Equity and Environmental Justice

equIty and envIronmental JustIce One of the major challenges with regard to environmental sustainability is the maintenance of equity and environmental justice. The environmental justice movement arose as result of the concerns about the health resulting from environmental degradation (Andrews 1999). The issue of equity is intertwined with environmental justice. The issue of equity has important implications. There are two types of equity: intra-generational and intergenerational equity. Inter-generational equity means that the use of resources should not be depleted, so the next generation lacks the resources to sustain life (Summers and Smith 2014; Nijaki 2015). Intra-generational equity, by contrast, refers to the use of the resources among the current population (Nijaki 2015). Intra-generational equity can imply the rich and the poor not only within a nation, but also between nations. The issue of lead poisoning in the water system of Flint, Michigan, in the United States led to allegations of environmental racism, since there was a disproportionate exposure of the black population in the area to polluted air, water, and soil. Poverty and segregation had forced many of the minorities to reside in the environmentally polluted areas and there was an allegation that most of the garbage incinerators are built in poor African-American neighborhoods because the minorities lacked political power. There were allegations that environmental racism led many of the poor AfricanAmericans live in hurricane-prone areas. The water pollution was a result of a cost-saving decision to replace Detroit’s water system with the Flint River source. However, the government must not compromise the health and safety in the name of cost-saving.

The other dimension of intra-generational equity involves regional and rural/urban issues. Environmental degradation can damage certain areas more than others, for example, the coastal areas of the United States. The people of these areas are more vulnerable to environmental calamities than other areas. Although environmental problems affect all people, some rural areas may suffer droughts and floods which threaten the livelihood of the people. Lal et al. (2011) show that the rural communities are more vulnerable than their urban counterparts because of demography, occupations, earnings, literacy, poverty incidence, and dependency on government funds. Moreover, the rural areas are primarily agricultural, supplying the food for the nations. The use of fertilizers comprises serious environmental problems. The government, therefore, has a responsibility to protect the people from natural calamities, and, simultaneously, make

fertilizers and other products environmentally safe. The government has the responsibility to educate the farmers on the use of proper crops for the safety of the environment, and prevent the decay of the crops and soil erosion. The theory of justice implies that the governments must promote the greater good for all the people. The governments play a major role in giving land permits, agricultural subsidies, providing for clean air and water, and other services. In providing for these services, justice and equity must be the prime concern of the governments.

Environmental sustainability means that public administrators need to focus on environmental protection not only for affluent communities but also for impoverished communities. All the people deserve clean air and water for the maintenance of basic health and happiness. Individuals deprived of basic health are unable to enjoy education, employment and other pursuits of happiness. Equity within nations implies that the actions of the developed nations should not jeopardize the sustainability in developing countries. As stated above, the developed world and, at present, India and China are responsible for the emissions of most of the greenhouse gases. These countries should, therefore, bear the main responsibility for the control of emissions.

Multinational companies from the developed countries currently enjoy a free hand to transfer their businesses to the developing countries of the world in order to take advantage of relaxed environmental regulations. As a result, multinational companies are responsible for polluting the air and the water quality of the developing countries threatening the long-term health and prosperity. Although environmental degradation can have an immediate impact on developing countries, pollution will eventually impact on them as well because we share the globe. Public administrators have a role in maintaining the equity in regulations not only in their country and at the same time, abroad.

The issues of poverty and inequality have surfaced as a result of the environmental problem. The lack of environmental quality has led to a reduction in the price of housing in some areas, attracting poor people. Individuals, then, who reside in a metropolitan landscape with disproportionately high levels of pollution, have a lower level of willingness to pay for a clean environment (Freeman et al. 1975). An open transaction can sometimes bring about an unequal and unjust result (Nijaki 2015). Strict policies maintaining environmental sustainability would eliminate the problems of equity. All individuals, regardless of their economic status, need to have access to clean air and good-quality water.