Our September 24, 2020, webinar focused on the ways climate impacts are compounding industrial disasters and impacting water resources around the nation. Toxic spills from industrial sites pollute waterways and threaten the safety of communities already burdened by pollution and the climate crisis. Participants discussed collaborative research and advocacy in Virginia and the Gulf Coast, as well as various analytical and regulatory tools for preventing climate-induced chemical disasters. Participants included:
- Senior Advocacy Manager and James Riverkeeper Jamie Brunkow discussed how the James River Association and its partners are using research, engagement, and advocacy to address the growing and related threats posed by climate change, industrial pollution, and social vulnerability to disaster in Virginia.
- Executive Director and Waterkeeper Jordan Macha (Bayou City Waterkeeper) discussed how her organization is using law and science to eliminate toxic pollution while strengthening the disaster resilience of human and natural systems in Houston and the Galveston Bay watershed.
- Drawing on examples from Hurricane Harvey, CPR Member Scholar and Professor Victor Flatt (University of Houston Law Center) discussed how federal disaster policy, hazardous waste law, and lagging enforcement fail to protect vulnerable communities from chemical disasters.
- CPR Senior Policy Analyst (and former Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper) David Flores moderated the discussion.
This webinar was co-sponsored with Waterkeeper Alliance, a global nonprofit working to ensure that every community worldwide has drinkable, swimmable and fishable water. Today, more than 300 local Waterkeeper groups protect water on six continents. Learn more at www.waterkeeper.org.
View the slide presentation from the webinar.
Or watch it below:
