Is There Such A Thing As Environmental Racism

With the rapid development of the society, a large number of factories are built to meet the demand of the market. However, the problem of factory emission and processing system has been perplexing the residents of Flint. Flint water crisis’s crucial problem is based on environmental racism. Meanwhile, Flint is in uneven development situation and need to rebuild the infrastructure system.

It was never considered one of the best neighborhoods but her area never experienced the levels of trash and illegal dumping that I had experienced on that particular visit. Later that year these dumping sites became a huge burden for the city and tax payers due to cleanup cost “Many local governments realize huge costs involved in continuously cleaning these sites up and are beginning to invest in prevention programs”. (Pasternak, 2001)

Those who argue that environmental racism is a serious problem in America and the whole world, and their number are growing, are correct in at least one of their assertions. Racism exists. environmental problems exist. these facts, however, do not reveal whether or not environmental racism has occurred in any given instance. this might be an unimportant distinction but for the fact that some argue that civil right laws be applied to pollution events and related regulatory violations.

The purpose of the landfill was to bury the large amount of contaminated the soil with toxic Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), a class of chemicals so toxic that Congress banned production later. The whole story began in 1973 when Ward PCB Transformers Company dumped more than 30,000 gallons of PCB-contaminated oil on the side of state roads in 14 North Carolina counties. The trucker, who was responsible for taking the oil to a facility to be recycled, disposed of it discreetly and illegally. The person in charge of the company and the trucker was sent to jail for a short time for their negligence on the matter. Contaminants left in the truck and factory was detoxified. However, the area around the factory as well as the lakes and rivers close to the road had been polluted. As a result, more than 60,000 tons of oils were polluted with toxic PCB.

The Bronx, NY is home to over 1.3 million people- men, women and children alike. It is currently the poorest urban county in the United States with the majority of residents being people of color. For quite some time now the Bronx has been experiencing an influx of industrial activity. As it is a relatively cheaper area compared to the rest of the five boroughs, it is cheaper to buy property there. As a result, more and more companies are buying up the land and setting up shop in what is already a highly urbanized area. Not only is the Bronx bordered on all sides by busy highways, it is also home to a number of industrial buildings such as the country’s largest distribution center, waste transfer sites, power plants, and so much more. It is

The term “environmental racism” is not one that many people are familiar with, and it is difficult to infer its meaning only thinking about the term itself. “Environment” and “racism” are relatively simple to define separately, but when they are put together as one term, they develop a complex meaning and encompass a wide range of histories and elements. So what is environmental racism, and how does it affect the different populations of American society? In this paper I will argue that the non-white communities affected by environmental racism have been molded by historical vestiges of institutions created to subjugate them, that environmental racism has severely detrimental effects on non-white communities in particular, and finally that environmental racism often greatly benefits certain groups in society as it simultaneously impairs others.

In the Brullard reading, Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty: 1987-2007, Brullard discusses racial and socioeconomic disparities in relation to environmental issues from 1987 to 2007. 1987 is significant because it is the year when a report about environmental racism entitled Toxic Wastes and Race was published. This report raised awareness about the idea of environmental injustice and spurred further research on the subject. In Chapter 3, Brullard outlines two different methods used in this research: analysis of census data and “distance-based” methods. Brullard explains that using different research methods leads to slightly varying results, but studies using both methods still show racial disparities in relation to environmental hazards. In Chapter 4, Brullard argues that these disparities still exist in 2007, and that they exist all over the United States. In Chapter 7, he provides a contemporary example: the Holt family. The Holt family’s well water was contaminated because it was located near a landfill. The government, while

Environmental racism is what comes to mind regarding the water crisis in Flint, Michigan comes up. I believe that if the city wasn’t mostly black, the state of Michigan probably could’ve already solved the problem. Governments and company’s prey on groups that lack political clout and resources. In Flint, the inhabitants probably did not have a say in the switch of their water source. In Russia, the factory has preyed on the residents’ need for jobs and despite the adverse health and environmental effects, the residents choose to live there. When companies and governments prey on these population, the residents have three options; either be resilient and stay, leave the place, or try to change the problem.

