Environmental Justice
Definition
Environmental Justice is a term used to describe injustices done to the environment and the way natural resources are used. The Environmental Justice Movement began in the 1980s and includes many groups which aim at dismantling the power structures in the United States which have traditionally discouraged any attempts at reform. The movement was propelled by the now legendary 1982 Warren County, North Carolina demonstration against a proposed landfill. The protests failed to stop the placement of the landfill, but hundreds were arrested. Soon after, a study by the General Accounting Office revealed that three of the four landfills in that region were in predominantly black communities. Similar associations were found throughout the country spawning amovement to challenge the systems and policies that promoted the unmistakable discrimination.3
According to the Department of Energy, "Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people—regardless of race, ethnicity, income or education level—in environmental decision making. Environmental Justice programs promote the protection of human health and the environment, empowerment via public participation, and the dissemination of relevant information to inform and educate affected communities". [[1]]
Environmental justice deals with both race and class. Environmental racism is the placement of landfills, waste sites, incinerators, and highly polluting corporate plants in minority communities such as blacks, Native Americans, Asians, Hispanics etc.[2] It is based on the vulnerability of the weaker races due to their lack of political and economic power. Many minorities already face other forms of racism that limit their ability to move upward in social status. Many communities are impoverished and do not have the resources needed to achieve a better quality of live. This lack of resources limits their ability to affect policy and influence their surrounding environment. They are bound by the "glass ceiling" that unfairly prohibits adavancement.
Enviornmental racism is just one component of the issues facing minorities. They must deal with "discriminatory housing and land use practices, residential segregation, inadequate transportaiont, limited employment and educational opporutnities, political disenfranchisment, and access to information and medical care."[2] There are a number of organizations that are seeking environmental equity. They look to raise awareness of the injustice and promote a strong unity amongst minorities to fight for better living conditions.
Principles of Environmental Justice
The following Principles of Environmental Justice were adopted at the People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, which took place at Washington, D.C., in October of 1991:
1. Environmental justice affirms the sacredness of Mother Earth, ecological unity and the interdependence of all species, and the right to be free from ecological destruction.
2. Environmental justice demands that public policy be based on mutual respect and justice for all peoples, free from any form of discrimination or bias.
3. Environmental justice mandates the right to ethical, balanced and responsible uses of land and renewable resources in the interest of a sustainable planet for humans and other living things. View Full List of Principles
