Environmental Justice

All people, regardless of race, nationality and income, should have equal distribution of the benefits and burdens of the environment. However, this is very much untrue in the United States and around the world. Chiles (2015) noted that it is "well documented around the world that environmental hazards often impact poor communities and communities of color disproportionately". There are countless examples across the United States where communities of color and low income communities live in areas with water and air pollution. According to the World Health Organization, "social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels". People who make less money can only afford to live in places that have a lower cost of living. These cities are usually cheaper because they are less desirable. They are less desirable because they are across from a garbage-burning incinerator, an oil refinery or near pig farms for example. Additionally, these people likely are making less money because they are not educated or immigrated from another country. Or they live in a community that has pushed them out because of their race or religion. This means that a person's income, nationality and/or race determine where they can live and therefore what environmental hazards they will be exposed to in their community.

Environmental justice is a major issue to address and changes come slowly. The United States is making some progress. In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed an executive order to ensure that environmental justice was part of the mission of federal agencies. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a government agency with a goal to ensure that all persons in all communities have the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards. People of color and people living in low income communities already has less opportunities than white people and people living in higher income communities - they should not also have to suffer from higher rates of asthma, heart disease, stroke, cancer and other disease because of where they live.



References: 
Chiles, N (2015) 8 Horrifying Examples of Corporations Mistreating Black Communities With Environmental Racism. Retrieved from https://atlantablackstar.com/2015/02/12/8-horrifying-examples-of-corporations-mistreating-black-communities-with-environmental-racism/

 World Health Organization (n.d.) Social Determinants of Health. Retrieved  from http://www.who.int/social_determinants/sdh_definition/en/

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 16, 2018 at 11:04 PM

    The readings from this section were emotional for me. I know so many people, including the youth I work with who are victims of environmental injustices, and unfair housing situations. Fortunately there are many organizations who specialize in working toward improving environmental injustices in our community.

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