Jump to content

Environmental racism in the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by SarahD12345678910 (talk | contribs) at 01:04, 5 April 2022 (→Hazardous Waste on Reservations). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Environmental racism is the concept that minority and low-income communities experience environmental harms, such as pollution and natural disasters, at a disproportionately high rate.[1] Environmental racism is a form of institutionalized discrimination, which is defined as "actions or practices carried out by members of dominant (racial or ethnic) groups that have differential and negative impacts on members of subordinate (racial and ethnic) groups.” [2] [3]

Some scholars have coined environmental racism as the "New Jim Crow". Like Jim Crow laws, environmental racism systematically disenfranchises black people. It causes devastating impacts on the physical and mental health of African Americans, and creates disparities in many different spheres of life, such as transportation, housing, infrastructure, health, and economic opportunity.[4] Epidemiologists Joel Kaufman and Anjum Hajat argue that, “discriminatory policies and practices that constitute environmental racism have disproportionately burdened communities of color, specifically African-Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic populations.”[5]

Communities of color are more likely to be located next to pollution sources, such as landfills, power plants, and incinerators. There is evidence that exposure to pollution can result in a higher prevalence of disease.[6] Additionally, low-income communities of color are more likely to have polluted water. An analysis of EPA data found that unequal access to safe drinking water is strongly correlated with race.[7] The most polluted communities tend to be those with high poverty, inadequate infrastructure, substandard schools, chronic unemployment, and poor healthcare systems. [8]

Natural disasters also tend to have unequal impacts on communities of color. The extent of poverty within a region can often have a much stronger effect on the scale of a natural disaster’s impact than the severity of the disaster itself.[9] Affluent, white communities tend to be located on higher ground, so they are less vulnerable to floods than communities of color. Moreover, disaster prevention and recovery plans are often biased against minorities in low-income areas.[10]

History

The true origins of the environmental justice movement are unclear. Throughout the twentieth century, victims of environmental racism and unjust land use have held protests and filed lawsuits against industry polluters and inattentive governments.[11] These efforts were scattered and did not become coordinated until the late 1900s. In 1968, grassroots environmental activists from several tribal nations met in Minnesota and formed an organization known as the American Indian Movement (AIM), which has since risen to prominence staging sit-ins and protests against the building of oil pipelines through indigenous lands.[12][13] The 1982 North Carolina PCB Protest is also widely recognized as spurring the modern and widely-publicized environmental justice movement.[14] In 1982, North Carolina state officials decided to place a landfill with highly toxic PCB-contaminated soil in the small town of Afton in Warren County, North Carolina. Afton was about 84% African American. This decision sparked the first national protest against the location of a hazardous waste facility. Organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, residents of Warren County, along with local civil rights and political leaders, gathered in opposition to the placement of the landfill site. Over 500 protesters were arrested.[15] In response, two major studies were published: the US General Accounting Office 1983, and the United Church of Christ 1987. Both studies found that there was a strong relationship between race and the location of hazardous waste facilities.[16]

The US General Accounting Office study conducted a survey of the locations of hazardous-waste facilities, and found that these facilities were more likely to be located in minority and low-income communities.[17] The United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice (CRJ) study found that three of the largest hazardous waste facilities were located in primarily Black areas, and accounted for 40% of the hazardous-waste landfill capacity in the United States.[18] The study also found that the strongest predictor of the placement of hazardous waste facilities was race, surpassing both household income and home values. An additional study conducted by the CRJ found that three out of five African Americans and Hispanic Americans lived in communities with hazardous waste sites.[15]

Pollution

A protest at Crawford Coal Plant

Hazardous waste facilities

Recent studies show that hazardous waste facilities are more likely to be placed in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods.[19] In fact, communities with a high concentration of racial minorities are nine times more likely to be exposed to environmentally hazardous facilities than communities with a low concentration of minorities.[20] A study in Massachusetts by sociologists Daniel R. Faber and Eric J. Krieg found racially-based biases in the placement of 17 industrial waste facilities.[18] Residential segregation is correlated with higher cancer risk; as segregation increases, cancer incidence is higher.[21][22] A 2018 study by the American Journal of Public Health found that Black people are exposed to 54% more particulate matter than the average American.[6] In Los Angeles, minority children have the highest risk of being exposed to air pollution at school. Environmental health scientists Rachel Morello-Frosch and Manuel Pastor, Jr. found that “at schools ranked in the bottom fifth for air quality, the children were 92% minority.” They also found that air pollution is associated with decreased achievement in school.[23] The United States Environmental Protection Agency and United States Census Bureau found that, in the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the US, minorities are exposed to 66% more particulate matter from vehicles than white Americans.[24]

Water pollution

A recent, highly publicized example of water pollution's disproportionate effect on racial minorities is the Flint Water Crisis. In 2014, Flint, Michigan, a city with a 57% Black population, switched its drinking water to the Flint River, which led to complaints about the water’s taste and color.[25] Studies found that the water was contaminated with lead from aging pipes.[26] As of 2015, the US government had spent $80 million in addressing the Flint Water Crisis.[27]

Health effects

Environmental pollution has been found to cause physical and mental disabilities, cancer, and asthma. Exposure to industrial chemicals have correlated with increased cancer rates, learning disabilities, and neurobehavioral disorders.[28] Some industrial chemicals have been identified as endocrine disruptors, which means they interfere with the functioning of hormones. Endocrine disrupters have been linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, metabolic disorders, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and infertility.[29] There is a strong link between cancer and childhood exposure to pesticides, solvents, and other toxic substances.[28]

