ABOUT EEA
Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice

Environmental problems have an outsized effect on poor people in our country and across the world.  Everyone has a right to equal environmental protection under the law. And we all deserve to live, work and play in communities that are safe and healthy. However, environmental impacts disproportionately result in poor people being more likely to be exposed to environmental hazards and related health burdens. In addition, past policies based on race or ethnicity have had a lasting adverse impact on communities and people of color. 

Environmental educators can help students recognize the disparities; learn about environmental impacts scientifically; understand the factors that contribute to disproportionate health burdens, including economics and public policy; and provide opportunities for student problem-solving and decision-making that can make a difference in the world. 

To learn more, read "Race, Class, Gender and American Environmentalism" by Dorceta E. Taylor.

 Disproportionate Impacts of Pollution  
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People of color are exposed to more air pollution, in part due to the proximity of segregated neighborhoods to industrial areas, but also across all income levels.

Housing load policies once limited where people of color could live (a practice known as redlining) and still affects those neighborhoods through the urban heat island effect.

 

From coal ash to mine tailings to asphalt shingles, poor communities have often become dump sites for toxic waste created elsewhere.