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EEA RESOURCES
Teaching about Environmental Justice

Why Teach Environmental Justice?

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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 issues 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

Lessons for Investigating Environmental Justice


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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

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Poverty and Natural Disasters: Exploring the Connection
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Topic: Exploring effects of living in proximity of chemical releases and hazardous waste dumps
Source: Learning for Justice / Harvard LabXchange
Middle or high school


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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

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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


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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

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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

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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


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University of Michigan case studies on environmental injustice
    o "Emelle, Alabama: Home of the World's Largest Hazardous Waste Landfill"
    o "Maquiladora Workers and Border Issues"
    o "The Dearborn, Michigan Arab American Community and Industrial Air Pollution"
    o "The Yucca Mountain High-Level Nuclear Waste Depository and the Shoshone"

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EWG - Mapping PFAs: an Interactive Map

​Topic: Finding locations of chemicals that can contaminate drinking water
Source: Environmental Working Group
​High school

4 Case Studies of the Disproportionate Impacts of Pollution 
Click the images below to learn about each of these cases

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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 increase exposure to pollutants holds for black people across all income levels.
Redlining and the Urban Heat Island Effect: Housing loan 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.
 
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Shingle Mountain: From coal ash to mine tailings to asphalt shingles, poor communities are often  dump sites for toxic waste created elsewhere and hauled into their neighborhoods for disposal.
​https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/racism-drives-environmental-inequality-but-most-americans-dont-realize/

Environmental Racism: 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 and racism the biggest driver of environmental injustice, according to this research. 

5 Tools for Investigating Environmental Injustice Locally 

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Al1.  The Mapping Inequality Project: Redlining in New Deal America provides access to the actual maps and underwriting guidelines that were used by the federal government to limit where federally-backed mortgage loans could be used to buy houses, starting in the 1930s. The maps and loan guidelines excluded industrial areas and neighborhoods where "infiltration of inharmonious racial groups ... tend to lower the levels of land values and to lessen the desirability of residential areas." Although racially discriminatory lending guidelines are no longer in use, areas that were "redlined" decades ago still have more pavement, fewer trees, and hotter temperatures than other neighborhoods. These "urban heat islands" contribute to adverse health impacts for residents. And many of the neighborhoods are in close proximity to current or legacy sources of industrial pollutants.

​2.  EPA's EJ Screen provides a way to create and overlay maps that show low income or minority communities, industrialized areas, waste disposal or chemical release sites, and other sources of pollution. Created as a tool for staff of the Environmental Protection Agency to use,  EJ Screen is available to the public as a screening-level tool with the caveat that it does not constitute an official risk assessment and is an unofficial indicator of the need for further investigation.
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3.  EPA's TRI Explorer offers a way to retrieve data from the EPA Toxics Release Inventory and sort it by facility, chemical, geographic area, or industry. This inventory was ordered by Congress to inform the public of their exposure to substances that cause environmental health problems.

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​4.  EPA's My Environment is a searchable database that enables users to find out about the quality of air, water, land, climate, energy and health associated with a particular location. Students can enter a zip code, city name, community, or park to learn about environmental quality in the vicinity.

5.  Community "Right-to-Know" Act:  Information about toxic chemical releases must be provided to the people who live nearby

​To learn more about environmental justice, check out EEA's instructional strategies for culturally relevant teaching or sign up for a workshop on this topic. 
Contact Us
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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 info@eealliance.org


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  • Our Story
    • About EEA
      • About Our Organizational Members
      • About Our History
    • About Env Ed
      • About Env Justice
      • About Env Stewardship
  • Our Team
  • Our Events
  • Our Resources
    • Wildlife Viewing
    • Earth Month Activities
    • Garden-based Learning
      • Carbon Gardening
    • EcoEngineering Challenges
      • Biodiversity Challenge: Pollinator Habitat
    • Community (Citizen) Science
    • Problem-Based Learning
    • Place-Based Learning
    • Project-Based Learning
      • Beyond EcoPhobia
    • Teaching about Climate Change
      • Climate Change Course
      • Climate Change - NGSS Expectations
      • Solutions Game Educator Guide
      • P WET Climate Resilience pdf
    • Teaching about EJ
    • Zero Waste Heroes
    • SAGES Project
    • Virtual EE Resources
    • Environmental Clubs
    • Evaluation and Assessment
      • Writing Measurable Student Objectives
  • Our Work
    • Professional Learning
    • Inclusive EE & Outdoor Learning
    • ATEEG Certification
      • ATEEG: Why Get Certified?
      • ATEEG: Certification Details
      • ATEEG History & Accreditation
      • ATEEG Certification Advisory Board
      • ATEEG CAB Portal
        • ATEEG Presentation
        • ATEEG CAB Info Packet
        • ATEEG Responsibilities
        • ATEEG Budget
        • ATEEG Framework
        • ATEEG Reports to NAAEE
        • ATEEG Meeting Notes
    • CoOL
      • CoOL RESEARCH on Outdoor Learning
        • Stanford Key Findings on EE
        • Frontiers Special Edition
      • CoOL AWARDS & GRANTS
      • CoOL ToolKit ToC
      • CoOL Toolkit Survey
      • CoOL Toolkit Map
      • CoOL Toolkit Audits
      • CoOL Toolkit SPACES
      • CoOL Toolkit METHODS
      • CoOL Toolkit SUSTAIN
      • CoOL Toolkit COVID
    • EEinGeorgia.org
      • EEinGeorgia
    • Monarchs Across GA
      • Pollinator Habitats & Certification
        • Pollinator Habitat Certification
      • MAG Awards
      • Mexico Book Project
      • MAG Resources
        • Buy Milkweed
      • Symbolic Migration
      • MAG Volunteers
      • MAG Events
        • 2023 Pollinator Symposium
      • Mapping Milkweeds for Monarchs in GA
    • EEA Memorial Forest
    • Awards and Grants
    • Initiatives
      • CEO Roundtable
      • EE Landscape Analysis
      • Guidelines for Excellence in EE
        • Outdoor Learning Collaboratory
      • EE and Higher Ed
      • GOLD Grant Application Preview
  • Our News
    • EEA News
      • The Dragonfly Quarterly Newsletter
      • EEA E-News
    • Book Club
    • EEA Issues
      • EE Legislation
      • SCORP
      • Teaching During Covid-19
  • Our Impact
  • JOIN or GIVE
    • Make a Donation
    • Become a Member
    • Volunteer
  • Member Portal
    • My Account
    • Field Excursions
  • Contact Us
  • Outdoor Learning Store
  • PassTick2023-4