Environmental Justice

Readings E-res: first two chapters from Polluted Promises (Chapter 2 optional) BB: Introduction to Conservation Refugees

Metamessage Environmental burdens are unevenly spread across the landscape and so environmental justice, or lack of, becomes a real barrier to possibilities of sustainable society.

Definitions and Histories Environmental Justice fights against the inequitable (spatial) distribution of environmental burdens and benefits Lawsuit on behalf of six migrant farm workers exposed to DDT United States Public Health Services acknowledges that lead poisoning is disproportionately impacting African Americans and Hispanic children Lawsuit filed on behalf of Houston’s Northeast Community Action Group, the first civil rights suit challenging the siting of a waste facility Warren County, NC residents protest the siting of a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) landfill.

Definitions and Histories 1983 $25 million settlement with black residents in Triana, Alabama, a tiny all-black community that was contaminated with DDT from Redstone Arsenal Army base West Harlem Environmental Action's community organizing begins Indigenous communities, traditional societies and tribal nations begin meeting on environmental and natural resource extraction. This leads to national meetings in 1990 and 1991, that ultimately formed the Indigenous Environmental Network Bullard publishes Dumping in Dixie. 9 activists of color write letter to the “Group of 10” national environmental organizations calling on them dialogue with activists of color and to hire people of color on their staffs and boards of directors.

Definitions and Histories 1993 EPA established the 25-member National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) Indigenous Anti-Nuclear Summit 1996, Albuquerque, New Mexico, brought together a network of Indigenous peoples from North America and the Pacific negatively affected by the nuclear chain The First International Agricultural Worker Forum was held in The purpose of the Forum was to create a space for workers to present their problems. 2000s Env. Justice continues to broaden: Climate Justice Summit, increasing Food Justice activism

Justice: Whose Issue? Urban and Rural Local, National and International Communities of color, indigenous, ethnic minorities

Urban Cases

Chester, PA Camden, NJ

Urban Contexts: Waste Facility Citing in Chester, PA m/watch?v=5Opr- uzet7Q m/watch?v=5Opr- uzet7Q Clip from 52 minute documentary “Laid to Waste” by Robert Bahar

Rural Cases Mining and oil extraction exposures exposure to pesticides by farmworking e-waste trade, nuclear waste trade, and the citing of landfills and hazardous waste facilities nuclear testing and other military tests and training Biopiracy of intellectual property rights More generally, a failure to account for indigenous concerns by nations, lending banks, and the environmental movement

Immokalee, Florida Modern Day Slavery in the US Food System ube.com/watch?v =BDrOoNGVnJY

Rural Contexts: Bio-Piracy Clips Access and Benefit Sharing Principles refers to the equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources, such as plants. Indigenous knowledge is often used as a way to identify potentially valuable resource (e.g. a health-promoting plant), but do not always receive benefits from commercial utilization The Convention on Biological Diversity and The Nagoya Protocol provide a legal framework for implementing ABS watch?v=Wtw704KDipg watch?v=Wtw704KDipg

What Causes Environmental Injustice? Structural and institutionalized racism; institutionalized patriarchy the commodification of the environment a political economic system that breeds hierarchy resulting in: – lack of resources and power in affected communities – faulty government policies and regulation

Environmental Justice A: Spatial Concept /community/ej-index.tcl /community/ej-index.tcl BELL HOOKS on White Privilege m/watch?v=Nf5iqGWMW mI&feature=relmfu m/watch?v=Nf5iqGWMW mI&feature=relmfu

Environmental Justice Reports Environmental Justice Reports: the second to last day of class, we will run an environmental justice student panel. Student groups will complete small research projects, each reporting on a case of environmental injustice (chosen by the group). The write up will be approximately one page single spaced PER PERSON, and one member from the group will also present at the panel 15% (150 points)

Environmental Justice Reports What case did you choose? Who impacted? Where? Scale? WHY IS IT ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE? What has been done about it? (e.g. activist groups formed, policies changed) WHY IS IT ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE?