Rep. Abraham Aiyash, October 9th, 2024

Rep. Abraham Aiyash, October 9th, 2024

In this interview, Rep. Abraham Aiyash shares his views on climate change and how it can be combated.

Detroit Historical Society

October 9th 2024

Detroit Historical Society

en-US

Abraham Aiyash

Abraham Aiyash is a lifelong resident of Detroit and has been a Democratic representative for the 9th district of Detroit since 2020. He was been vocal on climate change and environmental racism.

Kevin Hawthorne

21:39

Kevin Hawthorne: Hello, this is Kevin Hawthorne with the Detroit Historical Society and our oral history on climate change. And today I'm joined with you. Please introduce yourself.

Abraham Aiyash: Yeah, Abraham Aiyash, I am a state representative and majority leader for the 9th house District, which includes Detroit's Hamtramck, East Side and downtown communities.

KH: I thank you so much for meeting with me today. To start off what area of Detroit do you reside in?

AA:I live right along the Detroit East side and Hamtramck border.

KH: How long have you lived there?

AA: My entire life born and raised.

KH: So being born and raised in the Hamtramck area, how have you seen climate change affected over the time you've lived there?

AA: You know, growing up, I would walk to school, and when I crossed Conan, I would have to cover my nose because the smell from the Detroit incinerator would come through and at the time, I didn't know what it was, but realized growing up that we were bringing in Canadian garbage and burning it here in the city of Detroit. And we've seen a multitude of a lot of pollution and industries that have polluted our backyards, our air, land and water. And, you know, you grow up and you find out that someone in your community has cancer or someone has asthma, someone has breathing issues. I actually growing up had struggled breathing. Sometimes I actually used to use an inhaler as a kid and I still have one now. Just don't use it as frequently, but it definitely takes a toll on your on your health.

KH: How old were you when you started having to use the inhaler?

AA: I was about nine years old.

KH: And growing up. Where did you attend college?

AA::Michigan State University go green, literally. And I went to MSU.

KH: And what was your major in?

AA:I studied political theory and constitutional democracy and minor in Muslim studies. That's a fancy way to say unemployment.

KH: So when did you first get involved with climate change action?

AA: You know, after working on the Obama campaign in 2008, I knocked over 10,000 doors for President Obama's historic campaign that year. I wanted to keep the call that he would tell us to find ways to serve our communities locally. So I took that message and I learned about recycling as a kid, and I was really interested in ensuring that my community was more conscious about reducing waste and finding ways to minimize what was going in landfills. So I joined the recycling commission when I turned 18, but prior to that I actually helped set up a program for recycling in Hamtramck Public schools for plastic and paper. And from there I went to MSU and continued my advocacy around climate justice and environmental justice, in particular with working with Rosemary Robinson in her office, fighting back against US ecologies expansion in their attempt to bring radioactive waste and hazardous waste into our state. We worked hard to slow down that process and try to eliminate their ability to get a permit extension.

KH: And around what year was that where you were working on that initiative?

AA: About 2015.

KH: And 2015. And remind me, when did you first take your position as state rep?

AA: I was elected in 2020.

KH: Elected in 2020 and between 2015 and 2020. What were other things you were noticing arise in the community as a result of climate change?

AA: Obviously you saw weather changes. I remember growing up during the blackout of 2003, but now you start seeing things like hotter summers, colder winters and folks complaining about more difficulty breathing, folks getting sick. You know, we have folks in my community that were getting blood cancer, which I didn't realize was it was a thing. And you start hearing stories if someone says, hey, I have this health issue and then someone else say, wait, I have the same thing. And you realize that all these people grew up in the same area and breathed the same air and drank from the same water sources. And unfortunately, there is reason to believe that there's a direct link or those situations.

KH: And after becoming state rep, what are some of the things you've been trying to accomplish with climate change?

AA: You know, I'm incredibly proud of the work that we've been able to push in the Michigan House. You know, I was able to help shepherd the Clean Energy and Jobs Act, which moves Michigan towards a clean energy future where 100% of our energy by 2040 would be clean and renewable energy sources. Additionally, working on making sure that we have an ability to move towards large scale wind and solar projects, to move away from power plants and natural gas and move towards renewable energy sources. And then on the environmental justice side, you know, we passed asbestos legislation and air quality legislation in the Senate to make sure that funds from areas that have dealt with air quality violations, that that money goes back to the communities that suffer from those violations. And you look at things like the Stellantis plant on the east side, it's one of the biggest culprits of that. And most what I'm most proud of is the legislation that I've been working on for several terms now, the Protecting Overburdened Communities Act, which would allow the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to deny a permit on the basis of public health, which is something that would directly impact our communities right here in Michigan and in Detroit, who have suffered from the brunt of this, because you start seeing that somehow all these factories, all these facilities tend to be in areas that are a little bit more black, a little bit more brown, a little bit more poor than the rest of the state.

