Essay, Research Paper: Environmental Racism

Environmental Racism in the U.S.


Environmental racism is the social injustice represented by the disproportionately
large number of health and environmental risks cast upon peoples of color in the
communities in which they live. These minorities are the most common victims of
toxic Environmental racism is now well documented in America's communities. From
Baton Rouge's Cancer Alley to South Central Los Angeles millions of Americans live
in housing and physical environments that are over burdened with environmental
problems and d other pollution related illnesses. Grassroots multiracial organizations
have sprung up to initiate lawsuits and fight the polluters. The Louisiana
Environmental Action Network (LEAN) helps in this effort and has offered assistance
in actions against th Certain statistical evidence exists to support the argument the
environmental racism doses occur in certain locations throughout America. Consider
a report called The Landmark Study in 1987, revealed the following: that three out of
every five Black the national average. These statistics are staggering and make it
difficult to understand why and how the government can permit this to occur to in our
own backyards.
There are characteristics that are apparent when considering the extent of
environmental racism and may help explain why it occurs in the first place. For
example, the greatest number of commercial hazardous facilities is located in
communities with industries
The effects of pollution and environmental hazards on people of color, the poor, and
the working class have been overlooked by environmental policy makers because it
is perceived that these communities are politically powerless and would not protest
There is a very influential individual who brought attention to the term environmental
racism. His name is Robert D. Bullard. He is a member of the Clinton Administration's
Environmental Justice Transition team. He was one of the organizers of the With the
knowledge that environmental racism exists there are some very influential laws in
place to assist citizens in the fight against environmental racism. Fore example the
EPA has made significant efforts to promote environmental justice. The However, in
the 1990's the EPA has changed its view of Title VI (Dear 1992). For example, in
Kettlman City supervisors were charged with running discriminatory public
participation proceedings by holding public hearings thirty five miles from Kettlem
One of the first steps toward addressing the problem of environmental racism was the
establishment of the Conference on Race and the Incidence of Environmental
Hazards in 1990 (Bullard 1993). It gave national visibility to the public debate on The
mainstream movement, however, has been criticized for its lack of minority
representation. Critics claim that these organizations fail to recruit minority
memberships and have not addressed the daily environmental hazards in minority
communitie Public outcry has prompted a response from the federal government on
environmental racism. In 1994, on February 11, President Clinton signed an
Executive Order on Environmental Justice addressing environmental racism. The
executive order requires f The laws that are in place however, are not always
successful in preventing environmental racism. That is why citizens who are tired of
being subjected to the dangers of pollution in their communities have been
confronting the power structures throu Watchdog groups are also effective in strategic
planning to combat environmental racism. The group comprises workers, high school
and college students, women, farm workers, and inner city residents who are victims
of environmental racism. The Watchd It is a fact that there is a prominent problem of
environmental racism throughout the U.S. More importantly is the fact that
environmental racism that does occur is gaining recognition, publicity, and support
from programs such as LEAN, individuals l




Bibliography


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2.Bullard, Robert D. 1993. "Anatomy of Environmental Racism and the Environmental
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R. Bullard, ed. Boston: South End Press

3.Dear, Michael. 1992. "Understanding and Overcoming the NIMBY Syndrome,"
Journal of the American Planning Association, Summer: 288

4.Kaufman, Jerome L. 1980. "Land Planning in an Ethical Perspective," Journal of
Soil and Water Conservation, November-December: 258