League of Women Voters Washtenaw County

Detroit's most polluted zip code

Episode Summary

Dr. Gavin Edwards describes some of the history of Detroit as a city with a large history of diversity, and how federal, state and local policies have marginalized many groups over the years. He discusses the environmental movement and how air quality is everyone's concern and how these two issues are linked in the 48217 zip code. Residents are fighting for environmental justice.

Episode Notes

Dr. Edwards was born in South Wales, UK, and received his PhD in Atmospheric Chemistry from the University of Leicester, UK. He did postdoctoral research work at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, CO and Purdue University in Indiana. Now an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Eastern Michigan University, he is part of a research group that measures both air quality, and the factors that influence it. His group is passionate about analyzing the quality of the air all citizens are exposed to, both in the Detroit urban corridor, and around the state of Michigan. They are engaged in ongoing efforts to build long term data-sets on how ozone and other gases are changing in concentration due to climate change, legislative policies and other factors

 Watch this program on YouTube: 48217

https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/struggling-to-breathe-in-48217-michigans-most-toxic-zip-code/

https://www.propublica.org/article/toxmap-poison-in-the-air

https://www.planning.org/planning/2020/oct/life-in-48217/

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