Log In | Become a Member

NAACP Calls Climate Change, Florida Energy Policy Civil Rights Issues


May 30, 2014 | WMFE, Orlando - The NAACP is calling on state leaders to expand Florida's renewable energy use and make energy more affordable. The recommendations are part of a report out Friday examining how climate change and energy policy affect people of color.

[Photo: NAACP leaders say African-American communities are disproportionately affected by climate change and unfair energy policies.]

The report finds Florida is most reliant on coal despite a strong potential for clean energy.

Jacqui Patterson is the report's lead author. She says low-income residents pay a greater share of their incomes toward energy. She also says African-Americans are left out of energy jobs and suffer from health problems associated with energy production. 

 "These statistics demonstrate that not only are African-Americans not part of the decision-making for our energy choices. But we are disproportionately experiencing the harms from the energy production processes and getting a trace amount of the economic benefits from the energy sector."

Patterson and other leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People discussed the findings outside Orlando's Stanton Energy Center. They say low-income residents pay more for energy because often they live in less efficient housing.

The report also finds Florida lacks any standard for how much energy must come from renewable sources.

 

All active news articles