Students in the "Clearing the Air: Environmental Studies of Pollution" class, co-taught by Dr. Scott Frickel and Dr. Meredith Hastings, contribute to Hastings’ community-based project, Breathe Providence, which was inspired by the City of Providence’s Climate Justice Plan and developed in partnership with local government and community organizations including the City of Providence, the Racial and Environmental Justice Committee, American Lung Association and the Conservation Law Foundation. 

In the past, the chances of human exposure would have been minimal, but climate change is dialing up the possibility of contamination. As extreme rain storms become more common, these low-lying streets around the Woonasquatucket are more vulnerable to flooding, which could release chemicals, volatile organic compounds or heavy metals like lead or cadmium from the ground or the river bottom.