Connection
Confronting an unjust past for a healthier future: The case for climate justice From environmental racism to environmental justice In the United States, the purposeful shaping of cities in favor of more “desirable” people (to quote the 1930s Home Owners’ Loan Corporation discriminatory redlining maps) has led to underserved communities and disparate health outcomes within those communities. Black Americans are more likely to live near hazardous facilities, lack access to safe drinking water, and endure “higher rates of poverty, shorter life spans and higher rates of chronic diseases including asthma, diabetes, hypertension, obesity and kidney disease.” 1, 2
Communities deemed EJ areas by the EPA have a greater exposure to rising temperatures and pollutants, are more vulnerable to natural disasters and disease, are at a greater risk to increases in energy and food prices, and are at a greater risk of displacement. The OEJ develops collaborative programs and policies to support and engage minority, low-income, tribal, and Indigenous populations and partner with other federal agencies to advance the principles of environmental justice. 4 As Bullard states, “America is segregated, and so is pollution.” Your Zip code is the best indicator of your health and wellbeing.6 Efforts in environmental justice strive to eliminate this indicator and achieve healthy outcomes for all, no matter your address.
Above Pittsburgh Home Owners’ Loan Corporation map, 1930’s.
These disparities were given the name “environmental racism” in 1979, when professor Robert Bullard formed a research group to support his wife’s lawsuit against a landfill in a middleclass Houston neighborhood where 82% of the residents were Black, citing racial discrimination in its environmental practice [Source 3] . Bollard became known as the “father of environmental justice,” and eventually the movement was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992 with the formation of the Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ). 4 According to the OEJ, “Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. This goal will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards, and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.” 5
12
Above Pittsburgh Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool.
Climate change at the intersection of race + class While the devastating effects of climate change will hurt populations across the globe, those effects will not be felt equally, a fact that is already evident. The climate justice
