LA Times writer says ‘White’ drivers are ‘polluting the air’ breathed by LA’s ‘people of color’

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LA Times writer Sammy Roth shared a piece claiming that many suffer an environmental form of racism thanks to White and affluent commuters in the Los Angeles area.

Roth described a study he had read claiming that it found, "[Los Angeles residents] who drive more tend to be exposed to less air pollution — and Angelenos who drive less tend to be exposed to more pollution." He went on to say, "It’s a function of the racism that shaped this city and its suburbs, and continues to influence our daily lives — and a stark reminder of the need for climate solutions that benefit everyone." 

He recounted a conversation with USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.professor Geoff Boeing. 

"He told me it largely comes down to the shameful history of Los Angeles County’s low-income communities of color being torn apart to make way for freeways — a history that has been extensively documented by The Times," he wrote. "Today, many residents of the county’s whiter, more affluent neighborhoods — who were often able to keep highways out of their own backyards — commute to work through lower-income Black and Latino neighborhoods bisected by the 10, 110 and 105 freeways and more."

A glowing sky provides a colorful backdrop to the downtown Los Angeles skyline as seen from Boyle Heights on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 in Boyle Heights, California. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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The study itself is titled, "Local Inequities in the Relative Production of and Exposure to Vehicular Air Pollution in Los Angeles." The study’s abstract defines its findings in explicitly racial terms. 

"We find that, all else equal, tracts whose residents drive less are exposed to more air pollution, as are tracts with a less-White population. Commuters from majority-White tracts disproportionately drive through non-White tracts, compared to the inverse," the researchers wrote.

They went on to say, "Decades of racially-motivated freeway infrastructure planning and residential segregation shape today's disparities in who produces vehicular air pollution and who is exposed to it, but opportunities exist for urban planning and transport policy to mitigate this injustice."

He shared one particular map from the study and wrote, "The red areas are places in L.A. County where commuters tend to be whiter than people who live there; the blue areas are places where commuters tend to be less white than people who live there."

General view of the Hollywood Sign on Nov. 17, 2020, in Hollywood, California.  (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

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He later added, "the map shows how residents of whiter, wealthier communities disproportionately drive to work through lower-income Latino and Black neighborhoods, spewing pollution. Residents of those neighborhoods can’t do much about it."

Solutions he suggested range from "ending the sale of most gasoline vehicles" to allowing more apartment construction in wealthier neighborhoods.

The study faced rebuke not only from Twitter personalities, but the Twitter's Birdwatch feature. 

As of the writing of this article, Twitter has a warning label attached to the Los Angeles Times' tweet of the article saying, "This claim is false. This assumption is based on research that those who drive more tend to be exposed to less air pollution while those who drive less tend to be exposed to more pollution. L.A. population is 48.4% Hispanic/Latino, 28.1% White only (not Hispanic)."

Communications Director for the Claremont Institute Nick Short tweeted, "Congratulations to the author of this piece @Sammy_Roth. You have managed to write not only the most idiotic but racist piece of 2023!"

"This has become like old timey, nonsensical racism at this point..." comedian and author Tim Young tweeted.

A drone view of the downtown skyline and the bridge being enjoyed by pedestrians and bicyclists during the opening of the new 6th Street Bridge on July 10, 2022, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Gary Leonard/Getty Images)

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