Environmental Justice
M3.3 Environmental Justice
To learn about the fundamental disregard for minority communities in the initial legislative efforts to push environmental agendas is no surprise. I feel like it is America's prerogative to "other" people until there are grass roots movements to stand up against the noise.
I also found that the traditional environmental movement definitely was a movement to try and get what they could get done as fast as they could get it done, which did mean reducing the scope of environmental protections to communities that needed the most support and vocal representation. However, it was interesting to learn that environmental justice ideals were common place in some of the original ideals about environmental protection, specifically those coming from Senator Ed Muskie of Maine.
Additionally, I found the hardest thing to understand about mainstream environmentalism was its obsession with elite supporters. This inherently misrepresents communities that live in Superfunds backyards or with polluted water systems. These academics do not know the tragedy, daily struggle, or financial burden that living with the health disparities that these environmental catastrophes ensue.
Lois Gibbs, grass roots leader of the love canal scandal that occurred in the 1970s in Niagara Falls stated that mainstream environmentalists chastise their movements vehement tactics of exposing their children's diseases and refusal to use due process to have their voices heard. In response, Gibbs stated, that these academics have obviously never seen their child struggle and die do to these conditions, and if they had, they would not tell us to come down or slow down.
This directly influences the "social determinants" of health, specifically within the African American community. It is common knowledge in the medical world that those identify of African American race have higher rates and subsequent deaths from heart disease in America, according to the American Heart Foundation. However, this could be from the disproportionate exposure that minority communities have with toxic chemicals from exploitation from waste and chemical companies, as well as from the United States government. It is due to this exploitation that grassroots movements like the "Black Lives Matter" have erupted in response to the abuse, and why these environmental protection issues are so intertwined with other social issues.
To learn about the fundamental disregard for minority communities in the initial legislative efforts to push environmental agendas is no surprise. I feel like it is America's prerogative to "other" people until there are grass roots movements to stand up against the noise.
I also found that the traditional environmental movement definitely was a movement to try and get what they could get done as fast as they could get it done, which did mean reducing the scope of environmental protections to communities that needed the most support and vocal representation. However, it was interesting to learn that environmental justice ideals were common place in some of the original ideals about environmental protection, specifically those coming from Senator Ed Muskie of Maine.
Additionally, I found the hardest thing to understand about mainstream environmentalism was its obsession with elite supporters. This inherently misrepresents communities that live in Superfunds backyards or with polluted water systems. These academics do not know the tragedy, daily struggle, or financial burden that living with the health disparities that these environmental catastrophes ensue.
Lois Gibbs, grass roots leader of the love canal scandal that occurred in the 1970s in Niagara Falls stated that mainstream environmentalists chastise their movements vehement tactics of exposing their children's diseases and refusal to use due process to have their voices heard. In response, Gibbs stated, that these academics have obviously never seen their child struggle and die do to these conditions, and if they had, they would not tell us to come down or slow down.
This directly influences the "social determinants" of health, specifically within the African American community. It is common knowledge in the medical world that those identify of African American race have higher rates and subsequent deaths from heart disease in America, according to the American Heart Foundation. However, this could be from the disproportionate exposure that minority communities have with toxic chemicals from exploitation from waste and chemical companies, as well as from the United States government. It is due to this exploitation that grassroots movements like the "Black Lives Matter" have erupted in response to the abuse, and why these environmental protection issues are so intertwined with other social issues.
I was watching Netflix and a good series about environmental justice is called "Flint". It is a documentary about the gross criminally negligent choices made by the Detroit government which allowed poisoned water to be distributed to a predominantly African American and low socio-economic town of Flint Michigan. Black Lives Matter felt that this was systematic racism and an act of violence in the form of environmental injustice.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that these issues are 100% intertwined. I appreciate your thoughts on mainstream environmentalism's obsession with elite supporters, as well!
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