Galen Hardy, July 18th, 2024
Title
Galen Hardy, July 18th, 2024
Description
Galen Hardy discusses his efforts to promote recycling in Detroit with Zero Waste Detroit, as well as that organization’s campaign against the Detroit incinerator. He talks about the Michigan Environmental Council’s work with Lansing lawmakers to affect environmental and climate change policy, and the importance of environmental justice.
Publisher
Detroit Historical Society
Rights
Detroit Historical Society
Language
en-US
Narrator/Interviewee's Name
Galen Hardy
Brief Biography
Galen Hardy has lived in various neighborhoods in Detroit’s District Two for eight years. He was the community education and outreach coordinator for Zero Waste Detroit between 2016 and 2019, and has been the Detroit Program Director for Michigan Environmental Council since 2022. He has also been involved in Ann Arbor’s sustainability planning, and Detroit’s Focus: HOPE organization.
Interviewer's Name
Doris Lazkron-Tamarazo
Date
07/18/2024
Interview Length
26:14
Transcription
Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo: I'm Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo. It's July 18th, 2024, and I'm on Zoom with, please say your name.
Galen Hardy: Galen Hardy.
DLT: Could you please spell your name?
GA: That’s spelled G a l e n H a r d y.
DLT: Thank you. And do you live in the city of Detroit?
GA: Yes I do.
DLT: Where do you live? What neighborhood?
GA: I stay in the Schulze neighborhood. That's District Two.
DLT: And how long have you lived there?
GA: I've been in the Schulze neighborhood about a year, but I've lived in District Two for about eight years now.
DLT: Where did you live before then?
GA: I lived in the Winship community.
DLT: And do you work in the city of Detroit?
GA: Yes, I do work in the city of Detroit.
DLT: What career are you in?
GA: Environmental policy.
DLT: What organization do you work for?
GA: I work for the Michigan Environmental Council.
DLT: How long have you been working there?
GA: This is my second go-round with the organization. It was from 2016 to 2019. And then I'm on two years, so I've been here about almost five years now, total.
DLT: And can you tell me about your work previously with Zero Waste Detroit?
GA: Yeah. I worked with Zero Waste Detroit from 2016 to 2019. The Michigan Environmental Council was our fiduciary. So, their idea of the promotion of recycling and waste reduction throughout the city.
DLT: And can you tell me about the impact of the incinerator on Detroit?
GA: Oh, it was negative! The incinerator was one of the reasons why there was never recycling here in the city of Detroit. It got so bad, it became as a suburban phenomenon, you know, no one ever believed that recycling would ever come to the city, because our first method of disposal was to burn it up in an incinerator. And, I think the incinerator took about 3,000 pounds of trash a day just to keep it burning. Just to heat up downtown.
DLT: And were you involved in the movement to get rid of it?
GA: Yes. Zero Waste Detroit was at the forefront. There were others, like Margaret Weber, Sandra Turner-Handy. They had been fighting the incinerators for years. And that was one of the reasons why Zero Waste Detroit started, because they felt that, if we can get folks to starve the beast, so to say, begin to recycle and whatnot, that'll be less material going to the incinerator.
DLT: And can you tell me more about what that effort against the incinerator looked like?
GA: Well, really it was about educating residents about the impact. And getting the city of Detroit to change their policy as far as, for waste reduction. And what we did— Well, what I did was a lot of promotion. I walked neighborhoods and I devised a program, and it was called the Neighborhood Recycling Workshops. And I held neighborhood recycling workshops throughout the city because I thought about the adage of, don't ask people to come to you, go to where the people are. And at the time, the city of Detroit had no marketing for recycling. Even when the city of Detroit started participating and making recycling available, they didn't market the program. So I took it upon myself. I said, I'm going to tell as many people as I can. So I will take one week, and I will create fliers. And I would target like nine streets and I will flyer those nine whole streets in a certain target area. And then with the fliers I created, I would tell residents where I would be at intheir communities, and they would normally, you know, it would be normally on corners and whatnot. I would set up the table, signage, and residents would come outside. And then also, once we did get online sign-up, I'd put the online sign up information on the back of the fliers, because once again, the city of Detroit wasn't telling folks how to sign up online either. So I just took it upon myself just to do it, just to educate people and give them the things that other communities have. And that's recycling.
