Minority Environmental Lawyers Association, Inc.
The online home of
Mathy V. Stanislaus, Esq.
Welcome to my little corner of the Web world. Consider it a digest version of who I am and what's important to me.
Sure it won't tell you everything, but you know what they say...
"If you want to move people, it must be towards a collective vision, it must tap important values and it must provide tangible benefits for affected community - a paraphrase of Dr. King's vision of collective action."
Vitals:
Home Base: New York, NY
Oh, and if you happen to bump into me in an online chat, be sure to say "hi".
At Concentric Café, I'll be the one they call "MELA".
IRC chatters will recognize me as "Mathy".
Faves:
Online Faves:
MELA and Environmental Justice:
The Minority Environmental Lawyers Association, Inc. (MELA) is not-for-profit corporation dedicated to promoting equity in the practice and application of environmental law. MELA's diverse membership includes African, Asian, Latino and Native-Americans. ****************************************************************************************** MELA's activities include promoting diversity in the hiring of environmental professionals and advocacy for the achievement of environmental justice.
MELA's activities are based on the adherence to the Principles of Environmental Justice. Firmly embedded in these principles are two fundamental tenets: 1) providing equal participation in decisionmaking for those that are currently disproportionately burdened by pollution, disease and degraded environments (poor and people of color communities)and
2) that all decisionmaking specifically address such disproportionate burdens and all environmental benefits (e.g., funding) be equitably allocated to poor and communities of color, rather than be the alleged trickle-down effect of policies designed to generally benefit society. MELA seeks to implement these tenents through educating and counseling environmental justice communities and advocating for the achievement of environmental justice through legal and regulatory changes. ******************************************************************************************
Recent MELA activities include:
authoring the "Workbook for Citizens Participation in Permitting under Title V of the Clean Air Act" and conducting training for its application;
advocating for funding to specifically address disproportionate pollution burdens and the equitable allocation of general environmental funds to poor and people of color communities in the New York State 1996 Clean Air/Clean Water Act;
participating in USEPA's Permits Improvement Team;
implementing the community component of USEPA's Common Sense Initiative - Printing Sector - New York City Educational Project;
authoring resolutions for the 1996 National Black Caucus of State Legislators Conference Annual Meeting for financing Brownfield redevelopment and supporting USEPA's proposed rule for revising the Clean Air Act's particulate and ozone standard (both resolutions were adopted). ***************************************************************************************************************************************
ALL OF THESE ACTIVITIES WERE PERFORMED BY THE VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS OF MELA'S MEMBERS. MELA'S GOAL IN THE NEXT YEAR IS TO SECURE FUNDING AND COLLABORATION WITH LIKE-MINDED ORGANIZATIONS TO FURTHER ADVANCE MELA'S MISSION AND WORK. WE ARE LOOKING FOR ASSISTANCE AND ADVICE ON HOW MELA CAN FUND ITS ACTIVITIES - PLEASE E-MAIL MELA AT MSTANISL@CONCENTRIC.COM. THANKS FOR VISITING US.
Brownfield Redevelopment:
Every aspect of decisions associated with Brownfield Redevelopment must be driven by the community in which a brownfield site is located. A community-based model for brownfield redevelopment is one that is based on the actual participation of the community - from the cleanup decision to selected reuse, one that assures that the reuse considers the existing conditions of the community, one that provides actual benefits to the community - economic, environment and health - and one that is based on the principles of sustainability (environmentally and economically) and revitalization (economically, and spiritually).
Empowerment and Justice:
Empowerment and justice arises through providing real tools of equality and opportunity. The paper doctrine of equal protection is insufficient unless the implementation of such is based in the actual achievement of equality in peoples lives such as equal access to economic opportunity, education, housing, and justice. Historic tools of equality such as intergration are insufficient, in themselves, because they are not directly linked to the actual achievement of equality in results. MELA focuses its efforts in the actual achievement of equality in individual lives and the community.
And, hey, if you feel inspired, drop me a line at
mstanisl@concentric.net
. It's always good to hear from fellow online travelers.