Environmental Justice

long history of environmental justice

environmental injustice has occurred in the U.S for decades

• local groups have complained about unwanted land uses for decades

• many isolated instances

EJ emerged

from many different instances to “frame” a pattern of injustices that disproportionately affect minority and low-income communities to hazards

EJ issues are complex

manifest in different ways for different communities regarding the disproportionate impact of environmental justices on low-income communities of color

environmental racism

disproportionate targeting of minority communities to burden toxic waste

• landfills, incinerators, etc

Warren County, North Carolina

symbolizes the coming together of the civil rights and EJ movement

situation: African American residents protested the placing of a landfill with contaminated waste in their area despite potential health hazards

Before Warren County

Robert Burns’ had a trucking company which was hired to dispose PCB-laden transformer fluid to a special facility

Ilegal Dumping: Instead Burns drove along NC highways to dump it on soil along roads, 240 miles were contaminated with dioxins and PCBs.

Dumpers and owner were jailed and fined under the Toxic Substance Control Act.

dioxins

• cause reproductive and developmental problems

• damage the immune system

• interfere with hormones

• cause cancer

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls)

• increased melanomas

• liver cancer

• gall bladder cancer

• biliary tract cancer

• gastrointestinal tract cancer

• brain cancer

• breast cancer

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA - 1976)

says toxic fluid should be disposed of at proper facilities

Toxic Substance Control Act

says soil contaminated by PCBs must be put in landfill

Warren County Landfill

landfill was created to dispose of PCB contaminated soil of a county with

• 65% African American residents

• 40% lacked indoor plumbing

• 97th of 100 for GDP

Warren County Protests

• public hearing

• 800 protestors

• 523 arrests

• 4 years of protests but gov still allowed project to continue

Warren County Landfill Trouble

• water accumulated in landfill from extremely heavy rains

• soil around landfill was eroding

• methane gas was filling up within the landfill

$18 million was then spent to detoxify and neutralize the dump

impact of Warren County protests

• impacted national conscience

• first time citizens mobilized to protest a landfill as a way to object to environmental threats

Black Houston Community

Many African American neighborhoods in Houston were chosen for toxic waste sites.

• garbage dumps

• garbage incinerators

• privately owned landfills

even though African Americans were only 25% of the city’s population

Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States

examined the statistical relationship between location of a hazardous waste site and racial/socioeconomic composition of the host communities

EPA definition of EJ

“the fair treatment and meaningful involvement 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’s goal of EJ

same degree of environmental protection and equal access to decisions that shape their environment

• focuses more on equality than equity

• devalues experience of those facing EJ concerns

environmental injustice

some groups suffer more harms and greater risks

• worsened when injustice is due to one group seeking benefits by taking advantage of other groups

environment

physical and natural world

four key concepts of inequalities

• health disparities exist

• environmental disparities exist

• intrinsic factors can increase health risks

• extrinsic factors can amplify effects of environmental exposures

health disparities exist due to

• social vulnerability

• biological and physiological susceptibility

• environmental exposure inequalities

redlining

denying services such as mortgages, insurance, and loans to Black and minority communities

origination of term: using red link to outline areas too risky for investment, areas with Black and minority populations

effects of redlining

• disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards

• underinvestment in infrastructure

• cumulative health impacts

• legacy of inequality

First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit

broadened the EJ movement to public/environmental health issues

• worker safety

• land use

• transportation

• housing

• resource allocation

EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice

oversees the integration of environmental justice in EPA’s policies, programs, and activities throughout the agency

• created by the Environmental Equity Workgroup

• point of contact for EJ outreach and educational activities

• technical and financial assistance

Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

• first major federal action on EJ in the US

• federal actions to address environmental justice in minority and low-income populations

• made the EJ movement legit and brought attention

highlighted that low-income and colored communities bear a disproportionate burden of environmental pollution and its health effects

External Civil Rights Division

enforces civil rights laws to prohibit discrimination and protect human health and the environment

environmental racism of EJ covers a wide array of people

• people of color

• Latinos

• Native Americans

• U.S. Asian

• Pacific Islander

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against Dakota Access Pipeline

• tribe led protests to prevent construction of pipeline which would run beneath Missouri River

• risk to water supply, sacred lands, and heritage

indigenous communities

are disproportionately affected by environmental harm such as pollution, land degradation, and violation of treaty rights

SouthWest Organizing Project (SWOP)

young activists of color who empower communities in the Southwest to acknowledge racial and gender social and economic injustice

Indigenous Environmental Network

build the capacity of indigenous communities and tribal governments to protect

• sacred sites

• land

• water

• air

• natural resources

• health

and build economically sustainable communities

environmental injustice

• some groups face more harms and risk than others

• harms result from other seeking their own benefit

issue with EJ’s definition of environmental health

• misses the difference between equality and equity

• erase identities and experiences of affected communities

weather

short-term atmospheric conditions

climate

weather of a specific region over a long period of time (over 10 years)

climate change

long-term changes in climate over time

climate change due to

• natural external forcings

• natural internal processed

• human induced

anthropogenic climate change causes

• dangerous and widespread turmoil in nature

• affects the lives of billions of people around the world

greenhouse effect

1. solar radiation passes through clear atmosphere

2. radiation is absorbed by the earth’s surface and warms it or some of it is reflected off

1. infrared radiation is emitted from the earth

2. radiation passes through atmosphere, some is absorbed, some is re-emitted

3. this warm’s the earth’s surface and the lower atmosphere by staying trapped

climate change impacts communities

differently as some communities will suffer first and worst due to injustice

most vulnerable populations

• black populations

• latino/hispanic populations

• indigenous populations

• children

• elderly

• low-income

• immunocompromised

• unhoused

hurricane katrina

• category 4 hurricane in less than a week

• widespread destruction and severe flooding across the U.S Gulf Coast

• mass displacements of residents

• damage to infrastructure

toxic spills during hurricanes

coastal communities are vulnerable to aboveground storage tank failures during extreme weather

• during hurricane katrina & rita, 26.5 million liters contaminated land and water

consequences of hurricane toxic spills

• soil & water contamination from oil, chemicals, toxic waste

• health risks for residents exposed to hazardous pollutants

• expensive cleanups

• long-term environmental damage

Murphy Oil Refinery Spill

AST failure released 3.8M liters of crude oil into neighborhoods

• 1700 homes affects

• forced displacement

impacted mainly

• low income and Black communities

• residents unable to evacuate due to lack of transportation, poor communication, unclear hurricane warnings

• greater exposure to storm and toxic contamination

urban heat island effect

cities are 2-10 degrees hotter than rural areas

• affects low income and communities of color

• heat-related illness, energy demand, and mortality

why urban heat islands are created

• asphalt and concrete absorbs heat

• limited green space and tree shade

• waste heat from vehicles and buildings

surface temp during day is higher than

air temp during day, air temp at night, and surface temp at night

deaths due to heat and CVD

higher in

• elderly

• non-hispanic blacks

most heat related deaths in Maryland

• Baltimore city

• PG county

Baltimore’s urban heat island

the worst in the nation

• housing has black tar which absorbs heat and makes issue worse

• 15 degrees hotter than affluent areas

solution:

• install “cool roofs” to reflect sunlight

• install solar panels

• increase tree canopy

potential effects of white surface on atmospheric heat

possible solution!

• reflects solar radiation

• minimal atmospheric effect; less heat in atmosphere

• potential weather impacts due to reflection of light