight line,

not through any Black people
who happen to be living nearby.

Although I will say,
the least surprising thing there

is that the white wealthy suburb
is called Germantown.

That is the name you give
your community

when Aryanville
feels a little too obvious.

And while the companies
behind the Byhalia Pipeline

insist that they had good reasons
for choosing the path that they did,

according to a local activist,

a rep for them once accidentally
said the quiet part out loud.

There was a community meeting
that Byhalia Pipeline held,

and they were asked by one of
the members of the community,

"Why did you
all choose this route?"

And there's usually a PR answer,
but instead,

the representative
was pretty clear and plain.

"We basically chose
a point of least resistance".

When people aren't scripted,

you can really learn what they
believe and what they think.

You don't usually get a corporate
PR line quite so honest.

There is a reason that Apple's slogan
is "Think Different"

and not "We made all the ports
different again.

What are you gonna do?
Nothing. You'll do nothing.

You'll buy $100 of new cords
that'll last you until next year

when we invent some sh*t
called USB-Q or whatever.

It's not even
about the money for us anymore,

it's about the erotic rush
of power."

I have to tell you,
the pipeline company

insists that that rep's answer
did not reflect the company's views,

and that he should have said
that they

"look for routes with the least
collective impact to the community."

And that definitely does sound better
than the actual truth,

which is that largely
minority communities

often are seen
as the path of least resistance.

And while local activists
have tried to resist,

and for decades,
they've often done it alone,

as big environmental groups
haven't been the best allies.

As this climate justice activist
points out,

the priorities
of the environmental movement

have tended
to leave certain communities out.

We need to redefine environmentalism

to think more inclusively
than the traditional perception

of the environmental movement,
which tends to be on,

you know, saving the whales,
or flora and fauna.

I did a talk recently
in a national park

and when it was
being advertised,

there were people who were perplexed
and people who were actually opposed

to having a conversation
about environmental justice.

Environmentalism clearly shouldn't
just be about protecting wild spaces.

Humans do need protection, too.

And I know
it's not the most popular stance,

but maybe conservationists
could redirect some of the resources

to environmental justice

that they've been
completely wasting on pandas.

And I mean specifically pandas.

We spend so much time saving them,
and why, exactly?

They don't want to be here.
They don't f*ck each other.

They spend most of their time
falling off something.

Seriously, you watch videos of pandas,
they're constantly falling down.

It's time to let them go

as fast as they let go
to whatever they are holding.

And the thing is, at least
with something like shingle mountain,

you can see it,
so you know to fight it.

But sometimes,
pollution can be invisible.

And those that you'd expect
to warn you about that

can be incredibly slow to do so when
it comes to communities of color.

You're probably already familiar
to what happened

to the residents of Flint, Michigan,
but that is the tip of the iceberg here.

Take the West Calumet Housing
Complex in East Chicago, Indiana,

a federally assisted housing community
built on top of a former lead smelter.

The lead levels there
were dangerously off the charts.

How far off the charts?
I'll let this reporter fill you in.

The safe level is supposed to be


They found levels
of 1,200 parts per million

which is already
an emergency level.

But in some areas
in the soil underneath the ground,

they have found areas
of 45,000 parts per million

and even 90,000 parts per million.

It's true.

They found lead more than 200 times
higher than the level requiring cleanup.

Which just isn't great when the place
that you found it is the ground,

a thing notoriously difficult
to avoid, unless, that is,

you're willing
to spend the rest of your life

playing a very high
stakes version of the floor is lava.

What's even worse is the government
knew the area was dangerously toxic

decades before they told anyone
who lived there.

Time and again, regulators
had the opportunity to tell residents,

and they just didn't.

Like in 1985, when the EPA
first found high levels of lead

in the soil near the housing complex.

They didn't notify residents.

Or later, in 1998, when the Department
of Health and Human Services

and state health officials

found 30 percent of children under six
in the housing complex

had elevated blood lead levels,
they didn't notify residents.

Flash forward to 2009, the EPA
declared the land West Calumet

was on a superfund site, marking it
a priority for contamination cleanup,

and still didn't notify residents.