Non-white populations, especially Black Americans, are exposed to a higher concentration of harmful chemicals than white populations. High-emissions in majority-Black areas may be the explanation for higher prevalence of conditions such as cardiovascular disease mortality and asthma in Black populations.[30]

A row of industrial plants in Louisiana has now been dubbed “Cancer Alley” due to the high prevalence of cancer cases in the surrounding communities. This area is about 50% African-American, and has a 20.7% poverty rate.[31] One study found that rates of stomach cancer, diabetes, and heart disease were significantly higher in Cancer Alley, and in Louisiana, than the United States overall.[32]

Since the 1700s, power companies have dumped coal ash into pits and ponds, especially in the Southeast. Coal ash is mostly composed of lead, arsenic, selenium, and mercury. Each of these minerals individually are unsafe for the human body, but scientists are unsure of how harmful the components are combined. Mercury, for example, can damage reproductive health. Lead causes developmental disorders, arsenic can lead to rashes and lesions. Kristina Zierold, an environmental health scientist and epidemiologist, concluded that there are clusters of cancer around coal ash sites where workers are exposed. However, scientists have not been able to prove a direct link between coal ash and cancer. Measuring coal ash’s impact on a control group would be dangerous and unethical, so researchers have had to extrapolate based on their current knowledge of toxins. Researchers have observed that the placement of a coal ash dump near a community causes dramatic increases in cancer rates and neurological issues among children.[33]

Low-income households and people of color are often unable to afford adequate healthcare to treat pollution-related health problems. One study found that 34% of adults live without health care coverage in a primarily African-American, low-income neighborhood in Chicago.[34] This results in the compounding of health issues within these communities, and exacerbates a cycle of poverty; sickness eats up money, often forcing families to sell assets to pay off medical debt and/or quit a job to take care of family members. It also results in less money to pass down to children or share with local organizations, such as schools.[33]

Natural disasters

A house crushed by flooding from a breached levee in the Ninth Ward, New Orleans, due to Hurricane Katrina

Natural disasters have historically had a larger impact on poor African Americans than wealthy whites. For example, Black people were disproportionately affected by Hurricane Katrina.[35] Predominantly Black communities were more likely to be located in low-lying areas that were more vulnerable to flooding.[36] Evacuation plans were insufficient for populations without access to a car. At the time, over a third of New Orleans' African-American residents did not have cars. The city also only had one-quarter the number of buses that would have been necessary to evacuate all car-less residents, and many buses were lost during the flooding.[9] The disorganized response to the storm and flooding also disproportionately affected Black victims. Michael D. Brown, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was not aware of starving crowds at the New Orleans Convention Center until he heard about it on the news. Deliveries of supplies to the convention center did not arrive until four days after Katrina hit.[37]

Another example is the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, the first category 5 hurricane officially recorded in the Atlantic. The storm devastated much of the southern coast of Florida, but hit low-lying, Black migrant-worker communities particularly hard. In fact, over 75% of the 3000 recorded deaths were Black migrant workers. Most Black bodies were burned or buried in mass graves. The towns of Belle Glade, Pahokee, and South Bay were "virtually wiped off the map".[9]

Natural disasters have also been used as an opportunity to oppress African Americans. For example, During the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, whites were evacuated, while African Americans were placed into disaster-relief "concentration camps" and forced to work while being held at gunpoint.[9]

Access to Public Green Space

A study by sociologist Salvatore Saporito and Daniel Casey found that urban green space is generally distributed unequally across racial and economic groups. Low-income, people of color tend to live in areas with less vegetation than their white, wealthy counterparts. There is also a relationship between “city-level racial and economic segregation and differences in exposure to green space between the members of different racial and income groups.” The more segregated a city is, the more likely it is that neighborhoods with large concentrations of racial minorities will have less green space than white neighborhoods.[38]

The presence of green space in one’s living environment has been found to have an important impact on physical and mental health. Green space can contribute to stress reduction and attention restoration, as well as improved social cohesion and increased physical activity.[39]

Native Americans

History

According to Potawatomi philosopher Kyle Powys Whyte and Lower Brule Sioux historian Nick Estes, the first “environmental apocalypse” is the coming of colonialism. Settlers used industrial military technologies to systematically kill Native Americans and force their removal. Then, they harnessed indigenous land for agriculture and industrial facilities. Settlers dramatically changed ecosystems through deforestation, overharvesting, and pollution.[40] Additionally, academics Zoe Todd and Heather Davis propose that colonialism has played a major role in environmental degradation. The beginning of colonialism marked the beginning of the Anthropocene. When European settlers landed in the Americas in 1492, they set in motion the Columbian Exchange, drastically reshaping the biology and ecological landscape of the Americas. Simultaneously, there was a drop in carbon dioxide levels in the geologic layer following the genocide of indigenous people in the Americas and the regrowth of plants. Settler colonialism is marked by the process of “terraforming”—damming of rivers, clear-cutting of forests, and importation of plants and animals.[41]

