Asian Pacific Environmental Network

Last updated
Richmond Refinery Accident: Fire 2012 -02 Chevron Richmond Refinery Fire 2012 -02.jpg
Richmond Refinery Accident: Fire 2012 -02

The Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) is an environmental justice organization located on the west coast of California, specifically in Richmond, Oakland, and Wilmington California. APEN is an active member of the California Environmental Justice Alliance and has been involved with campaigns that advocate for just urban environments. APEN has expanded the framework of an environmental organization by incorporating biological, industrial, civil and social justice aspects into an effort that works to develop eco-friendly landscapes for the communities that they represent. They are involved with environmental issues surrounding the opposition of toxic waste infrastructure and they also lead campaigns for Asian Pacific Americans (AAPI) communities lacking adequate housing and climate solutions in sacrifice zones which consists of locations that sit on or are near hazardous waste sites. [1]

Contents

Origins

Asian Pacific Environmental Network was created in 1993 by AAPI representatives [2] [3] who had attended the 1991 First National People of Color Environmental Justice Leadership Summit. [4] [5] [6] Delegates such as Peggy Saika, Pam Tau Lee, and Miya Yoshitani [2] [5] [7] returned from the 1991 summit having noticed little representation of AAPI people. [3] [8] Pam Tau Lee and Peggy Saika were the drivers in the organizing and sourcing of AAPI leaders who shared a vision to bring more environmental consciousness to the AAPI community. [6] Pam Tau Lee, Peggy Saika, and Miya Yoshitani led recruitments to envision APEN [7] which then led to its formation in 1993 and sister organizations that work within AAPI communities. APEN has also expanded its network by establishing the Laotian Organizing Project (LOP) as a generational inter-ethnic community lead organization [9] [5] [6] as well as "Power in Asians Organizing" which organizes low-income residence in Oakland. APEN has also established the Asian Youth Advocates (AYA), [5] a youth program that fosters leadership from AAPI communities in California. APEN also created an Intergenerational Leadership program to support and encourage more young women to get involved with these issues. [10]

Map showing the counties that APEN works in California counties (APEN).pdf
Map showing the counties that APEN works in

Work

APEN works in Richmond which has over 350 chemical companies, and hazardous waste sites including the 2 contaminated federal superfund locations [5] [11] [12] [13] and they also address asthma and air pollution levels. [14] [15] [16] APEN and its sister organizations have stopped some of Chevron's expansion initiatives and have worked to reallocate Chevron payouts through community benefits agreements and settlements from accidents. [17] [6]

APEN has been engaged in legal oppositions to oil and industrial corporations, advocating for Just Cause eviction protections [18] [2] [17] and advocating for environmental initiatives [19] since 1993. APEN has been a part of campaigns to give more control to tenants by working to pass the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act. [4] In 2002, APEN established an effort called "Power in Asians Organizing" which mobilized to win affordable housing units and stop mass evictions in Oakland. [18] [6] [20] [11] Additionally, APEN’s goal of ensuring environmental justice extended into a No Coal In Richmond coalition in 2020. This initiative ended up prohibiting the storage and exportation of coal and petroleum in Richmond, California. [21] In 2021, APEN lead the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force in Richmond, which re-allocated $10 million towards housing and food access to Richmond and Oakland residents. [4] [22] APEN has also expanded linguistic equity by integrating a multilingual warning system which implemented health advisory notifications from refinery accidents to Contra Costa County. [8] [11]

APEN works with cities across California to invest in AAPI infrastructure to build community resiliency to climate change. [23] A major part of this advocation surrounds tenant control and protection measures in both health and economic aspects. [24] To aid in mitigating environmental impacts on communities, APEN is installing sustainable energy sources within low-income communities to ensure that individuals do not have to relocate due to an inability to afford basic needs. Additionally, this self-sustaining form of energy will enable communities to stay together and continue to advocate for change in minority and low-income communities. [25] Through the Inflation Reduction Act, APEN is 1 of the 11 EPA-appointed grant-makers that can distribute federal funds to locally-led environmental projects that address climate action [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental justice</span> Social movement

Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has generated hundreds of studies showing that exposure to environmental harm is inequitably distributed.