DLT: And do you feel that recycling in Detroit has increased a lot since then?
GA: Oh, yes. Yes, it's taken off a bit. There's still work to do, such as commercial recycling, multi-family recycling, and whatnot. But, I know in my neighborhood I always see blue containers. And it makes me proud because I have really, really— It was really due to my efforts initially. And just to see people recycle and, you know, understand that the more you recycle, the less trash you’ll put in the black bin. If more goes into the blue recycling container, there's less material going into the landfill by way of the trash can.
DLT: And can you tell me about your current work with the Michigan Environmental Council?
GA: I work now with the Michigan Environmental Council. We opened up an office here in the city of Detroit, because we want to show folks that we are dedicated to the city. So we started the Detroit program. And with the Detroit program, our priorities are clean water, human health, which includes eradicating asthma and addressing the air pollution, recycling and waste diversion, regional transit, lead poisoning, healthy food access, and clean drinking water. And what we do is we consider ourselves the organizers of organizations, and we lead the Detroit Environmental Agenda, which is a policy-driven, community-based or collaborative. And we bring environmental policy to folks and we cut the red tape of bureaucracy and we connect, you know, the grassroots to the policymakers in Lansing.
DLT: And are there any particular grassroots organizations you work with that you'd want to mention?
GA: Oh, yeah. Southwest Detroit Environmental, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice. Eastside Community Network, The Ecology Center, Smallville Farms, Zero Waste Detroit, and—it's a few words I just can't name off the top of my head, but—oh, Elevate. Oh, god, Recycle Here. No, I'm sorry, Green Living Science. And there are some others.
DLT: And would you say that climate change affects your work at the Michigan Environmental Council?
GA: Heck, yeah. I mean, if it wasn’t for climate change— That's a major part of our job, you know, is getting the policymakers to make policies that adapt to the current changes in our environment, the things that we see everyday, and then simultaneously, mitigate those future impacts from the ever-changing environment. And just heightening the awareness of it, because some folks don't understand, or policymakers or whatnot,, that climate change represents an existential threat to all of us. We see that the Earth is heating up. We're seeing heavier rains. Winter has almost disappeared across the country. We're watching heat. We're watching residents become impacted by flooding. They cannot— Especially when they have to replace hot water heaters, furnaces one month and then the next month when another flood happens, they have to replace it again. And some folks are losing their home insurance. In fact, home insurance policymakers are pulling out all across the country. And we can definitely see some climate refugees coming to Detroit. Then on top of that, there'll be climate gentrification that's going to follow that.
DLT: And what do you mean by climate gentrification?
GA: That means that when folks with means, just say, like, a person in California, you know, a home there might cost $1 million, and that might be a home that's $200,000 here. What happens when those folks with means come here and push out long-standing residents? Because half of our population here in Detroit is renters. And what happens when those owners of those rental units want to sell to people with means? So they'll push out long-standing renters, and who knows where they could end up?
DLT: Can you talk a little bit more about the impact of flooding and increased heat on Detroit residents?
GA: Yes. Flooding has really been, like, the mainstay here. Because it rains more than it snows, in my opinion. And those folks who live on the Lower East Side, Southwest Detroit, you know, the Aviation Subdivision and other areas throughout the city that experience floods, it's a burden on residents. The city right now has a lifeline program where if you pay $7, $8 a month, that they'll give you some extra services that your home insurance policies might not cover. But some folks here are losing their home insurances, because they've had multiple floods. Multiple times when they have to make a claim on that policy. Especially on the Lower East Side, that's right near the river. And then we see even over in Dearborn and other areas, near the Rouge River and other areas, they're flooding. Every time it rains here in the city of Detroit, eople get nervous. I was nervous. I'm scared to go in my basement because [Laughs] I don't want to look and see water coming up out of the drain. And we have a combined sewer system here where everything goes into the same drain: your sewage, the runoff and everything. That impacts an antiquated system. Detroit is one of the oldest cities here and our infrastructure is old, with old pipes and things of that nature, and sometimes pipes burst. And subsequently, it's on the resident.
