Houston knows Beto O'Rourke is right: Environmental racism is real here and throughout America
Democratic presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto ORourke raised a few eyebrows recently by claiming that, Race is the No. 1 indicator for where toxic and polluting facilities are today.
Politifact Texas rated the claim mostly true, citing several studies that say race is a stronger indicator than income or property value in determining who is more likely to live near hazardous waste facilities and plants coughing out pollution.
In too many Houston neighborhoods, residents dont need a study to tell them they fit ORourkes description. They know their health is at risk because they can smell it in the air they breathe. That includes residents of the Harrisburg/Manchester community, just south of the Houston Ship Channel, where 97 percent of residents are people of color and 37 percent live in poverty.
The Environmental Protection Agency says 90 percent of Harris/Manchester residents live within a mile of a facility considered at high risk for a catastrophic industrial accident.
Read more: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Houston-knows-Beto-O-Rourke-is-right-13925987.php
Residents look on at the plume of smoke rising from a fire at the Intercontinental Terminals petrochemical storage site in Deer Park, Texas on March 19.
Photo: Scott Dalton / Bloomberg