Analysis Of Disproportionate Siting By Dorcetta Taylor

Research Question: Why are poor minority neighborhoods disproportionately targeted for the placement of noxious toxic facilities?

Environmental Racism can be described as, the intentional or unintentional placement of hazardous waste sites, landfills, or industries that are polluting communities mainly those inhabited by African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders and Asians, as well as the working poor. In the broadest sense, Environmental Racism, is a process where environmental decisions, actions, and policies results in racial discrimination. Environmental racism is important to know about because it effects almost every low-income or impoverished area across the world. Some notable areas that are dealing with environmental racism are: Flint Michigan-where thousands of residents have

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “health disparities are preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or in opportunities to achieve optimal health experienced by socially disadvantaged racial, ethnic, and other population groups, and communities” (CDC, 2017).  It  is easy to believe that control on overall health relies solely on making  a firm decision (the “right” decision" to lead a healthy lifestyle— by being active and eating a balanced-diet. There are other factors to be considered in evaluating and understanding health disparities: why people seem to be noncompliant? Or why people aren’t seeking medical attention in a timely manner?  In reading

In the book, Sacrifice Zones, Steve Lerner takes readers through twelve separate stories of communities in the United States that have been unwillingly exposed to high levels of environmental toxicity. In each of these cases, citizens of those communities reacted to and pushed back against being exposed to toxic chemicals, sometimes successfully and sometimes less so. In every case, the people most heavily exposed to these health hazards were minorities and low-income citizens, which, Lerner argues, is why government officials and corporate decision-makers chose knowingly to risk exposing them. This paper will outline Lerner’s book and argue that despite a long history of protests, lawsuits, media attention and nationwide outrage, willing exposure of low-income and minority Americans to toxic chemicals in the pursuit of government and corporate interests is still a major problem today.

The African American community, in contrast to the rest of Norco and Louisiana, is historically afflicted with higher rates of cancer and asthma related deaths (Margie 01:19:29:20 ), and more prone to birth defects (Wilma Subra 01:18:09:03 ). Closely related and contrastingly to this, the white community of Norco tends to have longer lifespans, and are apparently less affected by cancer and asthma (Sal 01:21:11:29 ). The film directly compares these two perspectives, layering them side by side chronologically. The film uses this comparison as evidence that the African American community’s close proximity to the Shell refinery is an environmental determinant to health. Furthermore, that geographic location and environment are factors directly affecting health.

The article on “NAACP Report Reveals Disparate Impact of Coal-Fired Power Plants” talks about how coal pollution from the coal-fired power plants will negatively impact the environment surrounding it, including the population in the surroundings, and the harm it will bring upon them. It suggests that Americans that reside near a coal power plant has a lower average income than most of the Americans in the nation. Furthermore, it also pointed out that 39% of Americans that live near a coal power plant are “people of color”. This article claim that coal pollution from the coal power plant is killing population that has a low income and people of certain races. According to the article, climate change is also a negative impact brought on by coal

When one discusses acts of racism, slander or the stereotyping of a group of people may come to mind. However, the concept of environmental racism is rarely considered. This form of racism positions dominant environmental framing as racially driven, in which people of color (i.e. minorities) are affected disproportionately by poor environmental practices. Communities of color throughout the United States have become the dumping grounds for our nation’s waste disposal, as well as home to agricultural and/or manufacturing industries that pollute the land. Government regulations and cultural practices have all contributed to environmental racism. The government’s policies have also negatively impacted low income groups as well as people of

Minority youth are disproportionately represented throughout juvenile justice systems in nearly every state in the nation. Disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in juvenile justice occurs when minority youth come into contact with the system at a higher rate than their white counterparts. African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders and Native Americans comprise a combined one-third of the nation's youth population. Yet they account for over two-thirds of the youth in secure juvenile facilities (Armour & Hammond, 2009).

