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Environmental Injustice: A National and International Perspective Janis Arrojado
T
oday, environmental issues are becoming more widespread across the globe. Problems of climate change, ecological degradation, pollution, ocean acidification, and more trouble communities on a national and international level. With these environmental issues, a shocking trend is becoming more perceptible: In low-income and minority communities (LIMC), the environmental conditions are considerably worse than the conditions in which members of high income communities reside in.
D
espite its status as a developed country, the United States has great economic disparity. The top 20% of American households own approximately 84% of the country’s wealth, while the bottom 40% own .3%. This extreme income inequality has detrimental impacts on society, including corrupt political structures, education discrepancies, product monopoly, and more (Scanlon). One of economic disparities bigger impacts is on the environment. Economic disparity leads to national and international environmental injustice, which is a term used to describe how LIMC generally live in poorer environmental conditions compared to high-income communities. Blatant discrimination against low income and minority people can be seen throughout enforcement of environmental policy. One example is the proven correlation between LIMC and their close proximity to waste sites. These groups are targeted because they lack funds and resources necessary for community action against governments and corporations. Not only limited to the United States, environmental injustice is prevalent worldwide. Compared to developed countries, developing countries are more prone to have more environmentally-related issues. Developing countries are defined to be countries with low per capita income, high rates of unemployment and poverty, and revenue generated primarily from the raw materials/agriculture and manufacturing sects of the economy. In these low-income and racial minority communities and in developing countries, one can see that the environmental conditions are substandard compared to more affluent areas. In order to investigate the causes and impacts of this issue, I looked at air pollution, waste and waste management, and water quality in LIMC, and comparing these to the conditions of high income communities.
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
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embers of LIMC are more likely to have more hazardous elements in their air compared to white and affluent communities. A recent census shows that people of Hispanic descent are exposed to 11 of the 14 hazardous chemicals associated with human health impacts, which is significantly higher than the chemicals exposed to white people. (Chemicals defined as hazardous include nickel, sulfate, and vanadium.) Asians have more exposure to 7 out of the 14 chemicals, and places with high concentration of African-American people a have higher exposure of 4 out of 14 hazardous chemicals, compared to white communities. Additionally, it was found that people lacking a high school education and/or living in poverty have significant exposure to several of the hazardous chemicals. The disparity of environmental conditions can be seen in cities such as Washington D.C., Los Angeles and Fresno, where rich areas in the cities are less likely to have harmful chemicals in the air compared to the poorer regions (Katz). In North Carolina, socioeconomic status could be used to predict concentration of particulate matter, PM 2.5. PM 2.5 is is known to have negative impacts on the environment and human health, such as visibility impairment and increased respiratory symptoms. Areas with larger concentrations of low-income and high minority populations were seen to have higher concentrations of PM 2.5 compared to high income communities. Outdoor air pollution is not the only form of air pollution impacted by income and racial factors. The rates and composition of household air pollution in a community have been seen to be impacted by socioeconomic status. Household air pollution is prevalent in low-income communities, due to the cheaper nature of burning biomass and coal compared to other forms of generating heat. It is estimated that 500,000600,000 low income people in the United States are exposed to household air pollution from burning solids to produce heat for fuel, heating, and cooking. Household air pollution also attributes to outdoor air pollution, and increases the hazardous air particle concentration in many communities (Rogalsky et. al.). Within LIMC, the presence of many industrial companies is more pronounced than in higher income communities (Migoya). This makes the levels of air pollution in these low income areas more likely to be higher and have harmful chemicals in its composition. LIMC are driven to live