KH: What has been the most recent effects with, you know, In the 2020s, it seems like we've seen an increase. What are some of the most adverse effects from some of these you've seen in the past few years?

AA: I'm sorry.

KH: I'm sorry. like in the 2020s, especially with a lot of the new construction, like the Gordie Howe Bridge, have you been seeing an uptick in this like of like the pollution and like just health issues?

AA: Have I seen an uptick?

KH: Yes. Like just by meeting with your constituents and such?

AA: Yeah. I mean, you know, there's there's not a shortage of conversations I have with constituents, whether it's on the east side over by Del Ray in southwest Detroit that tell me, hey, this pollution is at least literally, you know, as a film, a dust film on our cars and our doors and we have trouble breathing. I mean, we've seen over the last couple of years the air quality issues in Michigan, particularly in the summer where there's legitimate concern from the forest fires as a direct result of climate change. Hotter summers and less rainfall. Folks who are struggling to breathe right it, folks putting on masks to filter out some of this smell and not just the smell, but to filter out some of the pollutants in the air to make sure that they would just be able to breathe safely. You have really hot summers and older buildings that don't have really good airflow or central air, and folks are sitting in hot, humid spaces where the air is polluted because of these facilities or from some of the forest fires that from Canada that blew into Detroit. You know, that takes a toll on someone's health. Now, couple that with that access, lack of access to walkable infrastructure parks in you sort of couple these things on and now you have sort of a perfect storm of chaos that causes detrimental impact on people's health.

KH: Absolutely. And then so obviously, a big part of your campaign is rightfully talking about environmental justice and how corporations are often in, you know, involved with this. But how would you suggest people who can improve in their everyday lives? Are there any things you're doing in your everyday life to try and combat climate change?

AA: You know, I think there's there's something to be said about trying to move towards reducing our energy use, The best centered, the best energy that is the one is the energy that we don't use. So finding ways to be more efficient, reducing plastic consumption. But we are working on legislation for extended producer responsibility so that the onus is not just on the consumer, but on the people producing these plastic waste products that are causing an uptick in CO2 emissions and also an uptick in pollution and then landfill space. We got to find a way to minimize the type of waste that we are creating that will sit in landfills for thousands of years. So anywhere where we can reduce that from a consumer end and, you know, everyone likes to think, well, what is my what is my one decision if not throwing away this plastic bottle or using a new reusable container? Well, if everyone sort of has that mindset, nothing's ever going to happen. But if all of us sort of collectively chip in, you know, we are going to see that work of all of us working in one direction and moving the tide towards a more sustainable future is a net benefit for all of us in terms of our public health, our economy, our day to day lives. We should all see a net improvement if we're all willing to put in a little bit of that work.

KH: And in your daily life, have you look into things like solar panels and wind turbines?

AA: I can't put a wind turbines in my neighborhood, but I think you look at things like community solar that we could put in places like Detroit where communities chip in a neighborhood, a block club, a community will invest in a community solar project, and then that project powers people's homes. Or if you have the ability to do rooftop solar. Unfortunately, what we're seeing, though, in Lansing is the utility companies, the monopoly utility companies like DTE, Consumers Energy, they're blocking a lot of these efforts and there's really no argument except they want to maximize their profits. And it's unfortunate, but we must keep pushing the legislature. Call your colleagues and call my colleagues and ask them to commit to supporting this legislation. Community Solar would allow us to build our community solar power, sort of mini farms in places like Detroit, in urban centers and rooftop solar allows folks if they have the ability to do so. To tap into federal monies and then bring down some of the costs. Savings cost savings by installing solar panels on roofs.

KH: Excellent. And with talking with some of the folks in Detroit, one thing that I've noticed as a concern is the effects of gentrification kind of intersecting with climate change, especially of a there's a fear of like, you know, and installing these nicer environmental things that will cause the, you know, cost of living to go up. And the people we're trying to protect are going to get pushed out. What do you say about people's concerns about that?

AA: I'm sorry. Can you repeat the question?

KH: Well, yes, of course. So, you know, like with gentrification, like it's been an issue on a lot of people's minds in Detroit, of Detroit, developing... of with developing these areas with more solar energy like environmentally friendly things, the cost of living my people are afraid will rise as a result of that pushing out the people. And like just in general, like your thoughts on the intersection of climate change and gentrification?

AA: You know, there's there's there's certainly concern but I think in the legislation that we passed sort of the energy savings for consumers in places like Detroit, they would still see a net benefit in terms of lowering the cost of energy because we are producing more energy and we're putting it in places that generally would not have access to that. So the more autonomy we can give homeowners. So a lot of homeowners in this in the city of Detroit would benefit from this. Community solar would be an ability for everyone to sort of chip in, sort of keep this within your neighborhoods to sort of push back against gentrification. Right. It's not some outside developer, but it's rather a community of people who are agreeing and chipping in to a solar panel project to generate energy for their own backyards in their own homes. You know, those are the types of programs that we see would be a net benefit for for folks. And there's also the reality of it gets more expensive to live in communities that are harder to have a moderate climate and and protections for people right? So Detroit is better off when we are able to minimize pollution and increase more sustainable energy sources. And that's a net positive for everyone, for their public health, for their economic health and for their opportunities. Because you'll see investments and the job opportunities around the clean energy sector are tenfold. And I think we just got to make sure that we're moving towards that.