DLT: And what do you think needs to be done to help the residents deal with this issue of flooding?
GA: Well, I think the [Green &] Healthy Homes initiative needs to be really, really. I would say, funded. That's the state program that provides weatherization services. But it needs to be funded on an ongoing basis. It shouldn't be, like, one-off or something like that. Because the city of Detroit, it's going to take $2 billion to get the homes up to par, because right now we're expending a lot of greenhouse gas emissions trying to stay cool in the summer and stay warm in the winter. And a lot of residents can't afford it. And when they have a catastrophe happen, FEMA only gives you so many dollars. So what happens to the residents? I think the city needs to also create a tax. A tax on these new businesses and, you know, corporations, to have a steady stream of money to upgrade the houses of long-standing residents, of seniors, folks, who are under a certain income threshold. The city needs to make sure that there's a funding stream that goes directly to help those folks, and then we shouldn't be waiting on the state for trickle-down dollars. Because we know trickle-down economics doesn't work. So, I see a sustainability tax or some other tax, or entertainment tax. But the city really has to get serious about it. Not saying that they ain't. But I think they need a heightened sense of awareness, and know that we can't wait until the last minute, until a huge catastrophe happens then, and then it's like, oh, let's do something. No, no! We have to be proactive. And that means that, if we're putting equity at the forefront, that means helping the folks who are on the bottom first. And scale down some of the tax cuts we're giving to these billionaires! Because they can help themselves. We need to help the folks who can't help themselves. And if we got precious dollars going to a person who's going to put a building up and exclude them from paying taxes for thirty-five years, that just throws equity on its face. Because our first priority in the city needs to be the less fortunate.
DLT: And can you talk a little bit more about what the Michigan Environmental Council does to help alleviate or combat the impacts of climate change?
GA: Yes, yes. Well, first of all, our mission is to champion long standing protections for Michigan's air, our water, and places we love. We create a movement, a movement for environmental change. And we're the environmental policy leader here in the state, because we're a statewide membership organization. Our reach is all across the state, and we have an office right outside of the capital in Lansing. We have lobbyists and whatnot, but we're lobbying on the behalf of people that might not have a voice. You know, the people who don't have access to politicians or lawmakers or anybody like that, that's creating policy. And we try to make sure that those policies are equitable, and they’re fair. We can have businesses in this state, but also we need to make sure that we're not taking our eye off the ball and that really, we are working on protecting residents with good environmental policy, and championing those policies. And our role here in Detroit is to let our Lansing office know, hey, the [] are saying that those policies that are being implemented aren't working. And it's up to us to get with our Lansing partners and say, hey— Or the lawmakers that are, when they're in the Detroit offices connecting with them to tell them that, hey,we need better legislation coming out of Lansing to make sure that they're helping the folks who who are really struggling out here. And, especially with inflation.
DLT: And you talked about how Zero Waste Detroit did a lot of educational work, on the value of recycling and the issues with the incinerator. Does the Michigan Environmental Council also work to educate people on the topics?
GA: Oh, yes. Yes. We talk to lawmakers all the time, because some folks are under the impression that, because you elect someone, that they know it all. They need people like the Michigan Environmental Council. And when I say they, lawmakers need organizations like us, Michigan League of Conservation Voters, Friends of the Rouge, you know, all of us come together and talk about policy, and the impacts on real people. Sometimes when folks are in Lansing and they're sitting up in the capital, they can get lost, chasing a policy but not understanding the impact of the policy on real people who count on them. So we're always there educating them, making deals, trying to work with the policymakers to make sure that they put out good legislation. So education is ongoing. No matter if you're up north, or in the country, if you're in an area that's outside the urban area— It might be septic systems. That we're working with lawmakers to make sure those folks in those communities who use septic tanks and whatnot are being assisted as well. So we're just not all urban-focused. We're all about making sure that the whole state of Michigan is getting that type of environmental justice.
DLT: And how would you define environmental justice?