For instance, in colonial New England, settlers cleared forests and woodlands for farms and sent the cleared forest wood back to England to be used in soap and glass manufacturing. Settlers believed that deforestation would lead to warmer winters like those in England, which would attract more British colonists to the region and allow settlers to grow the crops they preferred. For example, according to U.S. Constitution signee Hugh Williamson, warming temperatures would create a more pleasurable environment, proving that the continent was better off because of white settlers. Settlers also believe that deforestation would also create an environment more hospitable to those with “fair skin” instead of “savages.”[42]

Throughout the nineteenth century, as the United States spread its territory from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, Native Americans were pushed onto reservations, which were often lands that were deemed undesirable to white settlers because of poor soil quality. Additionally, they tended to be located next to tracts of federally owned land. During World War II, a significant number of military facilities were built or expanded onto these federal lands. The United States sought “remote lands to house bombing ranges and related noxious activities,” and, thus, many facilities contained dangerous unexploded ordnance, putting Native populations at risk of exposure to toxic chemicals.[43] In the early 1990s, the United States government attempted to blackmail Native populations by offering tribes millions of dollars for hosting nuclear waste facilities. This offer was appealing to many tribes because of extreme poverty on reservations.[44]

Through the 1940s and 1950s, the US Military responded to wartime industry by erecting uranium mines in the southwestern deserts.[45] The nearest residents were almost exclusively Native American tribal members.[46] Navajo and Hopi drinking water supply in Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico continues to this day to be affected by runoff and pollution from neighboring mines.[47]

Hazardous Waste on Reservations

Because “Native Americans live at the lowest socioeconomic level in the U.S.”, they are at the highest risk for toxic exposure. The risk is multiplied for indigenous people because they rely on land affected by the accumulation of toxic materials for food supplies.[48] One significant environmental hazard on tribal land is the construction of government and commercial hazardous waste sitings. A survey of 25 Indian reservations revealed that there were 1200 hazardous waste activity sites on or near the selected reservations.[49] According to a study by sociologists Gregory Hooks and Chad L. Smith, indigenous reservations are positively associated with extremely dangerous sites, far above the national average.[50]Examples of hazardous sites include a nuclear power plant built on the edge of the Mdewakanton Sioux of Prairie Island reservation, cyanide heap-leach mining polluting water on the Fort Belknap reservation, and industrial waste dumps surrounding the St. Regis Mohawk reservation.[51] Furthermore, a disproportionate number of dangerous military facilities are located on or near Native land. Hooks’ and Smith’s study also found that the risk assessment code commonly used to measure the danger levels of a site may underestimate the damage it inflicts on Native American communities. Instead, the hazard probability model accounts for the fact that hazardous chemicals are in close proximity to public spaces, such as schools and hospitals.[52]

Illegal dumping is another large environmental threat on tribal land. There are two categories of people who illegally dump on Native American reservations.  Midnight dumpers are corporations and individuals that dump their waste on reservations without the permission of tribal governments. Native entrepreneurs are tribal members who contaminate Native land without tribal permission. Waste poses a severe health risk, leading to leukemia, organ ailments, asthma, and other conditions. Illegal pollution also results in a loss of tribal sovereignty by creating conditions in which intervention on the part of the United States federal government becomes necessary. The removal of toxic waste can be used as a “pretext to revert to past patterns of paternalism and control over Native American affairs on the reservation.” [48] For example, in the case of the Kaibab-Paitute tribe, the Waste Tech Corporation used the disposal of waste as an excuse to restrict tribal access to their own land and attempted to give themselves the unilateral right to determine where roads would be built.[44]

Water Pollution on Reservations

The Dakota Access Pipeline is an underground oil pipeline that begins in North Dakota and continues through South Dakota and Iowa to an oil terminal in Illinois. Although it does not cross directly on a reservation, the pipeline is under scrutiny because it passes under a section of the Missouri river which is the main drinking water source for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Pipelines are known to break, with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) reporting more than 3,300 leak and rupture incidents for oil and gas pipelines since 2010.[53] The pipeline also traverses a sacred burial ground for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. [54] Kelly Morgan, the Standing Rock Sioux’s tribal archeologist, has voiced concerns that the water crossings destroy land used for burials and other important historical and cultural information, including several stones and markers. These concerns were ignored. [55] President Barack Obama revoked the permit for the project in December 2016 and ordered a study on rerouting the pipeline. President Donald Trump reversed this order and authorized the completion of the pipeline.[56] The pipeline remains commercially operable. [57] There are still ongoing litigation efforts by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline in an effort to shut it down permanently. [58]

Additionally, in 2015, the Gold King Mine spill contaminated 3 million gallons of water in the Colorado River, which served as a primary source of drinking water for the Navajo and Hopi nations downstream. The Navajo and Hopi subsequently recorded dangerously high levels of arsenic and lead in their water supply. Through the following litigative proceedings, the US EPA appropriated just $156,000 in reparations to those affected by the Gold King Mine spill.[59]

Civil rights litigation

The environmental justice movement in the US was heavily influenced by the civil rights movement, and shares many of the same goals and tactics.[60][61] Existing community organizations and leaders that contributed to mobilize the civil rights movement have also engaged in environmental justice work.[61] Several prominent environmental justice lawsuits in the US have attempted to claim discrimination based on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, though none of these have so far been successful.[62]

