PHILADELPHIA, November 21, 2016

Climate change often hits communities of color and low-income neighborhoods the hardest. Toxic facilities are too often placed in minority neighborhoods. These sobering findings come from the NAACP, and there’s a common term for them: environmental injustice.

Jacqui Patterson, director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program, will discuss this controversial issue at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University’s next Town Square at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 14, in the museum’s auditorium. Patterson’s talk is free, and she will answer questions from the audience afterward. Registration is requested; to register, visit http://bit.ly/2f7tmYE.

Patterson’s program addresses environmental issues—such as coal-fired power plants, droughts and flooding—in terms of how they affect people, especially residents of low-income urban neighborhoods including Philadelphia. Working with community leaders, the program advocates for the reduction of harmful emissions, greater energy efficiency and clean energy, and stronger community resilience.

In her talk, Patterson will describe how community leaders she’s met across the country are dealing with what she describes as the human and civil rights issues of environmental injustice.

This event is part of the Academy’s Town Square series of free evening programs designed to engage and provide relevant educational content to the public on environmental issues. Town Square is made possible by Warren Environmental Counsel.

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To download an image of a Town Square event, visit the Press Room, Programs page.

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