GA: Making sure that one community isn't just overburdened based upon their race or their economic standings. Because, a lot of times you'll see, like, anytime you see a transfer station, heavy polluters, they're always near the Black communities or brown communities and whatnot. So that means that they're being overburdened with pollutants based upon their race, because— And I can say this faithfully, because if you look across the country, most of the places that expel the worst type of emissions are near the poorest people. And sometimes they call the Black community the path of least resistance. And what that means is that because the Black community doesn't have a wealth of political power, we're not the richest community, sometimes polluters think that we don't care about their environment or whatnot. And so they’ll site those heavy industrial areas next to those communities. And then we're bearing the brunt, the health impacts. The asthma, because if you look at the city of Detroit, we lead the state in rates of that, infant mortality. I mean, all of those things, namely with health indicators, you will see the black community at the top. Or people that are Black and brown. Or poor, because poor whites are there too. But it’s mainly us, and that's why we have to fight back and make sure that, making sure that the air we breathe and everything is equitable. Even if you look at a map, you know, on here the asthma is located, the asthma rates and whatnot. You'll see the whole city of Detroit is red, meaning that there is a high prevalence of asthma. But then in the suburban areas, they're green. Because they don't have the toxic polluters. They don't have most of the hazardous waste places, or facilities, like, U.S. Ecology and whatnot. The city of Detroit has most of the state's liquid hazardous waste right here in the city. I think there's eight of them in the state, and six of them are here in the city of Detroit! So, you know, making sure that they're doing what they supposed to do.
DLT: And what would you say to someone who doesn't feel that climate change is real or an issue?
GA: I would tell them, really, if you don't believe what you see in here, you might got money behind it or something, but you just have to show them the data. That every month is hotter than the previous year's— You know, like June of last year was hotter than the previous June. And the June of this year was hotter than last year. Every year is getting hotter and hotter. And that's impacting the built environment, where downtown areas have heat domes because of the parking structures and parking lot and all the concrete. You can look at Texas, the increase of hurricanes, the increase of wildfires in California. You see an increase everywhere. And also folks are losing their home insurance and car insurance, because the insurance companies know that there's going to be another disaster in those places that they're insuring, and it's not good business to continue to take losses. So, I mean, that's why I think that the people— I think, [Representative] Ayanna Pressley said that the people who experienced the most pain should be closest, should be the ones that's closest to the power, the people who have the most power. Because she's right. Because if a policymaker is only around rich folks, they’ll think that everything is always good, or the affluent, everything is always good. So that's why we got to elevate the voice of the voiceless.
DLT: And was there anything else you wanted to discuss that none of my questions have brought up?
GA: Hm, no. I thought the interview was very thorough.
DLT: All right, then that's all the questions I have for you. Thank you so much for your time.
GA: Anytime.
Galen Hardy: Galen Hardy.
DLT: Could you please spell your name?
GA: That’s spelled G a l e n H a r d y.
DLT: Thank you. And do you live in the city of Detroit?
GA: Yes I do.
DLT: Where do you live? What neighborhood?
GA: I stay in the Schulze neighborhood. That's District Two.
DLT: And how long have you lived there?
GA: I've been in the Schulze neighborhood about a year, but I've lived in District Two for about eight years now.
DLT: Where did you live before then?
GA: I lived in the Winship community.
DLT: And do you work in the city of Detroit?
GA: Yes, I do work in the city of Detroit.
DLT: What career are you in?
GA: Environmental policy.
DLT: What organization do you work for?
GA: I work for the Michigan Environmental Council.
DLT: How long have you been working there?
GA: This is my second go-round with the organization. It was from 2016 to 2019. And then I'm on two years, so I've been here about almost five years now, total.
DLT: And can you tell me about your work previously with Zero Waste Detroit?
GA: Yeah. I worked with Zero Waste Detroit from 2016 to 2019. The Michigan Environmental Council was our fiduciary. So, their idea of the promotion of recycling and waste reduction throughout the city.
DLT: And can you tell me about the impact of the incinerator on Detroit?
GA: Oh, it was negative! The incinerator was one of the reasons why there was never recycling here in the city of Detroit. It got so bad, it became as a suburban phenomenon, you know, no one ever believed that recycling would ever come to the city, because our first method of disposal was to burn it up in an incinerator. And, I think the incinerator took about 3,000 pounds of trash a day just to keep it burning. Just to heat up downtown.
