Pezzullo Environmental Justice

This case highlights the likelihood of friendly relations between industry and government. It was recorded that Ford Motor Company dumped paint waste from 1967-1971. I find it hard to believe that not a single government official considered looking into where all of the company’s waste was being disposed of within that four-year period. It also took the federal government until the 1980s to list this area of Ringwood, New Jersey as one of the most toxic superfund sites. While I do understand that historically the United States has had strong ties between industry and government I find it appalling that both federal and state governments failed to advocate for the Ramapoughs.

The issue that stands out to me as most important is that of environmental justice and environmental racism, as discussed in chapter 3. The book described environmental justice as "the efforts to ensure that hazardous substances are controlled so that all communities receive protection regardless of race or socioeconomic circumstances” (Schaefer). Environmental racism is the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards, mainly how intentionally neglecting the needs for pollution control in urban areas and its effects on the community’s health. Minorities and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by polluting industries, environmental justice is the movement’s response to environmental racism.

Environmental justice is the notion that communities should have nondiscriminatory treatment and involvement regardless of race and socioeconomic status in land development, implementation, waste management and enforcement of environmental laws and policies. It is imperative for environmental justice to exist so communities of color are not a part of inequitable housing, waste or toxin dumping, and are able to access information and vote against environmentally racist actions. Environmental racism is the location of low-income or minority communities in vicinity of environmentally harmful environments. In other words, the idea of environmental racism is the knowledge that non-whites are disproportionately exposed to pollution. Studying environmental racism is essential not only to conclude if equalities exist, but to help better comprehend racism. For Laura Pulido, environmental racism is larger than discriminatory acts, and believes there are new insights to the subject, predominantly its spatiality. By limiting the definition of racism to only malicious acts, racial inequalities that are not ascribed directly to aggression cannot be recognized.

In Hilda E. Kurtz’s document, Environmental Justice, Citizen Participation and Hurricane Katrina, the effects of natural disasters on low income areas are discussed. Although these areas are the target of the document, it also touches base on the effects these disasters may have on higher income areas. Environmental justice (EJ) is stated to have been originated in the social relations of the southeastern United States. This emerged from a convergence of environmental and civil rights activists in the 1980s. Environmental justice was brought up due to incidents such as hazardous waste facilities being located mainly in communities of color and low income. The government found three of the nation’s four largest landfills were located predominantly

Other topics that were examined was water quality and distribution, energy development, and jobs (Cumming-Potvin, Baillie, & Bowden 2013). There are number of core principles and goals of the environment justice movement. The principles are commonly called the Principles of Environmental Justice and there are several objectives to these principles. They include: fight for the rights of people against environmental degradation, prevent these threats before they occur; shift the burden of proof to hold perpetrators accountable for egregious acts and, move away from solely objective scientific measurements (Dickenson, 2012). When we look at environmental justice, we must also take a look at the ethical dilemma environmental racism.

During the late 1700s, many Americans advocated for social justice, economic empowerment, property rights and environmental protection. Their advocacy created a national phenomenon that empowered government and policymakers to execute policies aimed at solving these problems nationwide. The government again took action to enact numerous laws, some of which became the foundation for modern environmental policy and regulations in the United States. “On the national level, the first federal action to respond to public concerns about air quality was the Clean Air Act of 1955” (Longhurst and Lewis 2010, 39).The implementation of some of these newly created environmental laws began to interfere with state regulations, and as such, they often violated citizen’s property rights. Although such policy oftentimes violates citizen rights, it allows government and policymakers to respond to the growing population and market demand. Infringement on property rights did not just take root in the environmental sector in the 1800s. It started as a result of massive construction, inadequate hazardous waste disposal systems, and overpopulation due to urbanization and economic growth in the nineteenth century. It became clear that uncontrolled pollution, including underwater pollutions, led to the spread of environmental disease, thus affecting human health and safety.