Even if racism is overt or not, one can still end up with racially disparate outcomes. Alexander states the assumption that there are sociological explanations that provide information about the different outcomes. A particular sociological research study in Seattle concluded that one explanation normally given for uneven arrests is that blacks sell drugs with less discretion than whites. When researchers went to Seattle, they learned that there were five open air drug markets in which four were all white and only one was mostly black in the central district. The citizens had concentrated complaints on drug activity going on in the private residences that were being distributed throughout the city but despite this, enforcement activities were

The United States “Justice” System was created to protect the rights of all its citizens and provide fair and just sentencing to those who have committed crimes. Our constitution and laws have insured that all crimes have a due process, regardless of who has committed the crime. Defendants will be prosecuted according to the interpretation of what the law states. I believe laws should be changed to truly reflect the intended purpose of fair and equal justice. When the Bill of Rights was added to the United States Constitution, the authors clearly intended to protect the rights of the people accused of crimes.

Looking at these situations closely, the residents of the Dona Park had every right to complain for environmental injustice. The soil contamination issues found after assessments were addressed, but that could not separate the fact that the residents were indeed living in unsafe environment, as they were exposed to the metal particles prior to the cleanup operations. The poor community had the reason to think of discrimination due to lacking actions to keep the safety of the residents. The exposure to the wastes of the plant could have not caused immediate health effects, so the recent health advisory of the Texas health department based on the latest TCEQ

Derrick A. Bell once stated that, “We live in a system that espouses merit, equality, and a level playing field, but exalts those with wealth, power, and celebrity, however gained.” This describes how the judicial system in the United States is full of injustices and biases. People will often receive unfair sentencing due to their race, economic status, or gender. These issues are divulged in the novel, The Round House, by Louise Erdrich which depicts the brutal rape of a Native American woman by a white man, and the issues which follow. These same injustices are seen in American society in the sentencing of trials for many different crimes. In these instances, the criminal is often given a lighter sentence due to prejudices the judge or jury

Many have begun to get the notion that the media decides who or what areas/ subjects are important enough to receive national attention. Bullard said, “Embrace the principle that all people and communities are entitled to equal protection of the environmental and public health laws and regulations” (Moore, Lanthorn, 2017. Pg. 1) In the 1980’s a civil rights group protested against the government of North Carolina because they were going to throw polychlorinated biphenyls in a landfill close to where they lived. (Moore, Lanthorn, 2017. Pg. 9) Heinz (2005) argues that in numerous amounts of cases previous environmental issues do not get enough media coverage unless it threatens a predominantly white

The placement of companies deleterious to the environment and well-being of humans is something that prosperous communities are not quite familiar with; in contrast, it is something well-known to less affluent communities. The imbalance of classification shows a lack of environmental justice in low-income and minority communities. According to the EPA, or Environmental Protection Agency, “environmental justice is the fair treatment… of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies,” (EPA, n.d.). However, the environmental justice, the EPA mentions is not prevalent in communities of color, but rather its counterpart is: environmental injustice. Environmental injustice, or environmental racism, being the excessive placing of perilous waste and contaminating polluters near communities of color (Cha, 2016). Although often overlooked, environmental racism is an extensive problem that negatively affects minority communities in Southeast Los Angeles.

This can be shown in areas that are considered fenceline communities. These are communities that are located directly in the midst of toxic pollution. Residents who live in these communities often accept their conditions of their surroundings and wait for disasters to happen. These disasters include chemical spills or toxic contamination that can demolish their communities at some point. These individuals are also put at a higher risk for possible terrorist attacks. Moreover, residents who live nearby also suffer by having their wealth stolen through lowered property values. To show example, in 1992 the National Law Journal found discrepancies in the way the Environmental Protection Agency enforced its Superfund laws (Bullard & Wright 2012). In the same year Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality signed off on permits allowing Genesee Power Station to build an eighty million dollar incinerator for construction use. This incinerator was built beside a predominately black low income neighborhood (Burke 2017). The residents were forced to be exposed to particulate matter, carbon monoxide, lead, and acidic gases. Being within walking distance from a chemical site would eventually begin to affect their quality of life and health (National Research Council). If disasters are to take place they are often blamed on natural occurrences. This concept tends to be pushed by corporations who do not want to own up to