DLT: And were you involved in the movement to get rid of it?
GA: Yes. Zero Waste Detroit was at the forefront. There were others, like Margaret Weber, Sandra Turner-Handy. They had been fighting the incinerators for years. And that was one of the reasons why Zero Waste Detroit started, because they felt that, if we can get folks to starve the beast, so to say, begin to recycle and whatnot, that'll be less material going to the incinerator.
DLT: And can you tell me more about what that effort against the incinerator looked like?
GA: Well, really it was about educating residents about the impact. And getting the city of Detroit to change their policy as far as, for waste reduction. And what we did— Well, what I did was a lot of promotion. I walked neighborhoods and I devised a program, and it was called the Neighborhood Recycling Workshops. And I held neighborhood recycling workshops throughout the city because I thought about the adage of, don't ask people to come to you, go to where the people are. And at the time, the city of Detroit had no marketing for recycling. Even when the city of Detroit started participating and making recycling available, they didn't market the program. So I took it upon myself. I said, I'm going to tell as many people as I can. So I will take one week, and I will create fliers. And I would target like nine streets and I will flyer those nine whole streets in a certain target area. And then with the fliers I created, I would tell residents where I would be at intheir communities, and they would normally, you know, it would be normally on corners and whatnot. I would set up the table, signage, and residents would come outside. And then also, once we did get online sign-up, I'd put the online sign up information on the back of the fliers, because once again, the city of Detroit wasn't telling folks how to sign up online either. So I just took it upon myself just to do it, just to educate people and give them the things that other communities have. And that's recycling.
DLT: And do you feel that recycling in Detroit has increased a lot since then?
GA: Oh, yes. Yes, it's taken off a bit. There's still work to do, such as commercial recycling, multi-family recycling, and whatnot. But, I know in my neighborhood I always see blue containers. And it makes me proud because I have really, really— It was really due to my efforts initially. And just to see people recycle and, you know, understand that the more you recycle, the less trash you’ll put in the black bin. If more goes into the blue recycling container, there's less material going into the landfill by way of the trash can.
DLT: And can you tell me about your current work with the Michigan Environmental Council?
GA: I work now with the Michigan Environmental Council. We opened up an office here in the city of Detroit, because we want to show folks that we are dedicated to the city. So we started the Detroit program. And with the Detroit program, our priorities are clean water, human health, which includes eradicating asthma and addressing the air pollution, recycling and waste diversion, regional transit, lead poisoning, healthy food access, and clean drinking water. And what we do is we consider ourselves the organizers of organizations, and we lead the Detroit Environmental Agenda, which is a policy-driven, community-based or collaborative. And we bring environmental policy to folks and we cut the red tape of bureaucracy and we connect, you know, the grassroots to the policymakers in Lansing.
DLT: And are there any particular grassroots organizations you work with that you'd want to mention?
GA: Oh, yeah. Southwest Detroit Environmental, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice. Eastside Community Network, The Ecology Center, Smallville Farms, Zero Waste Detroit, and—it's a few words I just can't name off the top of my head, but—oh, Elevate. Oh, god, Recycle Here. No, I'm sorry, Green Living Science. And there are some others.
DLT: And would you say that climate change affects your work at the Michigan Environmental Council?
GA: Heck, yeah. I mean, if it wasn’t for climate change— That's a major part of our job, you know, is getting the policymakers to make policies that adapt to the current changes in our environment, the things that we see everyday, and then simultaneously, mitigate those future impacts from the ever-changing environment. And just heightening the awareness of it, because some folks don't understand, or policymakers or whatnot,, that climate change represents an existential threat to all of us. We see that the Earth is heating up. We're seeing heavier rains. Winter has almost disappeared across the country. We're watching heat. We're watching residents become impacted by flooding. They cannot— Especially when they have to replace hot water heaters, furnaces one month and then the next month when another flood happens, they have to replace it again. And some folks are losing their home insurance. In fact, home insurance policymakers are pulling out all across the country. And we can definitely see some climate refugees coming to Detroit. Then on top of that, there'll be climate gentrification that's going to follow that.
DLT: And what do you mean by climate gentrification?
