Energy for Change

What is the impact of energy development on communities of color and

how can this be remedied?

Haili Bruckner

AP Language Period 3

Ms. Whitney

April 15, 2019

 As the world population continues to rise, consequently so does demand for energy

resources. The 2018 global energy demand was over 166 trillion kilowatt hours​, a​ n increase of

2.3 percent from the previous year, and this growth is not expected to slow in the near future

(“Global Energy”). To meet this immense demand, many suggest that a massive increase in

energy development of renewable and nonrenewable resources will be needed. This has sparked

debate between industry and scientists, at the center of which is extensive discussion on the

environmental implications of resource extraction, yet often overshadowed are the risks to the

world’s more vulnerable communities. The dilemma now becomes striking a balance between

the economic benefits and global necessity of energy resources and their respective positive and

negative impacts on affected communities, typically tribal groups and communities of color.

With the continued extraction of energy resources by developed nations, there must be

increased consideration and rehabilitation for damages on nearby communities, with an emphasis

on prevention rather than restoration. Governments also must respect the necessity for

autonomous management of indigenous lands and resources. With comprehensive, widespread

conservation efforts, energy demand will decline, diluting environmental and social stresses. To

meet the remaining global energy requirements there must also be a shift to primarily wind and

solar energy, with benefits distributed equally among all racial and socioeconomic groups.

Energy corporations typically avoid prevention efforts due to their for-profit nature and

instead seek to remedy damages through resettlement and reimbursement efforts. This only

accounts for surface level losses, though, when equally detrimental are cultural losses and

challenges that arise from transitions into new communities (VanCleef 17). As energy

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development continues to expand with Earth’s growing demand, it must be done in a way that

provides the necessary resources while also respecting and protecting communities of color.

Opponents view energy development, especially of easily accessible sources such as oil

and coal, as a necessity rather than an issue of justice. Hydropower and natural gas are cleaner

alternatives to many fossil fuels and are also becoming more prevalent. Commonly cited by

energy companies are the benefits to low-income areas, primarily tax revenue and job creation in

rural areas (Bienkowski). According to the 2018 U.S. Energy and Employment Report, an

additional 11,000 jobs have been created through growth in the oil supply chain and 19,000

through the natural gas sector in 2017 alone (Whitehead). In low-income areas located near

energy development, these jobs are seen as a much needed economic boost.

While oil and gas development can provide economic support, a common misconception

is that the benefits outweigh the risks, so affected communities rarely see significant protection.

Due to their political and economic influence, large energy corporations have the ability to

control the narrative surrounding the safety of resource management and can therefore dismiss

claims of potential harm through their legal capital. When companies begin construction of

natural gas transportation facilities, for example, the projects “​can be approved without

assessment of local conditions, or with only partial reporting of hazardous releases”

(​Finley-Brook et al. ​180). In resisting such actions, citizens are either unable to pay for legal

representation or lawsuits are unsuccessful due to the inability to prove regulatory bias (179).​ As

a result, communities adjacent to energy development have few options for protection.

Consequently, the communities near drilling sites, most often communities of color, are

at risk of dramatic health effects. In a 2015 study, it was discovered that the risks of

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Pennsylvania’s natural gas development disproportionately affect rural, poorer communities,

such as those in Bradford county where median income is 10% lower than the rest of the state.

Fracking is directly linked to air pollution from radon, sulfur, and methane, and these

environmental impacts correlate with health adversities including increased risk and exacerbation

of respiratory illnesses and cancers, especially asthma (Rasmussen). According to the NAACP

Environmental and Climate Justice Program, the health conditions greatly affect black

communities: “an African American child is three times as likely to be admitted to the hospital

and twice more likely to die from an asthma attack than a white American child” (Patterson 3).

This exemplifies the unequal distribution of impacts, which is often not accidental.

Locations of energy development are far from random and, instead, are often acts of

explicit environmental racism. In the planning for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), gas

company Dominion successfully avoided “fragmenting dense national forest” and yet many

counties in the ACP path contain large black and indigenous communities. In North Carolina

alone, 30,000 Native Americans live within one mile of the proposed route (Finley-Brook et al.

