Environmental Justice is the concept that all people deserve to be treated fairly with respect to protection from environmental and health hazards; and to have opportunities for meaningful involvement in the decision-making process about environmental regulations, policy, and laws.
Whether you identify as an environmental educator, classroom teacher, naturalist, professor, or ranger, environmental justice is relevant and appropriate to teach. This interdisciplinary topic includes elements of applied social studies, policy, math and science. To help students become "JEDI warriors," who have the capacity to analyze Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the context of environmental problem-solving, consider engaging them in collecting and analyzing data using tools provided at the bottom of the page, or explore the following lessons with them. National Science Teaching Association
Statement on the importance of teaching science with an environmental justice lens North American Association of Environmental Educators Article on the value of a justice-centered pedagogy |
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National Geographic
Why are black and minority communities more often exposed to devastating toxins than white communities? There are different reasons including intentional and unintentional discrimination in siting of facilities such as waste dumps; unequal enforcement of environmental laws; and exclusion of Black and other minority groups from decision-making processes. To achieve true environmental justice, all of those issues must be addressed.
Essential Reading:
"Race, Class, Gender and American Environmentalism" by Dorceta E. Taylor. Topic: Power, Privilege and Environmental Protection Source: US Department of Agriculture Middle or high school |
Environmental Justice in Pollution Impacts
Topic: Investigating impact of living in proximity of chemical releases and hazardous waste dumps Source: Learning for Justice / Harvard LabXchange Middle or high school |
Poverty and Natural Disasters: Exploring the Connection
Topic: Exploring effects of living in proximity of chemical releases and hazardous waste dumps Source: Learning for Justice / Harvard LabXchange Middle or high school |
Food Deserts: Causes, Consequences and Solutions
Topic: Examining the health impacts of limited access to fresh food and produce Source: Learning for Justice Middle or high school |
Project S.O.W: Gardening with Justice in Mind
Topic: Gardening with community, gratitude, curiosity, and resilience: investigating food justice Source: Cornell University Middle or high school Curriculum: Seeds of Wonder: Food Justice Lessons |
Paying with their Health: the Plight of Immigrant Workers
Topic: Exploring working conditions of immigrants in the series: Injustice on our Plates Source: Leaning for Justice / Harvard LabXchange Middle or high school |
Environmental Racism in an Oil Spill Clean-Up
Topic: Analyzing disproportionate impacts of the Gulf Oil Spill on poor communities on the coast Source: Learning for Justice / Harvard LabXchange Middle or high school |
Environmental Justice: Zip Codes and Pollution Burdens
Topic: Investigating the correlation among neighborhoods, income, race and exposure to pollution Source: Science Friday / Harvard LabXchange Middle or high school |
EWG - Mapping PFAs: an Interactive MapTopic: Finding locations of chemicals that can contaminate drinking water
Source: Environmental Working Group High school |
Air Pollution: People of color are exposed to more air pollution, in part due to the proximity of segregated neighborhoods to industrial areas. However, the phenomenon of increased exposure to pollutants holds for black people across all income levels. (New York Times article linked above)
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Shingle Mountain: From coal ash to mine tailings to asphalt shingles, poor communities often become dump sites for toxic waste created elsewhere and hauled into their neighborhoods for disposal. Investigate how this happens. (ProPublica article linked above)
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Environmental Impacts: Most Americans realize that black and brown people suffer the most harmful effects of pollution, but they attribute it to poverty or personal choices. Few know that race is the most reliable predictor of environmental health burdens. (Scientific American article linked above)
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Environmental Education Alliance, Inc.
P.O. Box 801066 | Acworth, GA 30101 EEA does not does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in its program , activities, or employment. For more information on EEA's non-discrimination commitment click here . Grievance officer may be contacted at [email protected] |
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