数说评论 | 环境种族主义：美国种族主义的放大镜
In 1953 and 1961, two highways cut through Boston Chinatown against the residents’ will, displacing hundreds of families, in order to alleviate traffic downtown and allow White people living in suburbs the convenience of commuting to the city in cars.
1953年和1961年波士顿中国城先后被两条高速公路切开，此举不仅违背了当地居民的意愿，几百个家庭也因此被迫拆迁，这一切只是为了缓解市区交通，以及使居住在郊区的白人能够享受开车通勤到城市的便利。
The highways displaced far more than houses. Clean air, for one, is long gone. In 2018, Boston Chinatown still had the highest level of vehicle emissions in Massachusetts.
高速公路破坏的不只是房屋，洁净的空气也一去不复返，2018年波士顿中国城仍然拥有麻省最高的汽车尾气排放水平。
This incident is not an isolated event for communities of color, but one example of widespread environmental racism. It highlights the continued exposure of America’s structural racism that places a disproportionate burden of environmental hazard on people of color, in the context of the warming planet and worsening environment.
这并不是发生在有色人种社区的一起孤立事件，而是广泛存在的环境种族主义的一个典型案例。它突出展现了，在全球气候变暖和环境恶化的当下，美国结构性种族歧视，致使有色人种承担着更大的环境污染恶果。
Firstly, in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States, covering Washington, D.C. and 12 states, residents of color are exposed to significantly higher PM2.5 emissions from vehicles than their White counterparts. Specifically, PM2.5 exposure for Latino, Asian American and African American residents is respectively 42, 40 and 30 percent higher than the regional average level, while exposure is 19 percent lower on average for White residents.
首先，在包含了华盛顿特区和12个州的美国东北部及大西洋中部地区，有色人种居民比白人遭受着更高的汽车尾气PM2.5排放。具体来说，拉丁裔、亚裔和非裔美国人遭受的PM2.5暴露水平，分别比地域平均水平高42%、40%和30%，而白人居民则比地域平均水平低19%。
This disparity reflects decades of discriminatory transportation policies that have left communities of color living in segregated areas with inadequate access to public transportation, and close to highways, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
据忧思科学家联盟分析，这种不平等反映了几十年来的歧视性交通管理政策，让被种族隔离的有色人种社区，缺乏充足的公共交通设施，并且与高速公路毗邻而居。
During the highway-building boom from the 1950s to 1960s in the U.S, the practice of interstate construction cutting through neighborhoods largely inhabited by people of color – where land was cheap and political opposition low – was so common that the critics coined a name for it: “White roads through Black bedrooms.”
在美国20世纪五十年代到六十年代的高速公路建设潮中，洲际高速公路往往选择穿行大量有色人种聚居的社区。这些社区地价低廉，政治反对势力也弱，以至于批评人士称这种现象为“白人的道路穿过黑人的卧室”。
Secondly, using Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI) data, research has found that in all but six of the 175 biggest U.S. cities, the average person of color lives in an area that has higher summer daytime temperatures than non-Hispanic White people.
第二，基于城市表面热岛效应（SUHI）数据的一项研究发现，有色人种聚居区域的夏季白昼平均温度高于非西班牙裔白人。这个发现几乎适用于美国所有的175个大城市，仅有6个例外。
SUHI data quantifies the contribution that cities’ buildings, roads and infrastructure made to additional heat exposure temperatures. As shown in the graph, people of color have SUHI exposure of around 0.5, 1.8, 1.4 and 1.3 degrees Celsius higher than White people in different climate zones respectively.
SUHI数据量化了城市建筑，道路以及基础设施对热暴露温度造成的额外影响。正如图表展现，在不同的气候区，有色人种遭受的SUHI暴露值分别比白人约高0.5、1.8、1.4和1.3摄氏度。
Among the underlying drivers of these disparities, there is a correlation between warmer neighborhoods with the racist federal housing practices established during the 1930s called “redlining.”
导致有色人种聚居社区温度偏高这一不平等现象存在诸多潜在因素，其中可以追溯一项带有种族歧视性质的联邦住房政策，于20世纪30年代建立，叫做“红线政策”。
Assessed by federal officials as too hazardous for home loans and investment, formerly redlined neighborhoods have fewer environmental amenities that help to clean and cool the air. Tree canopy, for one, is roughly half of that in highest-rated predominantly White neighborhoods, according to a study of 37 U.S. cities published in Nature.
红线内的社区被联邦官员评定为不适于进行住房贷款和投资，享有较少的树冠之类的环境设施以帮助清洁和冷却空气。根据发表于《自然》杂志的一项针对美国37个城市的研究，红线内社区的树冠覆盖面积仅达评级较高的白人社区约一半。
Thirdly, damage caused by natural disasters and subsequent assistance efforts have exacerbated the wealth gap among races in the U.S, and that has expanded the definition of environmental racism in America.
第三，自然灾害带来的损毁以及随后的援助更加剧了美国种族间的财富差距，这也扩展了环境种族主义在当今美国的定义。
White people generally accumulated wealth after natural disasters like wildfires, floods and tornadoes. But among other racial or ethnic groups, disasters with damage above $10 billion could result in a financial loss of as high as $29,000.
在遭受包括野火、洪水和飓风在内的自然灾害后，白人通常能获得财富的积累。但是在其他种族和民族群体中，损害价值超过100亿美元的灾害，导致的经济损失可高达2万9千美元。
Researchers found racial disparities at almost every stage of the process of applying for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance, resulting from differences in tax revenues and real estate values, among other issues.
在申请联邦紧急事务管理局（FEMA）援助的每个阶段，研究者们都发现了种族不平等的存在，这些不平等来自于税收和房产价值等方面的差距。
For example, areas with a higher percentage of Black residents are less likely to get an inspection from FEMA to get repair funds. When homeowners in predominantly Black areas finally had their assistance applications approved, FEMA awarded them an average of five to 10 percent less money than applicants in White areas.
比如，黑人居民比例更高的地域比较难得到来自FEMA的检视，以获得修缮资金。而对于来自黑人社区的屋主，他们提交的援助申请终于通过后，从FEMA得到的钱也比白人社区的申请者平均少5%至10%。
Environmental racism is racism that one could easily neglect – the intensity of green areas or the location of highways across neighborhoods isn’t often seen through a racial lens. But it’s there if you just breathe.
环境种族主义是一种可能被人们忽视的种族主义，即便是从种族歧视的视角，也鲜少有人会注意到。某片区域的绿化面积大小，或者那些穿行于社区的高速公路的位置，但是它就在那里，只要你呼吸。