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The Color of Climate
Amazon Is Getting Called Out by Its Own Workers for ‘Environmental Racism’
Most of the company’s highly polluting fulfillment centers are in communities of color
This is The Color of Climate, a weekly column from OneZero exploring how climate change and other environmental issues uniquely impact the future of communities of color.
On Wednesday, a recording of two San Bernardino teens pleading for Amazon to address its environmental impact was played at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. Former Amazon employee Maren Costa transmitted the audio during her comments to shareholders.
Teens Amy and April, who only used their first names, said they both have asthma and asked the shareholders to reduce the amount of air pollution the company creates in their predominantly Latinx community. They said their mother has worked in an Amazon warehouse in the Inland Empire, the Southern California region where San Bernardino is located, since 2012.
“A lot of our friends have asthma. It is normal here. We can’t run without our inhalers,” April said.
Their message was part of a proposal presented by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ), a nationwide group of former and current…
