John Oliver delved into environmental racism in the US, in which, like many things, the effects of toxic pollution disproportionately effect people of color, particularly black Americans. The Last Week Tonight host cited studies which found that black Americans are exposed to 38% more polluted air and are 75% more likely to live in communities that border a plant or factory.
Those disparities hold when controlled for income; black Americans making $200,000 annually were exposed to more air pollution than white Americans making $25,000, “proving that yet again, racism is one of the few things in this country more powerful than money,” Oliver noted. “In fact, I believe America’s current top five power rankings go: racism, beef, viral videos of soldiers reuniting with their dogs, DJ Khaled’s PR team and then money.”
