Poisoned on Purpose: How the EPA is Making Our Communities Sick.
As we continue through into Earth Month, I think about how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is barely doing any “protecting” … of people or the planet. Instead, the new Trump administration rollbacks that have and will continue to make us sicker. We’re only 4 months into 2026 and already the EPA has rolled back regulations on our both or air & water that will have long term impacts.
I’m talking about the 12 of the most dangerous and toxic chemicals in our environment, being deregulated. EPA saying our lives actually don’t count as “costs” when they are considering the impacts pollution has on our communities. Or the fact that this administration is using its power to weaken how states and Tribal Nations can protect their own local water.
They Know It’s Harmful. They’re Doing It Anyway.
When EPA delays stricter wastewater rules, rolls back tougher air standards, or raises the bar for how to hold polluters accountable, that isn’t a decision that just stays in an office in DC. It lands in our lungs, means higher health bills, and deadly consequences. For example, one of the 12 toxic chemical rollbacks was around PFAS. PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” due to their durability and long-lasting nature, are found in public drinking water, food packaging such as microwave popcorn bags, and household items like dental floss and paint.
What Is Hip Hop Caucus Doing & How Can You Help:
Hip Hop Caucus continues to prioritize economic, racial, and climate justice by stopping the bad and building the good
Stopping the bad is showing up every single time the EPA is putting forth these sort of changes that would lead our communities to harm. That means:
Making the complex simple - we know first and foremost, there is power in knowledge. And federal agencies often try to make science and policy difficult to understand intentionally to keep our communities out from getting the information we need to protect ourselves. We’re here to make these developments easy to understand: why is this important, what impact does it have on me/my community and what can I do.
The suites: there is power in showing up in the process & it’s necessary. When our voices aren’t heard at hearings, in public comments, and/or being amplified in the media, we automatically lose. We must show up in these spaces and speak to the ways we are being impacted because often it isn’t the decision-maker suffering the consequences.
The streets (in addition to the suites): an organized people is a powerful people. And we organize our people with our culture and storytelling first. That looks like mass education, rallies, townhalls, block meetings, and when we connect in the digital world we speak to these issues.
And at the same time, we are asking you to join us in building the good, this looks like:
Shifting the rules, not just reacting to them: join our Think 100% work as we push for stronger federal protections to go beyond undoing these rollbacks.
Changing who sets the rules: every year is an election year and it’s the power of our vote that changes who is at the table. Join our Respect My Vote work here.
Join us in support of the Safer Not Sicker Campaign.
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