Democrats turn to the environment as the next front in fighting inequality

There's a new arena congressional Democrats see as a way to help both combat the climate crisis and fight racial inequality: environmental justice. And two new bills aim to help combat what advocates say leads to higher household utility bills in poorer communities and neighborhoods with more pollution, among other consequences.

"We have structural injustice when it comes to access to a clean environment," Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth told CBS News. "Communities of color, poorer communities, are where we've tended to put our most toxic industries and they have borne the brunt of our nation developing." Urban and rural low-income households spend approximately three times as much on energy utilities as do affluent households. Americans of color, on average, make up 56 percent of neighborhood populations in close proximity to toxic pollutants. And a 2017 EPA report showed that low-income areas are more exposed to climate-related threats such as flooding and drought as a result of outdated infrastructure.