GA: That means that when folks with means, just say, like, a person in California, you know, a home there might cost $1 million, and that might be a home that's $200,000 here. What happens when those folks with means come here and push out long-standing residents? Because half of our population here in Detroit is renters. And what happens when those owners of those rental units want to sell to people with means? So they'll push out long-standing renters, and who knows where they could end up?
DLT: Can you talk a little bit more about the impact of flooding and increased heat on Detroit residents?
GA: Yes. Flooding has really been, like, the mainstay here. Because it rains more than it snows, in my opinion. And those folks who live on the Lower East Side, Southwest Detroit, you know, the Aviation Subdivision and other areas throughout the city that experience floods, it's a burden on residents. The city right now has a lifeline program where if you pay $7, $8 a month, that they'll give you some extra services that your home insurance policies might not cover. But some folks here are losing their home insurances, because they've had multiple floods. Multiple times when they have to make a claim on that policy. Especially on the Lower East Side, that's right near the river. And then we see even over in Dearborn and other areas, near the Rouge River and other areas, they're flooding. Every time it rains here in the city of Detroit, eople get nervous. I was nervous. I'm scared to go in my basement because [Laughs] I don't want to look and see water coming up out of the drain. And we have a combined sewer system here where everything goes into the same drain: your sewage, the runoff and everything. That impacts an antiquated system. Detroit is one of the oldest cities here and our infrastructure is old, with old pipes and things of that nature, and sometimes pipes burst. And subsequently, it's on the resident.
DLT: And what do you think needs to be done to help the residents deal with this issue of flooding?
GA: Well, I think the [Green &] Healthy Homes initiative needs to be really, really. I would say, funded. That's the state program that provides weatherization services. But it needs to be funded on an ongoing basis. It shouldn't be, like, one-off or something like that. Because the city of Detroit, it's going to take $2 billion to get the homes up to par, because right now we're expending a lot of greenhouse gas emissions trying to stay cool in the summer and stay warm in the winter. And a lot of residents can't afford it. And when they have a catastrophe happen, FEMA only gives you so many dollars. So what happens to the residents? I think the city needs to also create a tax. A tax on these new businesses and, you know, corporations, to have a steady stream of money to upgrade the houses of long-standing residents, of seniors, folks, who are under a certain income threshold. The city needs to make sure that there's a funding stream that goes directly to help those folks, and then we shouldn't be waiting on the state for trickle-down dollars. Because we know trickle-down economics doesn't work. So, I see a sustainability tax or some other tax, or entertainment tax. But the city really has to get serious about it. Not saying that they ain't. But I think they need a heightened sense of awareness, and know that we can't wait until the last minute, until a huge catastrophe happens then, and then it's like, oh, let's do something. No, no! We have to be proactive. And that means that, if we're putting equity at the forefront, that means helping the folks who are on the bottom first. And scale down some of the tax cuts we're giving to these billionaires! Because they can help themselves. We need to help the folks who can't help themselves. And if we got precious dollars going to a person who's going to put a building up and exclude them from paying taxes for thirty-five years, that just throws equity on its face. Because our first priority in the city needs to be the less fortunate.
DLT: And can you talk a little bit more about what the Michigan Environmental Council does to help alleviate or combat the impacts of climate change?
GA: Yes, yes. Well, first of all, our mission is to champion long standing protections for Michigan's air, our water, and places we love. We create a movement, a movement for environmental change. And we're the environmental policy leader here in the state, because we're a statewide membership organization. Our reach is all across the state, and we have an office right outside of the capital in Lansing. We have lobbyists and whatnot, but we're lobbying on the behalf of people that might not have a voice. You know, the people who don't have access to politicians or lawmakers or anybody like that, that's creating policy. And we try to make sure that those policies are equitable, and they’re fair. We can have businesses in this state, but also we need to make sure that we're not taking our eye off the ball and that really, we are working on protecting residents with good environmental policy, and championing those policies. And our role here in Detroit is to let our Lansing office know, hey, the [] are saying that those policies that are being implemented aren't working. And it's up to us to get with our Lansing partners and say, hey— Or the lawmakers that are, when they're in the Detroit offices connecting with them to tell them that, hey,we need better legislation coming out of Lansing to make sure that they're helping the folks who who are really struggling out here. And, especially with inflation.
