As wildfires rage through West Coast communities and Houstonians keep watch on another severe hurricane season, History Professor Emeritus Martin Melosi, Ph.D., is once again in the spotlight for his writing and research on urban waste, pollution, and climate change. His work on environmental racism鈥攖he ways in which ecological hardships disproportionately affect communities of color鈥攆eels especially timely in light of ongoing conversations around racial justice in the United States.
In January 2020, Columbia University Press published Melosi鈥檚 latest book, 鈥淔resh Kills: A History of Consuming and Discarding in New York City.鈥� The book examines the environmental and social impacts of the 2,200-square-mile landfill that operated on Staten Island from 1948 to 2001. On October 6, Melosi will discuss the book in a virtual lecture hosted by the Gotham Center for New York City History.
鈥淢y work has taken me to environmental justice questions, especially the placement of toxic sites in the neighborhoods of people of color and the poor,鈥� Melosi said. 鈥淟ocating waste facilities in a community of color is discriminatory, as is the exposure of these communities to a workplace鈥攍ike a landfill or a recycling center鈥攖hat poses environmental risks.鈥�
Melosi鈥檚 studies of waste, pollution, and the environment throughout U.S. history have informed his views on the potentially racialized effects of present-day environmental crises. His work has garnered attention from MIT, where he was invited to speak on the topic 鈥淐ities and the Plague鈥� as part of a virtual event series on modern plagues and pandemics.
鈥淭his year, we have seen how the housing of poor people or people of color in specifically flood-prone or fire-prone areas can racialize a situation,鈥� Melosi said. 鈥淚 would suspect this is more common with respect to hurricanes than wildfires. When it comes to climate change, we have seen poor people and minorities having to accept the negative impacts on living conditions in areas of sea-level rise.鈥�
Citing the recent history of Fresh Kills Landfill and increased attention on environmental justice in recent activism, Melosi sees some cause for optimism in the face of mounting environmental challenges.
鈥淚n the last several years, the City of New York has begun to convert Fresh Kills Landfill and the surrounding land into a city park鈥攖hree times the size of Central Park,鈥� Melosi said. 鈥淭he Department of Sanitation and other local, state, and federal entities have been trying to mitigate the various pollution problems there. As for the protests, issues of environmental racism do come up periodically as conversations have widened to include an array of injustices.鈥�
To learn more about Martin Melosi鈥檚 October 6 virtual lecture, 鈥淭he 鈥榃orld鈥檚 Most Wasteful City鈥�? New York and its Garbage,鈥� please visit the Gotham Center for New York City History鈥檚 . Click to register for the free virtual event.