Environmental justice
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Environmental justice Environmental justice (EJ) is a holistic effort to analyze and overcome the power structures that have traditionally thwarted environmental reforms. Environmental justice proponents generally view the environment as encompassing "where we live, work, and play" (and sometimes "pray" or go to school are added); thus, the movement seeks to redress inequitable distributions of environmental burdens (pollution, industrial facilities, crime, etc) and access to environmental goods (nutritious food, clean air & water, parks, recreation, health care, education, transportation, safe jobs, etc.). Self-determination and participation in decision-making are key components of environmental justice. According to a compilation of thoughts by several notable EJ organizations, root causes of environmental injustices include: "institutionalized racism; the commodification of land, water, energy and air; unresponsive, unaccountable government policies and regulation; and lack of resources and power in affected communities" (Building Healthy Communities from the Ground Up [1]).
The theoretical framework of environmental justice is strongly linked to the environmental justice movement. At the beginning of the 1980s, environmental justice emerged as a concept in the United States. Pointing to a particular date or event that launched the Environmental Justice Movement is difficult, as the movement grew organically out of dozens, even hundreds, of local struggles and events and out of a variety of other social movements.
Participants of Central and Eastern European Workshop on Environmental Justice (Budapest, December 2003)[1] defined environmental justice (and injustice) in the following way:
- "Environmental Justice:
- A condition of environmental justice exists when environmental risks and hazards and investments and benefits are equally distributed with a lack of discrimination, whether direct or indirect, at any jurisdictional level; and when access to environmental investments, benefits, and natural resources are equally distributed; and when access to information, participation in decision making, and access to justice in environment-related matters are enjoyed by all."
- "Environmental Injustice:
- An environmental injustice exists when members of disadvantaged, ethnic, minority or other groups suffer disproportionately at the local, regional (sub-national), or national levels from environmental risks or hazards, and/or suffer disproportionately from violations of fundamental human rights as a result of environmental factors, and/or denied access to environmental investments, benefits, and/or natural resources, and/or are denied access to information; and/or participation in decision making; and/or access to justice in environment-related matters."
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[edit] Criticisms and Responses
Traditionally the environmental movements have been concerned with purely ecological issues including wilderness preservation, endangered species, overpopulation, recycling, and energy consumption. The environmental justice movement is seen by some as an attempt to shift the focus of the environmental movement away from these issues toward more anthropocentric concerns such as racism, classism, and sexism since these forms of oppression lead to unequal burdens of environmental pollution being felt by people of color, women, and low-income people. However, it should be noted that the Principles of Environmental Justice adopted at the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991 suggest that environmental justice is not solely concerned with anthropocentric issues since several principles stress the ecological interconnectedness of all species, including humans (see Principles of Environmental Justice)
[edit] Health emphasis
Environmental justice focuses on the direct impact on living conditions of affected communities. These are primarily health concerns. It often focuses on environmental concerns on urban areas where people live, as opposed to wilderness areas. Corporate accountability is a major component of environmental justice.
[edit] See also
- Environmental racism
- [[2]] - Chelsea Collaborative. A highly polluted town of poor Latinos, blacks and immigrants in Chelsea, Massachusetts struggling with a developer over a diesel power plant.
- Rural Action - An organization promoting social and environmental justice in Appalachian Ohio.
- Alton, Rhode Island - A town in Rhode Island currently struggling with a large, polluting dye company.
- Hunters Point, San Francisco, California - A neighborhood of San Francisco that is suffering the disproportionate burden of living next door to a Superfund site.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- [3]Chelsea Collaborative. EMI/Cape Wind is proposing a polluting diesel power plant across from an elementary school for this poor community already struggling with environmental injustice.
- CalEJ.org an open-access TWiki on environmental justice launched by students at the University of California at Berkeley during the Fall 2006, with an original focus on the San Francisco Bay Area
