here & now

Here and Now: Celebrating Earth Month with the Environmental Leaders of Color

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Sunday, April 7, 2024

Here and Now 4/7/24: Earth Month with Environmental Leaders of Color

The co-founder of Environmental Leaders of Color, Dr. Diana Williams, joins Here and Now to talk about her organization's mission and goals.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- As we celebrate Earth Month this April, Dr. Diana Williams, co-founder of the Environmental Leaders of Color, joins Sandra Bookman to discuss how her non-profit organization has been helping low-income communities prepare for the adverse effects of climate change.

Each summer, the Environmental Leaders of Color provides a six-week program engaging students in classroom-based learning about basic clean energy and climate change topics. At the end of the 2023 summer program, students presented an idea that would later evolve into the "Don't Strain Your Drain" campaign.

Did you know that it is hazardous to pour cooking oil down your drain?

Pouring cooking oil down the drain can cause building pipes and storm drains to clog. Clogged storm drains do not effectively remove rainwater, which leads to water backing up basements and backyards. Waterlogged basements can compromise the structural integrity of buildings and allow toxic mold and mildew to grow.

Exposure to toxic mold and mildew can cause medical emergencies in people who have compromised immune systems, asthma or another respiratory disease.

In order to combat this issue, the Environmental Leaders of Color collaborated with fire departments in Mount Vernon to provide drop-off locations for used cooking oil. Those drop-off locations are at 470 Lincoln Avenue and 50 West Third Street.

To learn more about the Environmental Leaders of Color and the other programs they provide, you can visit the organization's website.

Here and Now with Sandra Bookman airs Sundays at 12:00 p.m. on Channel 7, WABC-TV in New York City.