In this paper I will be discussing the topic of Environmental Racism; which is the purposeful placement of environmentally hazardous locations such as toxic waste sites and landfills near communities of minority or low-income. My personal view on the issue of Environmental Racism is that the government is placing a huge burden on the health and safety of those who reside in communities of color and poverty by placing these waste facilities directly in their communities and exposing those to hazardous toxins and pollutants. They play around the issue of being racist, and although they won’t admit to it, it seems quite obvious that there is a correlation between the placement of these facilities and the community. I believe every person, no matter …show more content…
Because of the environmentally hazardous locations being placed in communities where the health and safety of those who live there are negatively affected, this is NOT sustainable. If we want all people living on Earth in the year 2060 to be able to achieve a quality lifestyle, then we should not be placing waste sites in communities where the health and living conditions are negatively impacted. The main idea of racism is that groups of people are labeled as inferior by another group of people that view themselves as being superior over everyone else. The habits and actions that we engage in today play a major part in the downfall of our environment and it all stems from the issue of being greedy, and possessing the thought that one is superior over everyone else and puts their own wants and needs first regardless of the effects on others and the environment. Sustainability’s main objective is to protect the environment for the future generations by preforming actions that help to make the Earth a better place to live, and Environmental Racism attacks the objective of sustainability by exposing those of minority communities to a toxic and unhealthy environment. This rejects the principles of sustainability because instead of improving the quality of the environment for generations to come, we are destroying it and preparing for the further destruction of our …show more content…
By itself, Environmental Racism is still providing communities of color the consequences of suffrage because of all the polluters that are being placed in and around their neighborhoods. So either way, Environmental Racism is viewed as being wrong just by itself alone, but, when it is put in the context of sustainability, it opens up a broader perspective on how the topic is actually negatively affecting the environment right now, and how it will affect the future generations as
Intrinsic racists believe that each race has a different moral status that are independent from moral characteristics that come from moral essences. Being the same race as someone else entails preferring that person over another who is not of the same race. For example, we have a greater moral interest in our biologically related brother than in a stranger. Intrinsic racists will never hold that someone who has greater capabilities, but is not of their race, is admirable or will receive the same treatment to someone of their own race. Just as intrinsic sexists will hold that the pure fact that someone is a woman is a reason for treating her a certain
Chapter 4 describes the horrific consequences of pre-1991 landfills. Humes writes, “Trash, sometimes with hazardous chemical waste mixed in, had been buried carelessly all over the country for decades without installing plastic barriers and other protections now deemed essential to containing landfill pollution”( 2013 p.92). Humes describes a tragic incidence near Niagara Falls, New Jersey in the 1970s. “In the 1950s, there was a residential community near Niagara Falls in New York. The community was built on what had been at one time a toxic chemical disposal site” (Humes, 2013, p.92).
The NAACP 's press release talks about the research report Coal Blooded, and how coal plants are being placed nearby low income and colored communities. This is causing an overwhelming amount of pollution in these communities, which in turn is hurting people 's health. The average income of people living in these areas is $18,400 and also 39% of these Americans are colored. Coal Blooded even talks about a plan to help change from high polluted energy sources for more eco-friendly sources. The closing of two power plants in Chicago helps support this plan.
In "Concerned Citizens: Environmental (In)justice in Black Los Angeles," Sonya Winton asserts the environmental difficulties that low income communities face. She claims that politicians in Los Angeles are inequitable; the politicians spend more time trying to better the high income communities, instead of improving the negative in the low income
The purpose of environmental justice is fair treatment for everyone. Everyone should have respect to environmental practice and regulations, regardless of the their nationality, income, religion, and ethnicity. “The environmental justice movement has the idea that poor people are more exposed to a greater pollution, hazards, and environmental degradation than richer people.” (Withgott & Laposata, 2012). For example, during 1989 Exxon Valdez, a disaster struck causing an oil tanker with 38-million gallons of oil to wreck at Prince William Sound’s Bligh Reef offshore of Alaska.
