‘You should care’: Cathedral parishioner is a prominent advocate for environmental justice

After Megan Weil Latshaw graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in biology, she knew she didn’t want to go to medical school or work in a lab, so she ended up at an insurance company, working on environmental issues. .

“I was on the wrong side of the equation, working for landlords with lead paint closets and companies where workers were exposed to asbestos,” said Latshaw, a parishioner of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland who also has a doctorate in environmental affairs. health sciences from Johns Hopkins. “This was not in line with my Catholic values. I wanted to make the world a better place.”

More than 25 years later, Latshaw is an expert in environmental justice and works to improve health through environmental change. She is an associate professor and director of graduate programs in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“Environmental justice is the idea that people are treated fairly and can be included in discussions about the environments in which they live, work, play and pray,” Latshaw explains.

Last year, she gave a lecture on environmental justice as part of her parish’s spring colloquium on faith and science, entitled “Who Pollutes and Who Pays?” The Science and Humanity of Environmental Justice.” In her presentation she outlined the negative impact of racism on public health.

“Your zip code is a better predictor of how long you will live and how healthy you are than your genetic code,” she said.

Latshaw cited a 2016 study that found the average life expectancy of residents in the predominantly Black Seton Hill neighborhood was 63 years, versus that of residents of Roland Park, a predominantly white neighborhood, at 83 years.

According to Latshaw, people of color are more likely to be exposed to pollutants, lead poisoning and mold, cockroaches and mice, which can lead to asthma. They are also more likely to live near contaminated air, land or soil due to toxic waste facilities.

“People make money off that pollution, and people who drink the water and breathe the air pay the price,” she said. “Environmental justice seeks to level that equation so that those who pollute are the ones who pay for it.”

Latshaw, who grew up outside Philadelphia, is a lecturer at the cathedral, served on the pastoral council and taught in her parish’s faith formation program.

She is a big fan of “Laudato Si,” Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on the environment.

Latshaw says the biggest action people can take is to help change policy.

“Many big companies want us to change our individual habits by buying and recycling electric cars, but we need policies to discourage pollution at a larger level,” she said. “Support organizations that are trying to change policy. It’s important to educate yourself about environmental justice. Read about it and find organizations that are fighting. Invest your time, money and talents to volunteer.”

Latshaw supports Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition, No Boundaries Coalition, South Baltimore Community Land Trust and the Turner Station Conservation Team. It offers an open online course on chemicals and health, in which more than 35,000 students from all over the world have participated.

“If you believe in fairness and giving everyone an equal opportunity to thrive and live their best life, you should care about environmental justice,” she said.

Earth Day 2024

The theme of this year’s Earth Day is reducing global plastic consumption. Earth Day has been an annual event since 1970.

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