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Let’s face facts, to far too many, for far too long, “environmentalism” has seemed a lilly-white activity, something for people with enough resources to engage in caring about the environment. And, in some ways, there is some truth to this perspective. As Jerome Ringo put it in

I joined the Louisian WIldlife Federation in 1991. At that time, the Louisiana Wildlife Federation was the largest environmental organization in the state; it had about 24,000 members. When I joined, I was the only black member.  Today, the membership has fallen to about 19,000. And, today, I am the only black member.  What I found in Louisiana, as well as in the rest of this country, is that the conservation movement lacked diversity, and there was a lack of involvement of women, people of color, or of the poor …

Poor people are more concerned about next month’s rent. The melting of the glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro is not an issue for low-income Americans.

Jerome Ringo, “Accelerating the Shift to Green Energy”, 
Greenfestival Reader, pp. 83-84 

While it is hard to call activism on climate change and efforts for green jobs lilly-white when people like Van Jones (and Barack Obama and Hilda Solis) are among the strongest voices for change, the African American community, as a community, has not been heavily engaged in the efforts to drive America toward a clean energy future despite the very serious issues of environmental justice and impacts on African American communities across the nation.

Well, today the NAACP took a step that could help put these issues higher on the table and to help bridge that Black-White divide with passage of a resolution on clean energy at its centennial convention.

“This is a breakthrough moment on the path to our clean energy future,” said John Grant, National Wildlife Federation Board of Directors and CEO of 100 Black Men of Atlanta. “Clean energy is the key that will unlock millions of jobs, and the NAACP’s support is vital to ensuring that those jobs help to rebuild urban areas.”

The full resolution is after the fold.

NWF/NAACP JOINT RESOLUTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

WHEREAS, the impacts of climate change disproportionately impacts the communities of color; and

WHEREAS, globally, climate change is likely to cause damage in excess of $600 billion per year, with particularly negative effects in Africa

WHEREAS, about 160,000 people die every year worldwide from side-effects of global warming ranging from malaria to malnutrition and reduction of agricultural output in many poorer countries; and

WHEREAS, an additional 80-90 million poor people could be at risk of hunger and malnutrition later in the 21st century and poorer countries are much less able to withstand the devastation caused by extreme weather events, and climate change is likely to increase such events; and

WHEREAS, over 70 percent of African Americans live in counties in violation of federal air pollution standards; and

WHEREAS, in every one of the 44 major metropolitan areas in the U.S., African Americans are more likely than Whites to be exposed to higher air toxic concentrations. As a result, African Americans are nearly three times as likely to be hospitalized or killed by asthma.

WHEREAS, solving the climate crisis can create 5 million ‘green’ jobs that will be in places where they are needed most

WHEREAS, a new energy policy can reduce the burden of low and moderate-income households spending a larger share of their budgets on energy and other basic costs of living than better-off households; and

WHEREAS, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that the average surface temperature of the earth increased nearly 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the 20th century, due primarily to human caused climate change.

WHEREAS, scientists project an increase of 3.2-7.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the 21st century, depending upon the extent to which climate change pollution is reduced.

WHEREAS, we have an opportunity to end energy policies that drain jobs from our economy, put our communities at risk of heat waves and flooding, and drag America into conflicts over energy resources overseas; and

WHEREAS, meaningful climate change policy can create real public benefits including millions of good green-collar jobs and build an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty; and

WHEREAS, energy prices are already rising dramatically as the world’s supply of fossil fuels to keep pace with increasing demand

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT, the NAACP will call on our nation’s elected leaders to ensure that the response to climate change can take a higher ground than business as usual – one that ensures that we capture real public benefits from the new energy economy; and

BE IT THEREFORE FURTHER RESOLVED THAT,  the NAACP supports climate change policy that will build a new generation of good jobs, rebuild urban areas and support rural areas, and protect families, communities and public health, and help elevate our nation as a world leader

BE IT THEREFORE FINALLY RESOLVED THAT, the NAACP resolves to work with the National Wildlife Federation and will urge all of its units to support legislation and other efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, reverse the process of climate change and promote the new green economy