Asian American Studies is an academic field originating in the 1960s, which critically examines the history, issues, sociology, religion, experiences, culture, and policies relevant to Asian Americans. It is closely related to other Ethnic Studies fields, such as African American Studies, Latino Studies, and Native American Studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates</span> Non-profit organization

OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates is a non-profit organization founded in 1973, whose stated mission is to advance the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance</span> U.S. AFL–CIO constituency group

The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) is a nonprofit organization of Asian-Pacific American trade union members affiliated with the AFL–CIO. It was the "first and only national organization for Asian Pacific American union members".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Radford</span> American environmentalist

Philip David Radford is an American consumer and environmental leader serving as Chief Strategy Officer of the Sierra Club, and who served as the executive director of Greenpeace USA. Radford started his career working for the nonpartisan organizations Public Interest Research Group and Public Citizen, working for consumer protection, fair trade, and public health. He was the founder and President of Progressive Power Lab, an organization that incubates companies and non-profits that build capacity for progressive organizations, including a donor advisory organization Champion.us, the Progressive Multiplier Fund and Membership Drive. Radford is a co-founder of the Democracy Initiative. He has a background in grassroots organizing, corporate social responsibility, and clean energy.

Friends of Five Creeks is a regional community volunteer organization founded in 1996 by Sonja Wadman originally dedicated to the stewardship of creeks in northern Alameda County and western Contra Costa, California, United States. Education about wildlife and restoration is also a major facet of the FFC's mission.

The Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) is a coalition of indigenous, grassroots environmental justice activists, primarily based in the United States. Group members have represented Native American concerns at international events such as the United Nations Climate Change conferences in Copenhagen (2009) and Paris (2016). IEN organizes an annual conference to discuss proposed goals and projects for the coming year; each year the conference is held in a different indigenous nation. The network emphasizes environmental protection as a form of spiritual activism. IEN received attention in the news as a major organizer of the fight against the Keystone Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline in the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.

Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), previously known as Citizens for a Better Environment, is a policy-focused non-profit organization started in 1971 by Marc Anderson and David Come in Chicago, Illinois. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, CBE expanded to California, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. CBE established itself in San Francisco in 1978 and expanded to Los Angeles in 1982. Today, CBE is based in Oakland, CA and Huntington Park, CA, effecting positive change in communities throughout California, including Richmond, East Oakland, Vernon, Huntington Park, Boyle Heights, Pacoima, Wilmington, and SE Los Angeles. CBE was the first environmental organization to practice door-to-door canvassing by directly involving community members. In 1980, CBE won the United States Supreme Court decision on Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment 444 U.S. 620, protecting the 1st and 14th Amendment Rights of door-to-door activists with CBE and countless other public interest organizations. CBE's early combination of grassroots organizing with research and legal work provided the innovative edge needed to challenge large-scale industries and refineries, and government policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders</span> United States governmental office

The White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) is a United States governmental office that coordinates an ambitious whole-of-government approach to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. The Initiative collaborates with the Deputy Assistant to the President and AA and NHPI Senior Liaison, White House Office of Public Engagement and designated federal departments and agencies to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AA and NHPIs in the areas of economic development, education, health and human services, housing, environment, arts, agriculture, labor and employment, transportation, justice, veterans affairs, and community development.

The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) is an American federation of Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian. and Pacific Islander LGBTQ organizations. NQAPIA was formed in 2007, as an outgrowth of the LGBT APA Roundtable working groups at the 2005 National Gay Lesbian Task Force Creating Change Conference in Oakland, California. NQAPIA seeks to build the capacity of local LGBT AAPI organizations, invigorate grassroots organizing, develop leadership, and challenge homophobia, racism, and anti-immigrant bias. The organization "focuses on grass-roots organizing and leadership development."