Litigation

Some environmental justice lawsuits have been based on civil rights laws. The first case to claim environmental discrimination in the siting of a waste facility under civil rights law was Bean v. Southwestern Waste Management, Inc. (1979). With the legal representation of Linda McKeever Bullard, residents of Houston's Northwood Manor opposed the decision of the city and Browning Ferris Industries to construct a solid waste facility near their mostly African-American neighborhood.[62] Although the Northwood Manor residents lost the case, there were several lasting outcomes: the city of Houston later restricted the dumping of waste near public facilities such as schools; the strategy of using civil rights law in environmental justice cases was adopted in other cases, and Bullard’s husband (Robert Bullard) became an increasingly visible scholar and writer on environmental justice.[63][64][65]

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment has been used in many environmental justice cases.[60] This strategy requires that the plaintiff prove discriminatory intent on the part of the defendant, which is very difficult and has never been done in an environmental justice case.[62]

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has also been used in lawsuits that claim environmental inequality. The two most relevant sections in these cases are sections 601 and 602. section 601 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin by any government agency receiving federal funds. To win an environmental justice case that claims an agency violated this statute, the plaintiff must prove the agency intended to discriminate. Section 602 requires agencies to create rules and regulations that uphold section 601. This section is useful because the plaintiff must only prove that the rule or regulation in question had disparate impact. While disparate impact is much easier to demonstrate than discriminatory intent, cases brought under section 602 are not typically successful.[63] It is also unclear whether citizens have right of action to sue under section 602. In Seif v. Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living (1998), a district court determined that residents did not have right of action; but this decision was overturned in an appeal. When the case went to the supreme court, the case was dismissed as moot because the plaintiff had withdrawn their permit. Earlier decisions in the lower courts were vacated, leaving no judgment on the books establishing citizen right of action for section 602.[62][60]

Successful environmental justice litigation has typically used environmental law or tort law. While cases brought under civil rights law may have political advantages, these cases are not typically successful in court.[62][63]

Policy responses

Five cities, including Seattle, Portland, Baltimore, Chicago, and Oakland, have passed ordinances banning fossil fuel storage and infrastructure expansion.[66]

Federal agencies

Background

In 1994, President Clinton issued Executive Order 12898, "Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations", which required environmental justice to be part of each federal agency's mission. Under Executive Order 12898 federal agencies must:

  1. enforce all health and environmental statutes in areas with minority and low-income populations;
  2. ensure public participation;
  3. improve research and data collection relating to the health and environment of minority and low-income populations; and
  4. identify differential patterns of consumption of natural resources among minority and low-income populations.

EO 12898 established an Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice that is chaired by the EPA Administrator and heads of 17 departments, agencies, and several White House offices in order to collectively promote and advance environmental justice principals all across the United States.[67]

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also forbids federal agencies from providing grants or funding opportunities to discriminatory programs.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

See also: United States Environmental Protection Agency

The Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) was created in 1992 and has coordinated efforts of the EPA to meet environmental justice goals. The Office of Environmental Justice provides technical and financial assistance to communities working to address environmental justice issues.[68] The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) provides independent advice and recommendations to the EPA Administrator that crosses various environmental justice issues. The Tribal Consultation & Indigenous People’s Engagement works with federally recognized tribes and other indigenous peoples to prioritize their environmental and public health issues.[69]

Tools and direct support

OEJ provides financial resources for creating healthy, sustainable and equitable communities through the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program and the Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program. As of 2016, more than $36 million of financial assistance has been given to nearly 1,500 community-based organizations.

The Technical Assistance Services for Communities program provides a way for communities to gain better understanding of the decision-making process as well as assist to understand the science, regulations, and policies that impact environmental issues and EPA actions.[69]

The EPA website on environmental justice has various resources such as EJSCREEN, a mapping tool and screening tool, Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice During the Development of an Action, Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis, trainings and workshops, and the Legal Tools Development document.[70]

Emergency Planning and Right to Know Act of 1986

After the Bhopal disaster, where a Union Carbide plant released forty tons of methyl isocyanate into the atmosphere in a village just south of Bhopal, India, the U.S. government passed the Emergency Planning and Right to Know Act of 1986.[71] Introduced by Henry Waxman, the act required all corporations to report their toxic chemical pollution annually, which was then gathered into a report known as the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).[72][73]

Corporate Toxics Information Report

The Corporate Toxics Information Project (CTIP)[74][75] provides information and analysis on corporate pollution and its consequences for communities. The project develops corporate rankings, regional reports, industry reports based on industrial sectors, and presents this data in a web-based resource open to the public. The data is collected by the EPA[76] and then analyzed and disseminated by the PERI institute.[77]

Since 2004, the CTIP has also published an index of the top 100 corporate air polluters in the United States.[78] The list is based on the EPA's Risk Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI), which "assesses the chronic human health risk from industrial toxic releases", as well as the TRI. The Toxic 100 has been updated five times, with the latest update in 2016.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

See also: United States Department of Agriculture § Environmental justice initiatives

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the executive agency responsible for federal policy on food, agriculture, natural resources, and quality of life in rural America.[79] The USDA has more than 100,000 employees and delivers over $96.5 billion in public services to programs worldwide.[80] In its 2012 environmental justice strategy, the USDA stated a desire to integrate environmental justice into its core mission and operations. USDA does fund programs with social and environmental equity goals; however, it has no staff dedicated solely to EJ.

2012 Environmental Justice Strategy

On February 7, 2012, the USDA released a new Environmental Justice Strategic Plan identifying goals and performance measures beyond what USDA identified in a 1995 EJ strategy that was adopted in response to E.O. 12898.[81] Generally, USDA believes its existing technical and financial assistance programs provide solutions to environmental inequity, such as its initiatives on education, food deserts, and economic development in impacted communities.