DLT: And you talked about how Zero Waste Detroit did a lot of educational work, on the value of recycling and the issues with the incinerator. Does the Michigan Environmental Council also work to educate people on the topics?
GA: Oh, yes. Yes. We talk to lawmakers all the time, because some folks are under the impression that, because you elect someone, that they know it all. They need people like the Michigan Environmental Council. And when I say they, lawmakers need organizations like us, Michigan League of Conservation Voters, Friends of the Rouge, you know, all of us come together and talk about policy, and the impacts on real people. Sometimes when folks are in Lansing and they're sitting up in the capital, they can get lost, chasing a policy but not understanding the impact of the policy on real people who count on them. So we're always there educating them, making deals, trying to work with the policymakers to make sure that they put out good legislation. So education is ongoing. No matter if you're up north, or in the country, if you're in an area that's outside the urban area— It might be septic systems. That we're working with lawmakers to make sure those folks in those communities who use septic tanks and whatnot are being assisted as well. So we're just not all urban-focused. We're all about making sure that the whole state of Michigan is getting that type of environmental justice.
DLT: And how would you define environmental justice?
GA: Making sure that one community isn't just overburdened based upon their race or their economic standings. Because, a lot of times you'll see, like, anytime you see a transfer station, heavy polluters, they're always near the Black communities or brown communities and whatnot. So that means that they're being overburdened with pollutants based upon their race, because— And I can say this faithfully, because if you look across the country, most of the places that expel the worst type of emissions are near the poorest people. And sometimes they call the Black community the path of least resistance. And what that means is that because the Black community doesn't have a wealth of political power, we're not the richest community, sometimes polluters think that we don't care about their environment or whatnot. And so they’ll site those heavy industrial areas next to those communities. And then we're bearing the brunt, the health impacts. The asthma, because if you look at the city of Detroit, we lead the state in rates of that, infant mortality. I mean, all of those things, namely with health indicators, you will see the black community at the top. Or people that are Black and brown. Or poor, because poor whites are there too. But it’s mainly us, and that's why we have to fight back and make sure that, making sure that the air we breathe and everything is equitable. Even if you look at a map, you know, on here the asthma is located, the asthma rates and whatnot. You'll see the whole city of Detroit is red, meaning that there is a high prevalence of asthma. But then in the suburban areas, they're green. Because they don't have the toxic polluters. They don't have most of the hazardous waste places, or facilities, like, U.S. Ecology and whatnot. The city of Detroit has most of the state's liquid hazardous waste right here in the city. I think there's eight of them in the state, and six of them are here in the city of Detroit! So, you know, making sure that they're doing what they supposed to do.
DLT: And what would you say to someone who doesn't feel that climate change is real or an issue?
GA: I would tell them, really, if you don't believe what you see in here, you might got money behind it or something, but you just have to show them the data. That every month is hotter than the previous year's— You know, like June of last year was hotter than the previous June. And the June of this year was hotter than last year. Every year is getting hotter and hotter. And that's impacting the built environment, where downtown areas have heat domes because of the parking structures and parking lot and all the concrete. You can look at Texas, the increase of hurricanes, the increase of wildfires in California. You see an increase everywhere. And also folks are losing their home insurance and car insurance, because the insurance companies know that there's going to be another disaster in those places that they're insuring, and it's not good business to continue to take losses. So, I mean, that's why I think that the people— I think, [Representative] Ayanna Pressley said that the people who experienced the most pain should be closest, should be the ones that's closest to the power, the people who have the most power. Because she's right. Because if a policymaker is only around rich folks, they’ll think that everything is always good, or the affluent, everything is always good. So that's why we got to elevate the voice of the voiceless.
DLT: And was there anything else you wanted to discuss that none of my questions have brought up?
GA: Hm, no. I thought the interview was very thorough.
DLT: All right, then that's all the questions I have for you. Thank you so much for your time.
GA: Anytime.
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Citation
“Galen Hardy, July 18th, 2024,” Detroit Historical Society Oral History Archive, accessed January 21, 2025, https://oralhistory.detroithistorical.org/items/show/1038.