Tom B.K. Goldtooth is a Native American environmental, climate, and economic justice activist, speaker, film producer, and Indigenous rights leader. He is active at local, national, and international levels as an advocate for building healthy and sustainable Indigenous communities based upon the foundation of Indigenous traditional knowledge. Goldtooth has served as executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) since 1996 after serving as a member of the IEN National Council since 1992.

350 Bay Area is a San Francisco Bay Area regional grassroots climate activism 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. 350 Bay Area is inspired by 350.org, but has no legal connection. 350 Bay Area is associated with several local 350 groups, including 350 San Francisco, 350 East Bay, 350 Contra Costa, 350Marin, 350 Sonoma, Napa Climate NOW! and 350 Silicon Valley. The organization works to eliminate carbon pollution and achieve clean energy and environmental justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian American activism</span>

Asian American activism broadly refers to the political movements and social justice activities involving Asian Americans. Since the first wave of Asian immigration to the United States, Asians have been actively engaged in social and political organizing. The early Asian American activism was mainly organized in response to the anti-Asian racism and Asian exclusion laws in the late-nineteenth century, but during this period, there was no sense of collective Asian American identity. Different ethnic groups organized in their own ways to address the discrimination and exclusion laws separately. It was not until the 1960s when the collective identity was developed from the civil rights movements and different Asian ethnic groups started to come together to fight against anti-Asian racism as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Anthony</span> American architect (born 1939)

Carl Anthony is a social and environmental justice leader, is an American architect, regional planner, and author. He is the founding director of Urban Habitat which primarily focused on the environmental movement to confront issues of race and class structure. In addition, He is the founder and co-director of Breakthrough Communities, a project dedicated to building multiracial leadership for sustainable communities in California and the rest of the nation and was the former President of the Earth Island Institute.

For the Hong Kong actress and singer, see Miriam Yeung.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop AAPI Hate</span> American nonprofit advocacy organization

Stop AAPI Hate is an American nonprofit organization that runs the Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center, which tracks self-reported incidents of hate and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) living in the United States. The organization was formed in 2020 in response to the racist attacks on the Asian American community as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization’s approach centered on four strategies:

  1. Data & Research,
  2. Policy & Advocacy,
  3. Community Capacity Building
  4. Narrative Change

The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) is an American foundation founded in 2021 by a group of prominent Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, aiming to support an array of Asian American and Pacific Islander causes and create a national infrastructure for a community that has faced an increasing number of racial attacks. Launched with $250 million, TAAF is described by organizers as the largest-ever philanthropic effort to support the AAPI community in history. The founders include Joe Tsai, Joseph Bae, Li Lu, Peng Zhao, Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Jerry Yang, Angela Chao and Jonathan Greenblatt. Its Founding Advisory Council members include Daniel Dae Kim, Lisa Ling, Condoleezza Rice, Jeremy Lin and more. The organization is chaired by Li Lu, and Norman Chen is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Julie Sze is Professor of American Studies at University of California, Davis. Her research deals with environmental justice, inequality and culture; race, gender and power; and community health and activism.

Young Hi Shin is an environmental justice activist who co-founded and directed the Asian Immigrant Women Advocates (AIWA), which fought for workers’ rights in the San Francisco Bay Area. She advocated for awareness around occupational health and an end to language discrimination for limited English speakers. Shin also works as a lecturer at University of California, Berkeley and has published in the academic journal Signs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pam Tau Lee</span>

Pam Tau Lee is an American labor and environmental justice advocate. She is fourth generation Chinese-American and was born in Northern California. Her work focuses on challenges faced by Asian-American restaurant and hotel workers in San Francisco's Chinatown. She worked for 20 years at University of California Berkeley's Center for Occupational and Environmental Health and has 10 years of experience as an organizer with Hotel Employees Restaurant Employees (HERE) Union Local 2.