EJ Initiatives in Marginalized Communities
Tribal outreach

The US EPA holds annual conferences, such as the Tribal Leaders Environmental Forum (TLEF), with Native American tribal leaders; EPA employees and tribal representatives meet in issue-based listening sessions and exchange environmental policy suggestions.[82] The USDA has had a role in implementing Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign in tribal areas by increasing Bureau of Indian Education schools' participation in federal nutrition programs: they develop community gardens on tribal lands, build tribal food policy councils,[83] and provide Rural Development funding for community infrastructure in Indian Country.[84] The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is working to update its policy on protection and management of Native American Sacred Sites, an effort that has included listening sessions and government-to-government consultation.[85] The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has also consulted with Tribes regarding management of reintroduced species where tribes may have a history of subsistence-level hunting of those species. Meanwhile, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is exploring a program to use meat from bisons raised on tribal land to supply AMS food distribution programs to tribes.[84] The Intertribal Technical Assistance Network works to improve access of tribal governments, communities and individuals to USDA technical assistance programs.[86] Federally recognized tribes are also eligible to apply for "Treatment as State" (TAS) status with the EPA, which gives the tribe jurisdictional authority to enforce their own environmental programs, regulations, and quality standards over nearby polluters or over the state in which they reside.[87]

Technical and financial assistance

The NRCS Strike Force Initiative has identified impoverished counties in Mississippi, Georgia and Arkansas to receive increased outreach and training regarding USDA assistance programs. USDA credits this increased outreach with generating a 196 percent increase in contracts, representing more than 250,000 acres of farmland, in its Environmental Quality Incentives Program.[86] In 2001, NRCS funded and published a study, "Environmental Justice: Perceptions of Issues, Awareness and Assistance," focused on rural, Southern "Black Belt" counties and analyzing how the NRCS workforce could more effectively integrate environmental justice into impacted communities.[88]

The Farm Services Agency in 2011 devoted $100,000 of its Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers program budget to improving its outreach to counties with persistent poverty.[89] USDA's Risk Management Agency has initiated education and outreach to low-income farmers regarding use of biological controls, rather than pesticides, for pest control.[84] The Rural Utilities Service administers water and wastewater loans, including SEARCH Grants that are targeted to financially distressed, small rural communities and other opportunities specifically for Alaskan Native villages.[90][91]

Mapping

USFS has established several Urban Field Stations, to research urban natural resources' structure, function, stewardship, and benefits.[92] By mapping urban tree coverage, the agency hopes to identify and prioritize EJ communities for urban forest projects.[92]

Another initiative highlighted by the agency is the Food and Nutrition Service and Economic Research Service's Food Desert Locator.[93] The Locator provides a spatial view of food deserts, defined as a low-income census tract where a substantial number or share of residents has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store. The mapped deserts can be used to direct agency resources to increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables and other food assistance programs.[94]

The US EPA database EJ Screen is publicly available. EJ Screen maps the United States with socioeconomically determinant factors including income level and race, as well as environmental health data including rates of asthma and cancer occurrence in a given area. Where there is high correlation between socioeconomic determinants and detrimental health impacts, "EJ communities" are noted.[95]

Case Studies

The Bronx, in New York City, has become a recent example of Environmental Justice succeeding. Majora Carter spearheaded the South Bronx Greenway Project, bringing local economic development, local urban heat island mitigation, positive social influences, access to public open space, and aesthetically stimulating environments. The New York City Department of Design and Construction has recently recognized the value of the South Bronx Greenway design, and consequently utilized it as a widely distributed smart growth template. This venture is the ideal shovel-ready project with over $50 million in funding.[96][undue weight? – discuss]

