Climate Denial is Racist

As climate change fuels an increase in natural disasters like hurricanes, wildfires, and extreme heatwaves, the threat is not evenly distributed. Black Americans are more likely to live in areas that are more flood-prone, hotter, and have worse air quality. They’re also less likely to have access to life-saving measures like air conditioning. 

And even though President Joe Biden’s new $369 billion climate agenda has passed the senate after Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kristen Sinema finally got on board, the United States has done little to address the climate crisis in recent decades, especially as Republicans continue to either deny that climate change exists, or refuse to take action. 

Mary Annaïse Heglar, a writer and co-host of the climate podcast Hot Take, argues that this inaction is rooted in racism. This week on Into America, Heglar and host Trymaine Lee discuss the links between climate change and white supremacy. They also dig into a dangerous ideology that is growing in popularity on the far-right called eco-fascism, where adherents believe that the only way to solve climate change is to stop immigration, and even kill Black and brown people. 

For a transcript, please visit msnbc.com/intoamerica. 

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Thoughts? Feedback? Story ideas? Write to us at intoamerica@nbcuni.com.

Further Reading and Listening: 

• Louisiana’s Last Black Oystermen
• Into Dirty Air
• Climate Denial’s Racist Roots