Did you know that 35 out of 57 waste sites in the eastern part of Los Angeles were located in zip codes with at least half the population consisting of Latinos? (Pulido 21) This is a direct and apparent representation of environmental racism in our country. In particular, its existence could be closely observed in the recent dispute of an urban farmland in South Central Los Angeles. Frankly, environmental racism had little effect on the actual dissolution of the South Central farm, as it was an issue of property rights. Instead, environmental racism played a significant role in the confrontation process that led to the closure by excluding minority groups, especially Latinos, from decision processes and obstructing their effort to conserve the farmland.

In the early 1980s, Environment Justice activist prioritized their efforts to focus on the unequal amounts of waste dumps in minority communities. The increased awareness of these situations led to the development of EJ from the civil rights movement that happened around the same time. Environmental Justice is defined by its recognition that, “disparate and disproportionate environmental impacts occur among different communities across racial and socio-economic lines, affected communities should be appraised of environmental issues affecting them, and these communities should be incorporated in any decision-making process.” (Middendorf, 2007)

Many minorities’ communities and low income communities in the United States have an unequal distribution of toxic contamination, either by the release of hazardous chemicals on their neighborhood or by allocating waste management facilities. This is an outcome that the landmark 1987 United Church of Christ (UCC) report on toxic waste and race claimed was not the result of mere coincidence. Evidence of disproportionate economic impact from environmental mismanagement, as well as through the regulatory response to air pollution, was already considered a decade earlier by geographers and economists, though without the suggestion of discriminatory intent (e.g., Berry, et. al., 1977; and Harrison, 1975). Ultimately, the conclusion was that race

The environment people live in can be a racism that happens everywhere.The government affect the black people instead of the white.Environment racism is something that all people are not treated fairly everyday.

The low and middle class communities unlike the upper class have to deal with a lot more pollution. Not only this but the fact that pollution is located primarily in black and brown communities. Sheila R. Foster one of the writers behind “From the Ground Up : Environmental Racism and the Rise of the Environmental Justice Movement” has talked mainly about the impact of environmental hazards, particularly toxic waste dumps and polluting factories, on black people and low and middle class communities. Like previously said pollution impacts how a community appears. It impacts the people and their children. It impacts how the future would look for that community. Research has said that in the next few decade or so ghettos will have to deal with

Environmental racism is an issue that has been taking place all over the United States for many years now. The environmental racism movement is the economic correlation between economic status and environmental health issues. The media plays a huge roll in this issue because it is their job to make sure that social issues get the correct exposure they deserve. The citizens should know the status of the area they are living in considering that their tax dollars are going to upkeep the community. Hempstead, Texas is a prime example because the city is at risk of having a land fill put in their back yard and the media has given the issue virtually no coverage. Coincidentally ten minutes down the road is Prairie View A&M University that is

According to the article “what is environmental racism?” page 2, paragraph 2 it state “during world war 2, blacks again arrived from southern state seeking jobs in ship-built under government contract.” This statement explain that before world war 2 there was blacks and they have to look for job and their job was to plant garden because in the statement it state they was seeking for jobs in ship-building plants built under government contract, it like they had a contract with the government. Also, long ago everyone thought racism will end. Based on the article “what is environmental racism?” and the speech martin Luther king had given state “for 100 years.” Which means things will change for racism; there might not be a lot of racism/ environmental racism in the world. In 100 years from now environmental racism and racism will be over. However environmental racism and racism is not over yet but it not as much worst as it was 100 years ago. This whole environmental racism and racism is happening because some white people don’t except people that are different from themselves. I state that some white people don’t except others that are different from themselves because based on the article “ what is environmental racism?” page 1 paragraph 4 it state “ government needs what no one wants, maybe a landfill or inclinator, somehow, it ends up in a poor, minority neighborhood.” This means the governments are putting all the bad