185). ​Another example is the conflict surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in North

Dakota. The oil pipeline has been operational since 2017, when President Donald Trump

approved its permit against concerns that it would pollute a waterway sacred to the native

Standing Rock and Cheyenne Sioux tribes. The pipeline was constructed on land never

renounced to the U.S. government by the Sioux (Keith). Similar to the ACP, DAPL​ “​fits with an

international pattern of violating rights of people of color to expand [oil and gas] infrastructure”

(Finley-Brook et al. 181). Oil and gas development are extremely significant in understanding

the way in which racial inequality is manifested through land management.

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 There are similar challenges with coal extraction. Almost 68% of African Americans live

within 30 miles of a coal power plant, and are “more likely to suffer the negative health impacts

of prolonged exposure to smog, lead, asbestos, mercury, arsenic, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide

and other toxins than any other group of Americans.” Exposure to such dangerous toxins

command grave implications. A 2010 report found that particulate matter from U.S. coal plants

is responsible for about 1,530 excess deaths per year. Mobility also becomes an issue as property

values of homes near toxic facilities average 15 percent lower than elsewhere in a state

(Patterson 3). Therefore, while the increase in oil, gas, and coal facilities may provide jobs, ​more

serious is the intense harm to people of color and little to no action on the part of governments or

energy corporations to mitigate said impacts.

Opponents also argue that tribal communities, many of which are struggling with

poverty, are boosted by the economic stimulus from mineral resource extraction. These

communities have the potential to tax energy development on their lands, resulting in increased

revenue (“Natural Resources” 10). Industry is also working to remedy adversities such as

displacement and health impacts through compensation efforts. Unfortunately, these arguments

are only true in specific circumstances. Energy development does have the potential to bring a

plethora of benefits to tribal populations, but only under tribal management. An opposite effect

can be observed in the damages to indigenous peoples by increases in hydropower- the damming

of large rivers or water bodies to power a turbine and generate electricity.

Hydropower, though a renewable resource that produces no carbon emissions, has a

devastating impact on indigenous peoples, the major problem being displacement due to the

flooding of land surrounding dams. According to a report by ​Indiana Journal of Global Legal

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Studies,​ “the number of [native peoples] displaced worldwide ranges from forty million to eighty

million,” and there is also risk of lost livelihoods of those downstream who require the resources

of a free-flowing river (VanCleef 3-5). Indigenous groups are relocated often times to urbanized

areas with jobs for which they are not trained (10). When communities are compensated, if at all

due to the inconsistency of databases and tracking systems, they are provided with a lump sum

that does not account for cultural losses and does not cover the higher cost of living in urban area

(9-10). This highlights the favored “resettlement” tactics, which involve simply relocating

indigenous populations, when needed is “rehabilitation” methods, which also involve job

training and assistance in integrating into new communities (18). Equally important are

non-physical assets such as social structures, networks, cultural and religious identity, and

spiritual connection to native land (6). While energy from hydropower does place less stress on

the environment than extraction and consumption of resources such as coal and oil, unfortunately

the impacts on community health and security outweigh the environmental benefits.

Similarly important is consideration for indigenous sovereignty and land management.

The extraction of mineral resources from native lands by non-native industry creates increased

health and safety risks to the area’s population, including kidney failure, respiratory diseases, and

cancers from uranium contamination; and increased criminal activity and risk of forced

prostitution due to an influx of oil and gas migrants and transient workers (​“Natural Resources”

16-23). Resource exploitation on native land also results in extensive ecological damage to

surrounding environments, leading to community trauma. Mined areas are often left scarred and

unusable for agriculture or grazing, and energy development interferes with the sacred cultural

and spiritual values of indigenous land (15-17). Contrarily, the extraction and production of

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energy resources is intrinsically beneficial when done as an exercise of sovereignty under the

management of tribal authority. Energy producing tribes pass laws to ensure that tribal members

receive preference in hiring for energy jobs, and create guidelines to ensure environmental and

community protection (11-12). Energy industry is correct in that development can bring positive

change to communities in need, though it is important to recognize that communities must be

able to maintain authority when doing so to ensure community preservation.

