Fenceline communities are constantly dealing with a range of environmental risks from pollution exposures near power plants, sewage plants, roads and highways, landfills, and others.  Often, these impacts are not experienced in isolation from one another, but are exacerbated by many factors. Cumulative impacts occur under conditions in which exposures can become concentrated or compounded by numerous sources of pollution or an extended period of time. To truly advance environmental justice, we must take a comprehensive, holistic approach that considers how the totality of exposures affect health and wellbeing.

Despite the clean-sounding name, biogas has been “green-washed” as a renewable energy solution while continuing to impact the surrounding community. Biogas is created by capturing methane gas from wet waste at CAFOs and converting them into fuel. It does not prevent the release multiple other pollutants into the air and water including ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter, and a concentration of nitrogen and phosphorous. Biogas should not be promoted as a climate solution without improved transparency through rigorous monitoring and reporting programs. We must safeguard community health by creating better waste management practices that lower the generation of methane in the first place. Photo credit: Waterkeeper Alliance