KH: And absolutely there's the jobs that are... Is that what you would say to someone who is maybe a little skeptical about like, well, what if we lose a lot of manufacturing jobs by trying to increase green jobs? What would you say to them?

AA: What would you what? I'm sorry.

KH: I like that there are some people who are maybe not as well versed to when they just hear that you're trying to get rid of manufacturing jobs. That is here. It is that not that you're replacing it with green jobs. How would you kind of talk to someone who's a little concerned about like if they're going to lose like a job that they've had?

AA: Yeah. Look, there's there's always going to be a transition. One of the things that we did is we created the Office of Just Transition in Michigan, to ensure that the process gives folks the ability to have that moment of moving towards a cleaner, greener future without leaving folks behind. And that's some of the work that we're going to continue to do. But it requires of us a little bit of of commitment to say if we make this change now, the job opportunities that will come as a result of it will be tremendous. You think about all the ways folks can have job opportunities with deploying the solar projects and wind projects and the manufacturing that will come for things like EVs and chips and really creating a more desirable place to live and start a community that also increases small businesses. So there really is a net positive, I think, when you think about all the ways that we work with this. As we move towards a clean energy future. I'll say that it's There is not an advantage for communities when you have a situation where a place doesn't is no longer habitable or desirable to live because of extreme weather and inconsistent and sporadic climate and energy supply and things of that nature.

KH: Absolutely. Unfortunately, climate change is still a heavily divisive, politicized issue. So I have two questions on that front. What would you say to someone who believes that climate change is not an issue we need to worry about?

AA: I would say look at the hurricanes that we're seeing in the last two weeks. I think that is a clear example of where climate change is is serious and deadly right? Hurricane Milton. In a line that that just passed. And then even in our own state, you see extreme summers and extreme winters as a direct result of climate change and for us to ignore that, you know, you look at all the things you've experienced in the last couple of summers, the I mentioned the forest fires because of record low rainfalls in certain areas. And then our air quality becomes dangerous in some communities. The air quality index, which is not something that I would assume many folks pay attention to, but it's not something that we have to look at and say, is it safe to be outside and breathe? Which is a scary concept. You look at situations where you had 100 year rainfalls that flood people's basements in Detroit, and that is a direct result of rapidly changing climate that becomes less predictable as a result of. Our contribution to increasing carbon dioxide into our atmosphere and we can reverse it or slow it down. I mean, there is an ability for us to move away from that. You know, the the thing is, a lot of this is manmade, but the positivity and the hope that I have is if man can screw it up, people can can also try to fix it.

KH: And on the flip side of that question, what would you say to someone who is like, I believe climate change is an issue, I want to be doing more to try and help and I feel hopeless. You know, it's very easy in today's day and age to feel hopeless about this issue. What would you say to those people?

AA: You know, every time I think about that, I usually think about all the gray haired and white haired activists that have been fighting this fight and still show up to Sierra Club meetings, still show up, tell LCV meetings and and still show up to Lansing to advocate for better renewable energy policy. And if these folks haven't given up, there's no excuse for me to sort of check out and and then for us to check out. So I understand it's frustrating. I mean, I certainly beat my head against the wall when I see that we don't have the level of urgency that I would like to see from my colleagues. But what I will say is we are moving in the right direction, but we need more folks to keep the conversation going so that we can actually have that ability for us to move forward as us as a country and as a world towards a more renewable future.

KH: And talking about the flooding. Have you personally dealt with any flooding in your like at your house or within your community that you've seen affect you?

AA: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, you've I've seen there's plenty of neighbors. My my sister's basement was was ruined. I know people that lost pets, you know, after the initial floods that we saw a couple of years ago. I actually went around and canvased the east side of Detroit. You talked to so many senior citizens that hadn't been able to go downstairs to clean up. We had mold build up and that stuff can be deadly, right? If you breathe in mold spores and you get extremely sick. I mean, this is the type of concern that we have. And, you know, our infrastructure was not built for hundred year rains to be happening every two years or every summer. But this is the reality that people are facing. And we saw that firsthand after the initial storms a couple of summers ago. And and we continue to see those concerns every time that there's large scale rains. And it's scary for for a lot of people.

KH: All right. And then I don't want to keep you too much longer. I'll help wrap up. Is there anything that we haven't discussed that you'd like to talk about?

AA: I think we covered a lot.

KH: I think we did too. So I think we can call it there. Thank you so much for your time today.

AA: Yeah. Thank you so much.