References

  1. hksspr (2020-10-05). "Leading from the Margins: Immigrant and Refugee Leadership for a Green New Deal". HKS Student Policy Review. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  2. 1 2 3 Early, Steve (2024-06-21). "Building a Labor-Climate Justice Movement". CounterPunch.org. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  3. 1 2 Locatelli, Luís (2022). "Building Parties' Grassroots: Electoral Systems, Party Organizations, and Social Linkages from a Cross-National Perspective". Brazilian Political Science Review. 16 (2). doi: 10.1590/1981-3821202200020005 . ISSN   1981-3821.
  4. 1 2 3 Mahoney, Adam (2021-06-01). "From pollution to policing, this Asian-American group is expanding environmental justice in the Bay Area". Grist. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Shah, Bindi V. (2011). Laotian Daughters: Working Toward Community, Belonging, and Environmental Justice. Temple University Press. ISBN   978-1439908150.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Kim, Roger; Matsuoka, Martha (2013). "Building a 21st Century Environmental Movement That Wins: Twenty Years of Environmental Justice Organizing by the Asian Pacific Environmental Network" (PDF). AAPI Nexus: Policy, Practice and Community. 11 (1–2): 139–158. doi:10.17953/appc.11.1-2.r4508806v313n401. ISSN   1545-0317.
  7. 1 2 (Ng, Emily M., "PRESENT AND PASSIONATE: A Critical Analysis of Asian American Involvement in The United States Environmental Justice Movement" (2020).Pitzer Senior Theses. 106. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pitzer_theses/106)       
  8. 1 2 Chan, Sunny (2018). A BRIEF HISTORY OF ASIAN AMERICAN ACTIVISM AND WHY IT MATTERS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. University of Washington Press. pp. 170–195.
  9. Sze, Julie; Ong, Paul M.; Lee, Charles (2013). "Asian American and Pacific Islander Environmentalism: Expansion, Connections and Social Change" (PDF). AAPI Nexus. 11 (1 & 2): 83–90.
  10. "APEN - Direct Organizing - Asian Youth Advocates". archive.apen4ej.org. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  11. 1 2 3 Sze, Julie (June 2004). "Asian American Activism for Environmental Justice". Peace Review. 16 (2): 149–156.
  12. Steinbauer, James (2017-10-28). "MAP: An overview of every toxic, contaminated site in Richmond". Richmond Confidential. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  13. Guidance for performing preliminary assessments under CERCLA (Report). Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (United States). Hazardous Site Evaluation Div. 1991-09-01.
  14. "Richmond, CA Air Quality - USA.com™". www.usa.com. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  15. Soto, Andrés (2014-03-21). "List of Air Emissions That Chevron's Richmond Refinery Project Could Increase If Mitigation Is Not Required According To The Revised Draft EIR" (PDF). Communities For a Better Environment. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  16. Selig, Kate (January 7, 2021). "How the Asian Pacific Environment Network built trust through decades of Organizing". Nichi Bei News.
  17. 1 2 "Building Grassroots Political Power (SSIR)". ssir.org. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  18. 1 2 APEN, TEAM (2019-10-08). "Our History". Asian Pacific Environmental Network. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  19. Anonymous (2020-03-24). "How California is working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions | CLEAR Center". clear.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  20. "APEN - Direct Organizing - Power in Asians Organizing". archive.apen4ej.org. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  21. "Building Grassroots Political Power (SSIR)". ssir.org. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  22. "Reimagining Public Safety". City of Oakland. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  23. Carrasco, Sandra; Dangol, Neeraj (2020-05-05), "Community Resilience Through Self-Help Housing Adaptations", Urbanisation at Risk in the Pacific and Asia, Routledge, pp. 152–170, ISBN   978-0-429-29017-6 , retrieved 2024-10-18
  24. "adaptationclearinghouse.org". www.adaptationclearinghouse.org. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  25. "Asian Pacific Environmental Network". Climate Ride. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  26. Calma, Justine (2023-12-20). "The Biden administration has a new strategy for getting federal funds to grassroots environmental groups". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-10-20.

Further reading