Environmental Racism: In Buffalo, Globally, and Cop City
Environmental Racism: In Buffalo, Globally, and Cop City
Climate change impacting Global South globally, Black and brown communities locally
Take the storm of 2022, where Black Buffalonians accounted for 65% of the casualities. (1)
2 of 3 power substations that failed were in predominantly black neighborhoods. (2)
Warming stations, like the old Matt Hope Center (site of proposed police training facility and shooting range), are vital during blizzards and freezing temperatures.
Is there environmental racism behind Buffalo’s cop city?
Let’s take two examples: increased risk of lead poisoning, as well as the impact on trees and green spaces
Increased risk of lead poisoning
Shooting ranges pose a risk of lead exposure due to the use of ammunition containing lead in both the bullet and primer, which can create airborne lead dust and particles.(3)
Replacement of filters poses a lead poisoning hazard which was not considered in the city’s Environmental impact study of the facility.
Impacts of Lead poisoning:
Growth delays in children, seizures, anemia, & behaviors such as aggression, impulsivity, irritability
In adults, lead poisoning can lead to memory loss, kidney failure, infertility, & risk of heart disease
Children who reside in 14212 are at high risk for lead poisoning.(4)
Trees and green spaces
An article by the Buffalo News highlights the lack of trees on the East side of Buffalo, making it hotter on the East side.5 This is one reason the East side could benefit from cooling centers.
The city has been cutting down more trees than it plants and needed federal funds to reverse this racist deforestation of the East Side.(6)
Why do you think? The city’s government can’t seem to wait to spend $5 million on a police training and shooting range facility that has such little support from the community, ..but has waited on using grants for trees and prioritized this facility over cooling or warming centers?
Climate change impacts are not distributed equally
Climate change impacts are not distributed equally across the globe, with some regions and populations being particularly vulnerable.(7)
Low-income populations, which often lack access to resources and clean water, are more likely to be affected by waterborne diseases, which are likely to become more common as temperatures increase.(7)
Black Americans receive less FEMA* relief funding on average than white counterparts, and their communities take longer to recover in the wake of natural disasters.(8) *FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Using more resources towards genocides and capital gain in Palestine, the Global South, and other countries, in turn also negatively impact the climate and the people most affected by climate change.
The Buffalo blizzard of 2022 resulted in 31 deaths, of whom 20 were people of color.(1)
In September 2024, Hurricane Helen flooded Western North Carolina. Higher-risk and socially vulnerable populations*, received the least amount of government relief via FEMA.(9,10)
*socially vulnerable population are determined by components including but not limied to: income-to-poeverty ratio, household crowding, communication barriers, disabilities, lack of health coverage, older age, no vehicle access, and more(11)
From 1995 to 2024, more than 832,000 lives were lost and direct economic losses of nearly USD 4.5 trillion (inflation-adjusted) were recorded, driven by more than 9,700 extreme weather events. The majority of these causalities happen in Dominica, Myanmar, Hondoras, Libya, and Hati.(12)
Resources:
Ly, Laura. “Watchdog Report Cites Multiple Failures in Buffalo’s Response to Blizzard That Killed 31 People.” CNN, 3 June 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/06/02/us/buffalo-blizzard-failures-report.
---. “Watchdog Report Cites Multiple Failures in Buffalo’s Response to Blizzard That Killed 31 People.” CNN, 3 June 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/06/02/us/buffalo-blizzard-failures-report.
“Acrobat Accessibility Report.” Www.osha.gov, www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OSHA3772.pdf.
“Lead Poisoning Prevention | Environmental Health.” Www3.Erie.gov, www3.erie.gov/envhealth/lead-poisoning-prevention.
Post, Investigative. “Federal Dollars Could Help Re-Tree East Side.” Wgrz.com, WGRZ, 19 Oct. 2022, www.wgrz.com/article/news/investigations/investigative-post/federal-dollars-could-help-re-tree-east-side-investigative-post/71-37c4ef20-1545-44a6-95ed-a64640a8db6a. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
Buffalo. “Buffalo Street Trees.” Buffalo Street Trees, 2025, www.buffalotrees.org/abouttheprogram. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
Suri, Shoba. “It’s Time for Climate Justice- a Global South Perspective on the Fight against the Climate Crisis.” Orfonline.org, 2023, www.orfonline.org/research/a-global-south-perspective-on-the-fight-against-the-climate-crisis.
Matt Plaus. “Racial Disparity in Disaster Response in the United States: A Case Study of Aid under FEMA.” HKS Student Policy Review, 9 Feb. 2024, studentreview.hks.harvard.edu/racial-disparity-in-disaster-response-in-the-united-states-a-case-study-of-aid-under-fema/.
Marshall, Joey, et al. “More than Half a Million North Carolinians under Disaster Declaration after Hurricane Helene Were at High Social Vulnerability to Disasters.” United States Census Bureau, 11 Oct. 2024, www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/10/hurricane-helene.html.
Sugg, Maggie, et al. “Rural-Urban Disparities in Helene’s Disaster Assistance in Western North Carolina.” Journal of the Appalachian Institute for Health and Wellness, Appalachian State University’s Institute for Health and Wellness, 26 Sept. 2025, jihhs.pubpub.org/pub/t94hm77m/release/1. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
Bureau, US Census. “Methodology.” Census.gov, 20 June 2024, www.census.gov/programs-surveys/community-resilience-estimates/technical-documentation/methodology.html.
Germanwatch. “Global Climate Risk Index.” Germanwatch.org, 2025, www.germanwatch.org/en/cri.