See also

References

  1. ^ Massey, Rachel. “Environmental Justice: Income, Race, and Health.” Tufts University Global Development and Environment Institute (2014).
  2. ^ BULLARD, ROBERT D. “Confronting Environmental Racism in the 21st Century.” Race, Poverty & the Environment 10, no. 1 (2003): 49–52. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41554377.
  3. ^ Feagin, Joe R. and Clarence B. Feagin (1984) Discrimination American Style: Institutional Racism and Sexism. Malabar, FL: Robert E. Krieger.
  4. ^ McCall, Machara. “ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM: THE U.S. EPA'S INEFFECTIVE ENFORCEMENT OF TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.” Southern Journal of Policy and Justice, Vol. X7II, pg. 1-3 (Fall 2019).
  5. ^ Kaufman, J.D. and Hajat, A. “Confronting Environmental Racism.” Environmental Health Perspectives (2021). https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/pdf/10.1289/EHP9511 Archived 2021-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b Mikati, I., A.F. Benson, T.J. Luben, J.D. Sacks, and J. Richmond-Bryant. “Disparities in distribution of particulate matter emission sources by race and poverty status.” American Journal of Public Health 108(4):480–485 (2018). https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304297 Archived 2021-11-21 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ^ Pullen, Kristi et al. "Watered Down Justice." National Resources Defense Council (2019). https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/watered-down-justice-report.pdf Archived 2021-10-05 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Bullard, Robert D (1996). Unequal Protection: Environmental Justice and Communities of Color. San Francisco, Sierra Club Books.
  9. ^ a b c d Bullard, Robert D. “Differential Vulnerabilities: Environmental and Economic Inequality and Government Response to Unnatural Disasters.” Social Research 75, no. 3 (2008): 753–84. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40972088 Archived 2021-10-26 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ^ Pastor, M., Bullard, R., Boyce, J. K., Fothergill, A., Morello-Frosch, R., & Wright, B. Environment, Disaster, and Race After Katrina. Race, Poverty & the Environment, 13(1), 21–26 (2006). http://www.jstor.org/stable/41495680 Archived 2021-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Surviving a State's Challenge to the EPA's Grant of Treatment as State Status under the Clean Water Act: One Tribe's Story State of Wisconsin v. EPA and Sokaogon Chippewa Community · University of Wisconsin Law School Digital Repository". repository.law.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  12. ^ Clark, Brett (2002). "The Indigenous Environmental Movement in the United States". doi:10.1177/1086026602238170. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ^ Ranco, Darren J.; O'Neill, Catherine A.; Donatuto, Jamie; Harper, Barbara L. (2011-12-01). "Environmental Justice, American Indians and the Cultural Dilemma: Developing Environmental Management for Tribal Health and Well-being". Environmental Justice. 4 (4): 221–230. doi:10.1089/env.2010.0036. ISSN 1939-4071.
  14. ^ Office of Legacy Management. “Environmental Justice History.” United States Federal Government. https://www.energy.gov/lm/services/environmental-justice/environmental-justice-history Archived 2021-10-27 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ^ a b Colquette, Kelly Michele, and Elizabeth A. Henry Robertson. “ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM: THE CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES, AND COMMENDATIONS.” Tulane Environmental Law Journal 5, no. 1 (1991): 153–207. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43291103 Archived 2021-10-27 at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ^ Perez, Alejandro Colsa et al. “Evolution of the environmental justice movement: activism, formalization and differentiation.” Environ. Res. Lett. 10 (2015). https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/10/105002/pdf Archived 2021-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ U.S. General Accounting Office. “Siting of Hazardous Waste Landfills and Their Correlation with Racial and Economic Status of Surrounding Communities Report.” GAO (1983).
  18. ^ a b Faber, D. R., & Krieg, E. J. “Unequal exposure to ecological hazards: environmental injustices in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” Environmental health perspectives, 110 Suppl 2(Suppl 2), 277–288 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.02110s2277 Archived 2021-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Bullard, Robert D., Paul Mohai, Robin Saha, and Beverly Wright. “TOXIC WASTES AND RACE AT TWENTY: WHY RACE STILL MATTERS AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS.” Environmental Law 38, no. 2 (2008): 371–411. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43267204 Archived 2021-11-11 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ Sandler, R. and Pezzullo, P.C. Environmental Justice and Environmentalism: The Social Justice Challenge to the Environmental Movement.” Urban and Industrial Environments, MIT Press (2007). https://theavarnagroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Environmental-Justice-and-Environmentalism-The-Social-Justice-Challenge-to-the-Environmental-Movement-Ronald-Sandler-and-Phaedra-C.-Pezzullo.pdf Archived 2021-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ Morello-Frosch, R., & Jesdale, B. M. (2006). Separate and unequal: residential segregation and estimated cancer risks associated with ambient air toxics in U.S. metropolitan areas. Environmental health perspectives, 114(3), 386–393. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.8500 Archived 2021-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Jones et al (2014). Race/Ethnicity, Residential Segregation, and Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). American Journal of Public Health, 104(11):2130-7. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302135
  23. ^ Rachel Morello-Frosch and Manuel Pastor, Jr., “Pollution, Communities, and Schools: A Portrait of Environmental Justice on Southern California’s ‘Riskscape.’” DifferenTakes (Spring 2001). http://clpp.hampshire.edu/PDF/DifferenTakes%2012.pdf
  24. ^ Holden, Emily. “People of Color Live with 66% More Air Pollution, US Study Finds.” The Guardian (2019).
