Baptist minister says impacts of global warming fall harder on African-Americans than others

Rev.Michael McClain

Recently I attended Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C. as part of my role as a member of the United Methodist Women’s Green Team. Over 700 people of faith from across the nation attended this conference. The theme was “Enough for all.” On the last day we visited our representatives and senators on Capitol Hill.

We learned about environmental racism, in which the people who are already living in poverty are often dealing with the effects of environmental degradation.
I met Baptist minister Michael McClain, a staff-member of the National Council of Churches of Christ Eco-Justice Programs. He spoke about how minority people have often felt left out of the environmental movement when in fact they are the ones who are hardest hit by environmental degradation.

He said, “The worst impacts of global warming fall harder on African-Americans than on anyone else in the United States.” He cited asthma rates are often higher in minority communities, and minorities will pay a higher percentage of their incomes to increasing energy costs.
McClain works to reach out to historic black churches, explain the ways in which climate change is impacting poor people and people of color, and invite them to sign the National Council of Churches’ Faith Principles on Global Warming.

He is also working on home insulation programs, which help people lower energy costs as well as lower their carbon footprint.

If you would like to learn more email McClain at mmclain@nccecojustice.org or visit nccecojustice.org