There's a new resource for Nebraska communities and organizations facing environmental justice issues: the Heartland Environmental Justice Center (HEJC) at Wichita State University.

WSU received one of 17 Environmental Protection Agency grants to establish an Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center.

The HEJC's region covers Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and nine tribal nations.

Jeff Severin is the center's senior program manager. He said although people tend to see environmental-justice issues as an urban problem, plenty of rural Heartland communities also face environmental challenges.

He said the HEJC's involvement might involve several stages.

"That could look like just helping with an assessment to identify the major challenges that they're facing," said Severin, "what are some of the underlying causes of these challenges or threats, and then being able to identify the best funding sources to address those threats. "

Severin said their services are designed for communities, community-based organizations and nonprofits.

He said the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law include "unprecedented levels" of funding for environmental-justice issues. And helping groups access these funds is a major goal of the Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers.

The Center for Rural Affairs is one of the HEJC's eight partners, and the only one based in Nebraska. Nebraska projects can be initiated through either organization.

Severin said smaller communities and organizations can be at a disadvantage when it comes to navigating the sometimes "burdensome" federal grant application process.

"Some of these smaller organizations are just so busy doing the actual work on the ground, or don't have staff to do this preparation and grant writing," said Severin. "And so, we're here to kind of help folks get organized and ready for that, and then help them through that process of applying for grants."

The Center for Rural Affairs Project Associate Deborah Solie pointed out that what qualifies as "environmental" can be somewhat broad.

"It could be that they're facing a brownfields issue," said Solie, "but it also could be that they're planning toward the future because they know that there are climate-related issues that they are currently facing that will be exacerbated. "

Solie said Kearney, Nebraska's "food reclamation" project is one example of the different types of environmental-impact issues communities may choose to address.

"They are looking at trying to find a way to get that food to the people who need it," said Solie, "versus it going into the landfill, which then causes some significant challenges with methane gas and other issues."

A new documentary looked at ways to reduce the human and environmental harms stemming from the mining of "critical minerals."

Without minerals like cobalt, nickel and lithium, there would be no cellphones, electric vehicles, solar panels or long-storage batteries.

Mira Rubio, who directed the documentary for the Trade Justice Education Fund, said people in mining communities often do dangerous work for poverty-level wages.

"In cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, people, including children, who are making cents on the dollar, digging minerals that are ending up in $80,000 Teslas or iPhones, they're risking their health and yet they may never have access to clean air or stable electricity," Rubio pointed out.

She noted mining has also led to widespread deforestation and toxic pollution. The film, "CRITICAL MINERALS: Creating a Just & Sustainable Clean Energy Transition," will be screened at the Social and Economic Justice Film Festival in San Francisco next week.

Advocates want the government to use its arguments to negotiate agreements to enforce labor rights and environmental protections. They also support an international standard called free, prior, and informed consent, which would guard against corporate exploitation of indigenous communities.

Rubio explained the nation may already have enough aboveground minerals to meet much of the global demand, if products were designed to be recovered and reused rather than trashed.

"If we can mine less and use the minerals that are already out there by using a circular economic model, that would really help reduce the amount of emissions we're putting out and help make the transition more sustainable," Rubio contended.

Minnesotans are cooling off after last weekend's extreme heat but communities bearing the brunt of environmental injustice said there will be more climate extremes to contend with, prompting heightened outreach.

Researchers said the harmful impact of climate change is one of the drivers behind Latino populations migrating to the Midwest.

Josefina Gerónimo said destructive wildfires brought her from California to Minnesota. She acknowledged the move does not mean extreme weather events and other environmental harms are gone and noted her family is still prepared in case they are forced to evacuate.

"(We've packed) an extra pair of clothes, water bottles, maps, flashlights; an emergency to-go bag," Gerónimo explained.

It is not just preparations on her mind, since Gerónimo is a leader on the environmental justice committee for Minnesota's Communities Organizing Latino Power and Action. The panel is trying to foster more grassroots conversations about topics such as air pollution disproportionately harming Latino neighborhoods and an equitable transition to clean energy.

Gerónimo pointed out the topics came up in a collaboration with the Metropolitan Council as it develops a regional climate action plan for pursuing local strategies to reduce emissions. She added voices aligned with her group provided their input, and she hopes it will lead to more community engagement.

"A lot of the people that participated, they felt motivated after that collaboration to work on other projects or maybe attend their neighborhood association meetings," Gerónimo observed. "And maybe get more involved beyond the 'Hey, let's clean up for Earth Day!'"

Education is part of this outreach, with occasional periods of smoke from Canadian wildfires and other air quality issues affecting the communities. Committee members can recommend online tools to monitor the threats. Seeing it first hand out West, Gerónimo stressed Latino residents need more guidance on where to go and how not to be exploited during a climate emergency.

"Communities of color may not have as many resources," Gerónimo emphasized. "(They) may be victims to price gouging as they're trying to evacuate, trying to find a hotel or they don't know where evacuation zones are."

As federal electric vehicle incentives face potential rollbacks, a new study is highlighting the burden of gasoline costs on Black and Latino drivers, and policy interventions which can support equitable EV adoption to help ease the burden.

The Fuel Equity Report shows Blacks and Latinos are "superusers" of gasoline, spending on average 15% of their paycheck to fuel their cars. In Illinois, residents pay the second-highest gas taxes in the nation.

Shelly Francis, confounder and director of the advocacy group EVHybridNoire, said systemic factors like disinvestment in public transportation, economic segregation and long commute times all contribute to the disproportionate effects.

"They're also more likely on average to be driving these older, less fuel efficient cars due to income as well as financing barriers that they may experience," Francis pointed out.

The study says EV adoption could save Blacks and Latinos an average of $4,900 a year on fuel and maintenance but barriers like affordability, charging access and education persist.

The report found the top 10% of Black and Latino gasoline users are generally concentrated in smaller cities and rural areas with Chicago being an outlier hotspot. Francis noted the clusters are also where people are most disproportionately affected by air pollution.

"From a public health standpoint, overexposure is really detrimental to one's health," Francis emphasized. "Increasing your risk for a number of different types of cancer, a lot of respiratory diseases and illnesses. "

The study suggests targeted policies to encourage equitable adoption of EV for Black and Latino communities, including enhancing purchase incentives, expanding financing options, and increasing charging infrastructure in communities where top gasoline users live.

Francis stressed addressing the big misinformation gap about EVs is also crucial.

"Pushing more of those types of stories out there to show like the everyday driver," Francis urged. "It's not some fancy person living out in a castle somewhere, (it's) just regular folks who are trying to work, make ends meet and provide for their families."