Evidence is the Key to Solving our Illegal Dumping Issue.
By MiKayla Dotson
JA Guest Writer
In 1970, the EPA issued its first water advisory to the city of Jackson, Mississippi. Since then, Jackson has suffered through the constant stress and cycle of boil water notices and poor water reports. The environmental infrastructure has been struggling for years already, and on top of this, corporations have been found liable for their part in dumping waste and debris into communities surrounding Central Mississippi. As citizens grow increasingly frustrated, researchers, advocates, and community organizers must collaborate to provide evidence-based solutions for a healthier, more sustainable future.
Carl Sagan, an American astronomer, once said, “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” While the quote may sound like a riddle, Sagan’s intent was to highlight that the absence of tangible evidence does not negate the existence or impact of an issue. While data is one of the main keys in public health to informing the public and rooting each other in a similar cause, we also have to acknowledge the challenge in applying and utilizing that data. Unfortunately, here in Mississippi, political debates have often stalled progress towards any legislation aimed at fixing the water supply or solving other environmental issues. As the state continues to debate and struggle with determining how and who will address some of the environmental challenges facing Jackson, it is critical for researchers to provide data and key findings that continue to advance the issue. At some point, we have to overwhelm those who oppose legislation to improve environmental conditions with evidence. It is easy to deny something that does not exist in theory, but it is difficult to deny something that exists and is tangible. That’s why at the Community Noise Lab we developed the Illegal Dumping Database to hopefully provide evidence and allow everyone to have a voice.
The Community Noise Lab is based in Jackson, Mississippi, and Providence, RI, at the Brown University School of Public Health. Our mission is rooted in providing real-world solutions to influence and inform tangible, effective environmental policy. The Illegal Dumping Database provides a map of dumping sites in the Jackson Metro area. It provides real-time data on the size of the site and its specific location in the community. It also shows soil, air, and noise levels at each site. As we continue to develop the database, we hope that this will serve as a tool for residents to provide solutions for clean-up and call on their council members to enact change. Most importantly, we hope that you engage and work with us to build more evidence to support this issue. Send us sites that are affecting your community and tell us what you want addressed. We are here to serve and uplift our community. Personally, as a child of the Mississippi Delta who spent weekends and most weeknights playing travel basketball in Jackson, I feel a sense of responsibility to develop data tools that not only protect the city but also the entire state. I believe that if we want to imagine a better Mississippi, one with better, equitable infrastructure, we must provide reliable and accurate information. Let’s do so together.