Lastly, another facet to this issue is the impacts of climate change as a whole on

vulnerable communities. Minorities contribute less to carbon emissions and climate change and

yet face the largest risks from climate change-related dangers such as intense storms, especially

in coastal cities of developing nations. Contrary to common belief, communities of color do not

also see significant benefits. In a 2010 study it was found that black people spent $41 billion on

energy in 2009 but held only 1.1% of energy jobs and only earned 0.01% of the revenue from the

energy sector (Patterson 3). It is essential in transitioning to a more sustainable future that all

communities receive equitable benefits from energy development.

Although the discovery and extraction of new energy resources is vital to the economies

of the developing world, unaccounted for is the impact of energy development on communities

of color and the resources necessary to remedy this. Ultimately, energy is needed to power a

growing world, but there are also measures that must be taken for proper energy management.

The first step towards change is allowing communities more say in energy decisions. This

includes providing forums for individuals to voice concerns and resisting the political influence

of large energy corporations, therefore mitigating environmental racism tactics. Also critical is

respect for tribal sovereignty. Indigenous land in New Mexico, for example, has significant

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potential for renewable energy development, and allowing tribes discretion in the management of

these resources would provide necessary community protection (Natural Resources 10). Through

a shift to increased wind and solar usage and decreasing energy consumption overall, the energy

industry will survive but lessened will be the effects felt by communities of color and the

environment. The problem is not energy itself but rather the processes of acquiring energy, so

with transformations in the energy sector that will work to protect all the world’s communities,

the entire world will reap the benefits.

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 Works Cited

Bienkowski, Brian. "Poor Communities Bear Greatest Burden from Fracking." ​Environmental

Health News,​ 6 May 2015. ​Scientific American,​ ​www.scientificamerican.com/​. Accessed

21 Mar. 2019.

"EIA projects 28% increase in world energy use by 2040." ​U.S. Energy Information

Administration​, EIA, 14 Sept. 2017, ​www.eia.gov/​. Accessed 3 Apr. 2019.

"Global Energy & CO2 Status Report." ​International Energy Agency,​ IEA, 2018,

www.iea.org/geco/​. Accessed 3 Apr. 2019.

Keith, Stephanie. "Out of spotlight, tribes keep fighting Dakota pipeline." ​Reuters​, 2 Aug. 2018,

www.www.reuters.com/​. Accessed 5 Apr. 2019.

Natural Resources and Environmental Law Clinic students of the University of New Mexico

School of Law. ​Energy Development Impacts on Indigenous Peoples United Nations

Special Rapporteur Victoria Tauli-Corpuz for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.​ U of

New Mexico School of Law, 25 Feb. 2017. ​University of New Mexico School of Law,​

www.lawschool.unm.edu/​. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

Patterson, Jacqui, et al. ​Just Energy Policies: Reducing Pollution and Creating Jobs.​ National

Association for the Advancement of Colored People Environmental and Climate Justice

Program, Feb. 2015. ​NAACP.org,​ ​www.chesapeakeclimate.org/​. Accessed 4 Apr. 2019.

Rasmussen, S. G., et al. "Association between Unconventional Natural Gas Development in

the Marcellus Shale and Asthma Exacerbations." ​JAMA Internal Medicine​, vol. 176, no.

9, 1 Sept. 2016, pp. 1334-43. ​PubMed.gov​, doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.2436.

Accessed 29 Mar. 2019. Abstract.

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VanCleef, Ali. "Hydropower Development and Involuntary Displacement: Toward a Global

Solution." ​Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies,​ vol. 23, no. 1, Winter 2016, pp.

349-76. ​Indiana University Maurer School of Law​, ​www.repository.law.indiana.edu/​.

Accessed 14 Mar. 2019.

Whitehead, Seth. "Report Finds Oil and Gas Industry Experienced Strong Jobs Growth in 2017."

Energy in Depth​, Independent Petroleum Association of America, 17 May 2018,

www.energyindepth.org/​. Accessed 15 Apr. 2019.