  25. ^ Clearfield, C., Tilcsik, A. “Meltdown: Why Our Systems Fail and What We Can Do About It.” New York: Penguin Press, pp. 121-128 (2018).
  26. ^ Hanna-Attisha, M., LaChance, J., Sadler, R. C., & Champney Schnepp, A. Elevated Blood Lead Levels in Children Associated With the Flint Drinking Water Crisis: A Spatial Analysis of Risk and Public Health Response. American journal of public health, 106(2), 283–290 (2016). https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.303003 Archived 2021-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ Examining EPA’s Unacceptable Response to Indian Tribes. Congressional Hearing, 2016-04-22, 2016.
  28. ^ a b Gouveia-Vigeant, T. and Tickner, J. “Toxic chemicals and childhood cancer: A review of the evidence.” Lowell Center for Sustainable Production (2003). https://www.headlice.org/news/2003/cancerrise-report.pdf Archived 2021-09-04 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ Campbell D. (2000). Generations at risk: reproductive health and the environment. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 320(7241), 1082.
  30. ^ Mikati, I., A.F. Benson, T.J. Luben, J.D. Sacks, and J. Richmond-Bryant. “Disparities in distribution of particulate matter emission sources by race and poverty status.” American Journal of Public Health 108(4):480–485 (2018). https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304297.
  31. ^ Blodgett, A.D. “An analysis of pollution and community advocacy in ‘Cancer Alley’: setting an example for the environmental justice movement in St James Parish, Louisiana.” Local Environment (2007). DOI: 10.1080/13549830600853700.
  32. ^ Tsai, S. P., Cardarelli, K. M., Wendt, J. K., & Fraser, A. E. “Mortality patterns among residents in Louisiana's industrial corridor, USA, 1970-99.” Occupational and environmental medicine, 61(4), 295–304 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.2003.007831 Archived 2021-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ a b Warasila, Will and Anne Branigin. “Quicker than Coal Ash.” Southern Cultures Vol. 27 No. 1 pp. 128-148 (Spring 2021). https://doi.org/10.1353/scu.2021.0017.
  34. ^ Paris, Lauren. “What It’s Like to Fight Environmental Racism in Chicago.” 14East (2019). http://fourteeneastmag.com/index.php/2019/07/05/what-its-like-to-fight-environmental-racism-in-chicago/ Archived 2021-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
  35. ^ Henkel, Kristin E, John F. Dovidio, and Samuel L. Gaertner. "Institutional Discrimination, Individual Racism, and Hurricane Katrina." Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 99–124 (2006).
  36. ^ Adeola, F.O, & J Steven Picou. “Hurricane Katrina-linked environmental injustice: race, class, and place differentials in attitudes” Disasters, 41(2):228-257 (2017). doi: 10.1111/disa.12204.
  37. ^ CNN. “The big disconnect on New Orleans: The official version; then there's the in-the-trenches version.” CNN (2005). http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/02/katrina.response/index.html Archived 2021-10-28 at the Wayback Machine.
  38. ^ Saporito, Salvatore; Casey, Daniel (2015). "Are There Relationships Among Racial Segregation, Economic Isolation, and Proximity to Green Space?". Human Ecology Review. 21 (2): 113–132. ISSN 1074-4827.
  39. ^ Maas, Jolanda; Verheij, Robert A; Groenewegen, Peter P; de Vries, Sjerp; Spreeuwenberg, Peter (2006). "Green space, urbanity, and health: how strong is the relation?". Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (1979-). 60 (7): 587–592. ISSN 0143-005X.
  40. ^ "Our ancestors' dystopia now: indigenous conservation and the Anthropocene", The Routledge Companion to the Environmental Humanities, Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2016.: Routledge, pp. 222–231, 2017-01-06, ISBN 978-1-315-76635-5, retrieved 2022-03-06{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  41. ^ Davis, Heather; Todd, Zoe (2017-12-20). "On the Importance of a Date, or, Decolonizing the Anthropocene". ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies. 16 (4): 761–780. ISSN 1492-9732.
  42. ^ Keeler, Kyle (2020-09-08). "Colonial Theft and Indigenous Resistance in the Kleptocene". Edge Effects. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  43. ^ Hooks, Gregory; Smith, Chad L. (2004). "The Treadmill of Destruction: National Sacrifice Areas and Native Americans". American Sociological Review. 69 (4): 558–575. ISSN 0003-1224.
  44. ^ a b Bradley, Angel (1991). "Toxic Threat to Indian Lands: A Greenpeace Report". San Francisco: Greenpeace. 22 (10): 481. doi:10.1016/0025-326x(91)90391-5. ISSN 0025-326X.
  45. ^ "Environmental Impacts". Navajo Nation. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  46. ^ Clark, Brett (2002). "The Indigenous Environmental Movement in the United States". doi:10.1177/1086026602238170. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  47. ^ Rock, Tommy; Ingram, Jani C. (2020-11-17). "Traditional Ecological Knowledge Policy Considerations for Abandoned Uranium Mines on Navajo Nation". Human Biology. 92 (1): 19–26. doi:10.13110/humanbiology.92.1.01. ISSN 1534-6617. PMC 8477793. PMID 33231023.
  48. ^ a b Brook, Daniel (1998). "Environmental Genocide: Native Americans and Toxic Waste". The American Journal of Economics and Sociology. 57 (1): 105–113. ISSN 0002-9246.
  49. ^ Williams, Teresa A. (1992). "Pollution and Hazardous Waste on Indian Lands: Do Federal Laws Apply and Who May Enforce Them?". American Indian Law Review. 17 (1): 269. doi:10.2307/20068725. ISSN 0094-002X.
  50. ^ Hooks, Gregory; Smith, Chad L. (2004). "The Treadmill of Destruction: National Sacrifice Areas and Native Americans". American Sociological Review. 69 (4): 558–575. ISSN 0003-1224.
  51. ^ Davis, Mary B., ed. (2014-05-01). Native America in the Twentieth Century. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-05167-3.
  52. ^ Hooks, Gregory; Smith, Chad L. (2004). "The Treadmill of Destruction: National Sacrifice Areas and Native Americans". American Sociological Review. 69 (4): 558–575. ISSN 0003-1224.
  53. ^ "What to Know About the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests". Time. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  54. ^ Worland, Justin. "What to Know about the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests". Time.com. Retrieved 8 November 2016
