Week 10 Lab Report

Lab Group: Steffen Seamon, Simon Cohen

Date of Inquiry: 11-11-18

Capitalocene Lab Week 10

Background

This week acted as our final investigation into the capitalocene. In the previous three weeks we investigated the capitalocene and its effects on a global scale. We analyzed country-wide and regional data in an attempt to establish trends relating wealth to indicators of the capitalocene, such as Yale’s Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and statistics from the World Bank on industry and pollution. We also analyzed data from the World Values Survey to understand how some countries’ values relating the environment related to their wealth. In the previous three weeks, we did not find much evidence to indicate the existence of a capitalocene. The first two weeks of capitalocene labs found more regional relationships between countries and environmental health than relationships stemming from differences in wealth. The third week did not have a large enough sample to make any accurate predictions on the state of the world. This week, we chose to look at much more situated data. We investigated environmental justice in Portland and its relation to the capitalocene. Environmental justice is a topic relating the unequal distribution of both positive and harmful effects of the environment on people of different backgrounds, such as race and class. The relation between environmental justice and the capitalocene is that people of certain backgrounds may be experiencing worse effects of climate change. In this lab, we sought to analyze whether areas comprised of certain income groups experienced worse levels of air toxics than others. This would help us understand if there exists a correlation between wealth and exposure to air toxics that may indicate that Portland is experiencing effects of a capitalocene.

Procedure

In this lab we looked at data from the Oregon Department on Environmental Quality that showed air toxics data in Portland and Portland demographic data from the American Community Survey. We choose to compare the presence of air toxics in an area with the income group of that area. We found the average relevance of all the air toxics that originated from residential sources to measure toxins mostly emitted by households, not industrial sources. We split Portland’s income into three groups: low, middle, and high income. Then we created three maps, one for each income group, to analyze any correlation between air toxics and wealth.

Results

The incomes groups were defined as lower: percent of population with income less than $25,000, middle: Percent of households with income between $25,000 and $99,999, upper: Percent of households with income more than $100,000.

The toxics observed were butadiene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, acetaldehyde, acrolein, benzene, chromium VI, diesel particulate matter, and Formaldehyde.

Map showing presence of air toxics (circles) versus percent of households that are in the lower income group (shade)

Map showing presence of air toxics (circles) versus percent of households that are in the middle income group (shade)

Map showing presence of air toxics (circles) versus percent of households that are in the upper income group (shade)

Discussion

These maps show where people of different income brackets live in Portland. From these maps you can understand where certain income groups congregate and where some have been pushed to. For example, the area just around the airport is both polluted and poor. Redlining in the 20th century most likely pushed the poor/minorities there, with little regard to the air and noise pollution they would endure due to the airport. These maps are the beginning of understanding  air toxics and their relationship with environmental justice and the capitalocene. Admittedly, the maps only situate the problem without doing much to establish trends. It is hard to understand whether there are strong correlations between wealth and presence of air toxics. Further tests of statistical significance could help our understanding of this. Nonetheless, it has become evident through our readings about environmental justice in Portland that often marginalized groups have to face worse environmental burdens. As more negative changes in the environment continue due to climate change, these marginalized groups like the poor and people of color may continue to be plagued by worsening quality of air and other environmental concerns.