And quick side note here:
they didn't have to do that,

because, fun fact, federal law
doesn't require its agencies

to tell tenants that a unit
is located on a superfund site.

Which I truly cannot
wrap my head around.

The whole point of superfund
is to officially classify something,

in the government record,
as very dangerous.

So, it is not great to do that and then
not tell the people actually at risk.

It's like putting a "Do Not Leave,
Lean Over the Fence" sign

at a bear exhibit
and having it face the bear side.

Sure, the information's
technically out there,

but it's not really doing
much to improve public safety.

Anyway, in 2014, the EPA,
the DOJ, the state of Indiana,

and the corporations responsible
for the contamination

agreed on a remediation plan, but still
didn't tell residents about the danger.

In fact, it was only in 2016, when the
EPA found those lead levels in the soil

hundreds of times their maximum
permitted level,

that the city finally
sent a letter to residents

telling them
about the contamination.

That is 31 years
and eight government agencies later.

Even then, the steps the government
took were utterly pathetic.

On Monday, the EPA will be passing
out flyers like these

which have lots of safety tips
including reminding families

not to let their children play
in the dirt, play in the grass,

and to remove their shoes
before walking into their homes.

I've been told to just keep
your children out of the grass

and out of the areas
where the mulch is.

How do you do that
when children play?

That's what they do.

She's right.
Kids want to run around and play.

Although in the government's defense,
they did put up that sign.

There is nothing children respect more
than the authority of a flimsy sign.

"Sorry, friends, no frolicking,
hijinks or tomfoolery for us today.

After all, the sign is watching us."

And while the details in this example
may be extraordinary,

it is worth noting

that "70 percent of hazardous
waste sites on the superfund list

are located within one mile
of federally assisted housing."

But this isn't about cleaning
pollution that already happened.

It's about deciding

where industries will be allowed
to pollute going forward.

And without significant changes,
our whole system is currently set up

so that places that have already been
polluted get worse and worse.

There's even a term for this:
"sacrifice zones",

areas of the country where it is both
government policy and industry practice

to concentrate polluters.

Basically, the thinking is,
if you are zoned for industry,

and a company's already there,
what's one more?

But people live in those zones.

And one such area in Louisiana
has even come to be known

by an incredibly bleak name.

More than 100 petrochemical
plants and refineries

dot this corridor between New Orleans
and Baton Rouge,

often referred to as Cancer Alley.

Reserve is right in the middle of it.

The EPA says the cancer risk here is
almost 50 times the national average.

They built this monstrosity
up on top of us.

Even the town's cemetery
is surrounded by a refinery.

Putting an oil refinery around
a cemetery is pretty on the nose.

But also, let's not gloss
over the term "Cancer Alley".

It is pretty upsetting to learn that
that's a name for an actual place

where people live
and not what you'd assume:

a slang term
for the Marlboro Man's ass cr*ck.

It's no wonder, frankly,
that residents of Cancer Alley

are so angry that industries have been
allowed to move in right next to them.

And yet, infuriatingly,

some local government officials
try to downplay the risks.

I think Cancer Alley, the term
Cancer Alley is a myth, really,

that needs to be debunked.

Data that we received
from the tumor registry

reports that this was not
Cancer Alley.

Okay, then!
But a few things on that.

First, a "tumor registry"
may be one of the saddest things

that I've ever brought up
on this show,

and we've talked about everything
from baby crib grenades

to orthodontic bullying to the elderly
being eaten by alligators.

One of those things is real,
and you'll never guess which one.

Mainly because two of those
are real.

But you should know that, since
that clip, researchers have, in fact,

found that "toxic air pollution
is linked to higher cancer rates

among impoverished
communities in Louisiana,"

including this guy's
f*cking parish.

And while local politicians and
industry will be quick to point out

the potential economic and employment
benefits that come with industry,

as a local activist points out, that
is something of a devil's bargain.

If !sis showed up

and they say they will create jobs,
would we let them in?

Exactly. And for the record, that man
is a retired three-star general.

So, when he is comparing
something to !sis,

he's really comparing something
to !sis.