They are the prominent cultural beliefs our society embodies, racism, and common production processes. First, on the topic of racism, I truly don’t believe that anyone can argue that racism is one of the main fueling forces behind this issue of asthma in the Bronx. Of New York City’s five boroughs, the Bronx is not only the poorest with over 28% of residents living below the federal poverty level, but also contains the highest concentration of minority (89.1 %) and poorly educated residents (30.8 % of adults have not graduated from high school) (Maroko, Riley, Reed & Malcolm, 2014). “Environmental injustice can be defined as the disproportionate exposure of communities of color and the poor (or other vulnerable groups) to pollution, and its concomitant effects on health and environment, as well as the unequal environmental protection and environmental inequality provided through laws, regulations, governmental programs, enforcement, and policies (Maantay, 2007).
Industrialization, economic expansion, and globalization are processes that are the biggest culprits of environmental injustice. The most obvious act of injustice that links both environmental injustice and human rights abuse is the displacement of indigenous communities. A unique example of such displacement is the relocation of blacks to different segregated townships. This relocation of such a large group of people put a strain on the environment as the numbers were over and above the areas carrying capacity. These townships are heavily polluted, quality of life is extremely low and land degradation is rife.
Environmental racism is defined as "the overwhelming likelihood that toxic-producing plants and toxic waste dumps are located where poor people, especially people of color live" (Eitzen, Smith, and Zinn 97). When I read this definition, I decided to do some research; what I discovered was alarming. According to Goldmanprize.org, "A recent report from the NAACP entitled 'Coal Blooded: Putting Profits Before People, ' found that among the nearly six million Americans living within three miles of a coal plant, 39% are people of color." Another interesting statistic I found was that 78% of all African Americans live within 30 miles of a coal fired power plant. Living situations like these are dangerous to the surrounding community; the chances
What is environmental racism and what populations of people does it affect.evironmental, global warmIng, racism, In justice.explain how environmental racism causing a lot of damage to people.how racism is affecting our environment. the environmentalal people live can affect the way they raised. some people have died, some people have to go to jail over this issue government with rich people. environmental racism is something that all. biggest oil refinery in u.s. leaves burned to a crisp.
Environmental racism is placement of low-income or minority communities in proximity of environmentally hazardous or degraded environments. the environment people live In can affect the way they live. people have died, some people have gone to jail over this issue government white people. there are a lot of toxic and polluted in the poor country or states. environmental racism is something that is bad for the community.
The Unnatural Causes: Place Matters video, explains how environmental factors impact the health and lifespan of an individual. Additionally, the video also gives some history on how disadvantaged neighborhoods were created through government policies that favored Caucasian families. Also, the video focuses on Richmond, a disadvantaged city in California, and the detrimental health of its community members. Lastly, the video focuses on an improved and former disadvantaged neighborhood called High Point located in Seattle, Washington.
This is how I feel about environmental racism. I do think something needs to be done about this situation as badly as many people would want racism to end we people know it probably would never come to an end. Mainly because some people does not want to make a change. They feel good about the situation because there not put in that situation. But I’m sure if they were in the middle of environmental racism they would feel some type of
(Kidd 60). This once again shows how treatment varies for different races. It proves that people would rather see a coloured person homeless than staying on their property. Overall, this shows how segregation creates unfair rules leading to devastating
1. Camara Phyllis Jones, a framework of institutional, personally mediated and internalized racism each brings an example of many things we’ve read about in class throughout, the issue of perception and personal issues that have been. Through the housing frameworks in Gainesville itself and in other communities in the states all across America internalized, personally mediated and institutional racism all plays a huge role in analyzing how and why some communities are safe and secure and others are polluted and less secure, on why some schools get more funded than others, they reflect on the systems privilege, unintentional and intentional racism, along with numerous structural barriers that keep people of color of actually succeeding in place
Environmental racism is something that affects all communities in horrible ways. Some people around the world have problems with racism everyday such as rich and poor communities. Other people around the world have racism problems such as black and white people. Environmental racism is something that all people around the world deal with everyday. To begin with, Environmental racism starts with the people in all communites.