California Wants To View Air Quality Through ‘Racial Equity Lens’
California is looking to hire people who can reshape the state’s view of air quality through the lens of “racial equity.”
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has posted a job application for a “community expert” to “help shape the California Air Resources Board’s approach to advancing racial equity.”
The job posting says the agency “is developing a racial equity impact analysis tool, known as CARB’s Racial Equity Lens, to advance the agency’s vision for racial equity — a future where all Californians equitably breathe healthy and clean air, benefit from actions to address climate change, and where race is no longer a predictor of life outcomes.”
CARB says it is seeking five “passionate community leaders and racial justice experts” to shape the Racial Equity Lens, which it calls “ground truthing.” To do this, these “experts” will need to “validate data and information by comparing it with direct, real-world observations or measurements from community members the tool is intended to serve.”
Anyone who gets the job will have to provide written feedback about the tool and attend four meetings between March and June. Total compensation for four months of work will be about $2,500 ($375 to $500 per meeting/task).
The jobs are available because CARB adopted a resolution in 2020 “establishing an explicit commitment to advance racial equity and social justice measures in all CARB actions.” California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) issued an executive order in September 2022 requiring “state entities to embed racial equity strategies in their work, in part by developing or updating strategic plans to promote equity and respond to identified disparities.”
The tool has been in development since 2021 and pilot exercises ran between 2022 and 2024, a spokesman for CARB told The Daily Wire.
The job posting is full of “equity” jargon.
The posting requests that applicants who “have lived, professional, and/or leadership experiences uncommon in government bodies and industry” apply for the job and list a range of previous jobs suitable for the position, including community organizers. People who have “personal or lived experience as proponents of racial equity and/or environmental justice” are encouraged to apply.
Applicants need to be California residents “and/or a member of a California Tribal Government.” They should be from specific, disadvantaged, and low-income communities such as those in San Francisco, San Diego, or Los Angeles.
A CARB spokesperson told The Daily Wire that applications are open to “all qualified applicants, regardless of race,” adding, “Advancing racial equity requires collaboration and requires responsibility across all racial and ethnic backgrounds.”