Environmental Justice 2

Practice and Materiality

Everyday practices are increasingly finding their way into both the EJM and theories about it

• e.g., food, energy

A politics of the sustainability of everyday life: the way we provide for basic human needs

• The material life of the body as fully entangled with questions of social justice

• Shifting away from traditional notions of the “environment”

Community, Identity, and Attachment

Taking into consideration the importance of places and place attachment to understand EJ’s spatial and cultural dimensions:

• People are attached and connected to places.

Landscapes can become racialized. (recall our Hays reading)

• expands the scale of environmental injustice from the home/factory/neighborhood to

entire landscapes

Human and Nonhuman Assemblages

An increasing attention to the relationship between human and nonhuman sustainability

Whitehead & Buchanan: Childhood Lead Poisoning core arguments

Lead exposure is not equal for all children: childhood lead poisoning disproportionately affects low-income communities and communities of color.

Childhood Lead Poisoning basics

Differing vulnerabilities

• Children most vulnerable; their nervous systems are still developing and they absorb 4-5x more lead than adults.

Sources of lead poisoning

• Deteriorating lead-based paint from older housing

• Drinking contaminated water from failing leaded pipes

• Inhaling particles released by industry

• Chewing on lead-containing items (e.g., toys)

effects on the kids body (lead poisoning)

brain and nervous system, hearing, body, growth, blood, kidneys

brain and nervous system

lower IQ, behavior and learning disabilities

damage to the nervous system

hearing

hearing loss

body

bone and muscle deterioration

growth

slowed growth

blood n kidneys

blood: anemia

kidneys: abnormal function and damage

the EJ Framework on Childhood Lead Poisoning

Exposure sources

• The greatest risk for lead-based paint hazards occurs in older units with low-income families.

• Lead contamination in drinking water is more common in low-income

neighborhoods/households.

• Improper water sources and treatment of old lead service lines

• State neglect

the EJ Framework on Childhood Lead Poisoning

racial residential segregation:

A historical, systemic condition that caused most Black people to live in dilapidated housing in the

worst areas of the cities & many to be displaced by clearance projects (gentrification).

• While racial discrimination in housing has been outlawed, many Black people still face

discrimination from redlining

Redlining

Created by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC), a New Deal agency under FDR. Using data and evaluations from local real estate professionals, HOLC created color-coded maps for 200+ American cities.

The maps used four colors to represent “safety,” or the relative riskiness of mortgage lending.

Lasting Health Impacts of Redlining

Associated w/ various present-day environmental determinants of health, including but not limited to:

• Urban heat

• Air pollution

• Safe drinking water

• Contact with chemical and toxic exposures (e.g., heavy metals, agricultural pesticides, industrial waste)

• Tree canopy coverage / proximity to green spaces

• Housing quality, including indoor allergens

• Alcohol/tobacco retailer density

Exposure Disparities in Childhood Lead Poisoning

Exposure disparities

• Black children have higher blood lead levels than white children.

• Children with blood lead levels at/above CDC guidelines are likely to be:

• Younger than 3 years;

• Of non-Hispanic Black race/ethnicity;

• Reside in lower-income households.