  55. ^ Ryzik, Melena. “Museum Officials and Archeologists Sign Petition Against N. Dakota Pipeline.” The New York Times, September 21, 2016, accessed March 29, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/arts/design/north-dakota-oil-pipeline-museum-officials-and-archaeologists-sign-letter.html.
  56. ^ Jones, Athena; Diamond, Jeremy; Krieg, Gregory (January 24, 2017). "Trump advances controversial oil pipelines with executive action". CNN. Accessed March 29, 2022.
  57. ^ Renshaw, Jarrett "East Coast refiner shuns Bakken delivery as Dakota Access Pipeline starts". Reuters. April 19, 2017, Accessed March 29, 2022.
  58. ^ Faith, Mike, Jr. "Press Release". www.standingrock.org. Accessed March 29, 20222.
  59. ^ Examining EPA’s Unacceptable Response to Indian Tribes. Congressional Hearing, 2016-04-22, 2016.
  60. ^ a b c Roberts, R. Gregory (October 1998). "Environmental Justice and Community Empowerment: Learning from the Civil Rights Movement" (PDF). American University Law Review. Washington D.C. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-26.
  61. ^ a b Bullard, Robert D. (1992). "The Quest for Environmental Equity: Mobilizing the African-American Community for Social Change". American Environmentalism: The U.S. Environmental Movement, 1970-1990. New York: Taylor & Francis New York Inc.
  62. ^ a b c d e Worsham, Julia B. Latham (September 15, 2009). "DISPARATE IMPACT LAWSUITS UNDER TITLE VI, SECTION 602: CAN A LEGAL TOOL BUILD ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE?". Boston College Law Review. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston College Law School. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010.
  63. ^ a b c Cole, Luke W (1994). "Environmental Justice Litigation: Another Stone in David's Sling". Fordham Urban Law Journal. 21 (3).
  64. ^ Robert D. Bullard, "Solid Waste Sites and the Black Houston Community," Sociological Inquiry 53 (Spring 1983): 273-288.
  65. ^ Bullard, Robert. "Dismantling Toxic Racism." Crisis 1 July 2007: 21-23.
  66. ^ Environmental Integrity Project. “Baltimore Passes Bill to Protect City from Dangerous Crude Oil Shipments.” Environmental Integrity Project (2018). https://environmentalintegrity.org/news/baltimore-passes-bill-to-protect-city-from-dangerous-crude-oil-shipments/ Archived 2021-11-11 at the Wayback Machine
  67. ^ "Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (EJ IWG)". 18 February 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  68. ^ "Learn About Environmental Justice". 13 February 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  69. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2021-11-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  70. ^ "Environmental Justice". 3 November 2014. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  71. ^ "What is EPCRA?". epa.gov. 24 July 2013. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  72. ^ "Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program". epa.gov. 31 January 2013. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  73. ^ "Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program". epa.gov. Environmental Protection Agency. 31 January 2013. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  74. ^ "PERI: Corporate Toxics Information Project". umass.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-06-29.
  75. ^ "Corporate Toxics Information Project". PERI. Political Economy Research Institute. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  76. ^ "EPA". epa.gov. EPA. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  77. ^ Baylor, Matthew (11 July 2016). "Home Page". PERI. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  78. ^ "PERI: Archive: Toxic 100 Air Polluters Index". umass.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-06-29.
  79. ^ USDA, Mission Statement, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2012-07-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).
  80. ^ USDA, Performance and Accountability Report at ii, http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/mimedetector?url=http://www.ocfo.usda.gov/usdarpt/pdf/par2008.pdf&text=http://www.ocfo.usda.gov/usdarpt/pdf/par2008.pdf Archived 2010-05-05 at the Library of Congress Web Archives
  81. ^ USDA, Strategic Plan, http://www.dm.usda.gov/hmmd/FinalUSDAEJSTRATScan_1.pdf Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine.
  82. ^ US EPA, OA (2021-08-10). "EPA Announces 11th Annual Tribal Lands and Environment Forum". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  83. ^ USDA, Strategic Plan at 6.
  84. ^ a b c Holmes interview.
  85. ^ USDA, Strategic Plan at 10, http://www.dm.usda.gov/hmmd/FinalUSDAEJSTRATScan_1.pdf Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine Plan.
  86. ^ a b USDA, Progress Report at 8, http://www.dm.usda.gov/hmmd/FinalEJImplementationreport_1.pdf Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine Report.
  87. ^ Diver, Sibyl; Ahrens, Daniel; Arbit, Talia; Bakker, Karen (2019-08-01). "Engaging Colonial Entanglements: "Treatment as a State" Policy for Indigenous Water Co-Governance". Global Environmental Politics. 19 (3): 33–56. doi:10.1162/glep_a_00517. ISSN 1526-3800.
  88. ^ USDA, NRCS EJ Guidance, https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1045586.pdf Archived 2021-03-08 at the Wayback Machine.
  89. ^ USDA, Progress Report at 9, http://www.dm.usda.gov/hmmd/FinalEJImplementationreport_1.pdf Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine.
  90. ^ USDA, Water and Environmental Programs Fact Sheet, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-25. Retrieved 2012-07-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  91. ^ USDA, Water and Environmental Programs Website, http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/UWEP_HomePage.html Archived 2012-06-21 at the Wayback Machine.
  92. ^ a b USDA, Strategic Plan at 6, http://www.dm.usda.gov/hmmd/FinalUSDAEJSTRATScan_1.pdf Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine.
  93. ^ "USDA ERS - Food Access Research Atlas". www.ers.usda.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  94. ^ Velde interview.
  95. ^ US EPA, OP (2014-09-03). "EJSCREEN: Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  96. ^ "South Bronx Greenway". Majora Carter Group. Archived from the original on 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Environmental_racism_in_the_United_States&oldid=1081052023"