Is our community being sacrificed in the name of corporate profits?

Environmental Sacrifice Zones = Greed Before Humanity

Sacrifice zones are often defined as populated areas with high levels of pollution and environmental hazards, thanks to nearby toxic or polluting industrial facilities. These are regions  that become permanently damaged and forever changed by the contamination of  the land, air and water from toxic industries such as mining and mining companies with bad corporate practices and bad histories. Typically, these are smaller, economically challenged communities with high unemployment, overwhelmingly  inhabited by people of color... and thanks to the outdated 1872 mining law... with natural resources there for the taking.

One of the most infamous Environmental Sacrifice Zones in Arizona is on the Navajo Nation in the four corners area. Peabody used hundreds of thousands of gallons of water daily from one of the only potable sources of water in the Black Mesa region, Peabody’s mines operated for almost five decades on tribal lands, depleting scarce water sources. Black Mesa coal mine, which operated on Hopi and Navajo land for nearly half a century, throughout its lifetime, pumped some 45 billion gallons of groundwater to transport the coal through a pipeline as a mixture called “slurry” to a generating station in southern Nevada. The underground aquifer shrank and shrank. Herb Yazzie, a former chief justice of the Navajo Nation stated, "There used to be springs that our livestock would use in the arroyos and mountains. All of that is gone.”

More recently in 2020, Kayenta Mine was closed, both the energy company behind it and the federal government overseeing it have done little to restore the lands they’ve trampled.

Santa Cruz County COULD be well on its way to becoming an environmental sacrifice zone. With the advent of the "Hermosa Project" by Australian mining giant South 32 beginning the process of developing a zinc, lead, silver and Manganese mine in the Patagonia Mountains. The scope of the project is massive and will forever change the nature and character of this region. It will exploit our natural resources, and toxify our environment.  The plan to "de-water" the mountain to the tune of 6.5 million gallons of water DAILY for years to come is just one concern. The effect the tailings stacks, air pollution and Lead and Manganese in our air, land and water will have on our communities, livestock and wildlife is unknown and terrifying.

Environmental Injustice/Environmental Racism = Profits Before People

Environmental injustice, also known as Environmental racism is  a form of institutional unfairness leading to landfills, mines, and other hazardous waste disposal and sources of pollution being disproportionately placed in disadvantaged communities around the world

The lead in Flint, Michigan's water, the toxic petrochemical plants in Louisiana's “Cancer Alley,” the raw sewage backing up into homes in Centreville, Illinois, the toxic mine waste in Appalachia, groundwater contamination in Hinkley ca, the contamination that overburdens U.S. tribal lands, south 32s activities in South Africa, Groote Eyelandt, Colombia and Arizona all have at least one thing in common: They're examples of environmental INJUSTICE. In the US Latinx Americans are exposed to 63% more pollution than they produce, this is unacceptable and must not happen here. Environmental racism has no place in Santa Cruz County. We must assure that our community leaders put our health and well-being and a clean environment at the forefront of all decision making.

Environmental Justice = Fairness for All

Environmental justice is the guarantee that all people, regardless of race or income, deserve clean air, water, and land. Environmental justice includes the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

Environmental justice is an important part of the effort to improve and maintain a clean and healthful environment, especially for marginalized, disadvantaged, and economically challenged communities who have been forced to live, work, and play closest to sources of pollution.

environmental justice is a global issue—a clean environment is critical for survival of the human species

 in July 2022, the UN General Assembly recognized for the first time the human right to a healthy environment

Santa Cruz County must not become a victim of Environmental racism nor an environmental sacrifice zone.  We must work together to achieve environmental justice and PROACTIVELY protect the environment of our community and this county for generations to come. It is the responsibility of all of us.

Download this article by Western Environmental Science Technical Assistance Center for Environmental Justice at the University of Arizona, Mel & Enid Zuckerman School of Public Health for more information.