African-Americans need to 'raise hell' about climate change

Yesterday, President Obama spoke before world leaders at the United Nations about the ongoing global climate change debate. The president acknowledged that the over the last century, the industrialized world has "caused much of the damage to our climate" and now has the responsibility to lead.

For the most part this week, this issue will be discussed from an international context, leading up to the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen later this year. Developing countries have suffered most from global carbon emissions, and they are now seeking 1 percent of the world's GDP to help them adapt to the climate crisis. While I support this notion of international benevolence, climate change also has to be viewed from a domestic perspective as well.

Right here in the United States, there are serious climate issues that need to be addressed, and these problems disproportionately affect African-Americans and lower-income communities. From poor air quality to illegal waste dumping, black communities around the country have suffered the most from environmental pollution.

Last year the Commission to Engage African-Americans on Climate Change (CEAC) put out a background paper, Global Warming and African Americans that contains statistics that should alarm all Americans. According to the survey, "temperature increases are expected to be more extreme in urban areas, where blacks are more than twice as likely to live than whites." Furthermore, because black urban dwellers are less likely to have air conditioning in their homes, the heat-related mortality rate could go up in American inner cities. In addition, African-Americans currently spend an estimated 25 percent of their income on basic necessities like food, water and energy - much more than most Americans.

Watching many of the Climate Week activities on television, I see very few people at the United Nations advocating on our behalf. In June, the House passed a cap-and-trade bill to reduce 80 percent of greenhouse gas emission by 2050. However, the Senate bill is being stalled and environmental activists are worried that it won't pass before the U.N. climate talks in December. If the bill doesn't pass, the United States could possibly lose momentum in discussing future international climate discussions.

However, we can still make our voices heard leading up to Copenhagen. If there was one issue we as a community should raise hell about this week, it should be this one. African-Americans really need to take the lead on the climate issue before it is too late.