And as residents there will point out,
they are in many ways trapped.

Why haven't you moved?

Why should I move?
How can I move?

I struggled all my life to build this.
Right now, in good conscience,

who would I
actually sell this house to?

What poor, unsuspecting family

would I trick into moving
into this death trap?

I know the reporter is just doing her
job there.

But that is such a ridiculous question

that that man would have been
fully within his right

to make the rest of that interview

the most passive aggressive
interaction of all time.

"Why don't I move?
Now you mention it,

I hadn't even considered moving away
from Cancer Alley!

It just sounded so nice to me!
What a great idea you just had!

Let me throw up
a Zillow listing for 'death trap'

and I'll just sit back and wait
for a bidding w*r to begin."

And when you put
all of this together,

a history of r*cist zoning,
ineffective regulation,

and a government that continues
to prioritize the profits of industry

over the health of people,
it is clear we have a massive problem.

And the good news is,

the current president
actually seems to agree with that.

The unrelenting
impact of climate change

affects every single,
solitary one of us.

Too often the brunt

falls disproportionately
on communities of color,

exacerbating the need
for environmental justice,

sorry, there's a bug.

Speaking of the environment.

I don't love that a bug undermined
the genuinely important point

that he was making there,
but I will say this:

at least now Biden knows
what it feels like

when someone creeps out
on the back of his neck.

But the fact is, though, Biden
did make environmental justice

a pillar of his campaign,
and since taking office,

he's promised, among other things,
to funnel 40 percent

of relevant climate investments
to disadvantaged communities,

and to issue a yearly scorecard
that measures progress.

Which sounds great.

Unfortunately, so far,

his administration still hasn't
set clear goals to accomplish this.

And even worse,
in February, it said

"race will not be a factor in deciding
where to focus efforts,"

which is pretty f*cking infuriating.

And the administration
will point out that the Supreme Court,

in its current makeup,

is likely to strike down
any explicitly race-based policy.

Which may well be true.

But we're in a pretty
f*cking backwards situation

when any solutions to this problem
have to be race-blind,

despite the fact that the causes
of it are so demonstrably not.

So, what can we do here?

As you've seen again
and again in the stories tonight,

it is local activists on the ground
who've been working tirelessly

to fight for their communities
and to gain concessions.

And they deserve much more support
from larger environmentalist groups,

even as they continue
leading the way.

As for the government level,
we need significant zoning reform

to keep polluters
and residents safely apart.

Because the status quo
is just not acceptable.

When this country

designates communities of color
as "sacrifice zones",

the message there is that the people
who live in them are expendable.

That it's okay for their kids
to not be able to play outside

and for their life spans
to be shorter.

And unless we make big steps
to address environmental racism

and call it what it is,

a brutal divide is gonna stay
in place in this country,

where some are treated
like they're worth protecting,

and others
like they can be sacrificed.

And now, this!

And now...

People on TV Read Rejected
License Plates Out Loud.

The Texas DMV rejected thousands
of personalized license plate requests,

saying "no way"
to some strange asks from drivers.

Just know that someone already
tried "fartacus" and was denied.

Requests like "fat ace",

Or how about this one,
"F-A-C-K" and the word "ewe".

The driver said
he's involved in breeding sheep.

"Rump," "hitman,"

"poop," and "byt3me."

"01d fart," using zero as the O.

"H00ker," using zeroes for the O's,
and "XXX sexy."

I'm looking
at one right here that's "boobaru."

One person requested a tag
from the state that said "[...]"...

Pam," "[...] Ned,"
"[...] me."

"Imnaked," now that's fun.

"Ifarted," come on,
that's hilarious.

Let's see what we've got here.
"Smart [...],"

"naked1," "naked,"
"hooters," sexual.

"Drpoop," again,
profanity or offensive.

"Eta [...],"
I mean, that's a sexual suggestion

and I don't have to go
any further than that, do I?

"Quikee," "shag,"
"porkin," "[...] off,"

"kismy [...]"...

I think we've covered them all
pretty nicely here.

Thanks so much for watching,
we'll see you next week. Good night!