Throughout the following few ages, the United States can grasp a notable opportunity to check carbon contamination by setting up the principal ever national points of confinement on carbon emanations from power cheat. Certain exchange benefit and tallness governments as of now have mounted scaring lawful assaults to debilitate proposed and existing carbon contamination benchmarks, and supervening elected and country look for rebellion are normal. The Foundation's bolster guarantees that the Natural Resources Defense Council remains an imposing corrival to adversaries of government environmental securities. Effectively ensuring and drive the current and existing contamination measures embody an imperative fire of U.S. authority on hail atmosphere differ. As Craig describes the community development in the article, what people group advancement takes a stab at is to give common individuals a voice for communicating and following up on their uncommon needs and goals contrary to the personal stakes of worldwide monetary and political power, to counter the expanding commodification of human welfare and people themselves. (Craig, Community Development in a Global Context)

Throughout environmental policy, there will always be some issue that needs resolving otherwise environmental policy would be obsolete. However, in some cases, environmental policy is worse than obsolete. It is purposefully made to not be effective when environmental justice involves corporations and politicians to whom the environmental consequences of their own actions mean nothing. This is certainly the case within the video, “The Last Mountain”, where both an environment and a community surrounded by the coal industry were suffering adverse effects that were being paid for at a cost of health and long-term environmental issues with no benefit to the community itself. Therefore, this video exemplifies several terms that environmental

For decades, scholars have tackled the complicated task of educating the public on American environmental policies and the politics. Walter Rosenbaum, as the author of Environmental Politics and Policy, debates the environmental issues and matters facing this nation. The book provides insight into America’s institutions and processes of environmental policy making, as well as the constant transformations and effects that go along with it. The book is significant in terms of the vast and diverse sources the author pulls from. The information is challenging to comprehend, however, Rosenbaum succeeds in explaining the major questions and debatable topics.

In the 21st century, environmental justice examined government legislator and policies that placed people and communities of color at risk. The authors presented the point on how the current system has “institutionalized unequal enforcement.” One powerful statement that was made during their critiques was how the system “placed

This book chapter goes over the overview of several historical events, organizations, and people that contributed to the evolution of what is now the Environmental Justice movement. The authors list some of the key influences of the movement. This influences include: 1) the Civil Rights movement that brought an understanding of social structural injustices – Civil Rights activists argue that because of racism, the injustices were not random –, 2) the anti-toxics movement that contributed to better understand the power dynamics that shape the distribution of environmental bads while resisting against hazardous waste facilities, landfills and incinerators, 3) academics who demonstrated that environmental injustice is part of a national problem

Firstly, issues of environmental justice are, by nature, unique to specific locations and events. Quantitative evidence cannot capture the significant variability in human perspectives on certain issues (Walker, 2012). Quantitative data is only useful for numerical data concerning the facts behind certain injustices, such as air pollution levels in certain regions, and how that relates to ethnicity. What the method cannot capture is the valid emotional concerns of people who live in areas which have undergone instances of environmental justice. As the opinions of those who are impacted by environmental justice issues are crucial to the concept, it can be concluded that qualitative evidence is arguably more important in adhering to the core tenet of the concept. Therefore, qualitative evidence cannot be

The debate over environmental justice has stretched momentously in recent times. The result of these debates show growing challenges with regard to pending ecological problems that may require an effective management, judicial system, and ethical principle in response to this crisis. These debates have far more consequences when it involves human rights, equality, and ethical principles. For example, environmental and ethical principles should involve moral reasoning that concerns a particular environmental problem. This conclusion should be the basis of environmental justice and sustainable solutions and adequacy. This example demonstrates how Natural Gas Pipelines, pipeline safety, and natural gas fracturing safety concerns challenge us to follow these

Environmental justice is the fair and equal treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of their race, color, age, gender, income, national origin, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.1 This includes access to healthy options food to all citizens.1 Research has shown various disparities in access to healthy and affordable food. Neighborhoods with economically disadvantaged and minority population have greater access to food sources that promote unhealthy eating.1 The distribution of fast-food outlets and convenience stores are differed by the racial or socioeconomic characteristics of the neighborhood.1 Neighborhoods with low household income has higher number of fast-food restaurants compared to wealthier neighborhoods.1 Low income neighborhoods have less access to supermarkets with fresh fruits and vegetables.

Environmental justice is very ambiguous term as it denotes the need for not only environmental sustainability but also social liberation. Regrettably, not every citizen, politician or business owner is apprehensive about our wilting global environment. To this very day, there are scholars and politicians that contend that climate change and global warming is the rhetorical vehicle for which liberal propaganda can be transported. Consequently, these same leaders in their lofty positions deny that there is any evidence of global warming and other environmental dangers by undermining the countless research studies by acclaimed scientists. Ignorance to objective quantitative and qualitative findings that justify theoretical claims that global warming