Introduction to Environmental Justice
A discussion of terms, history, and concepts related to the environmental justice movement
A discussion of terms, history, and concepts related to the environmental justice movement
Black, Indigenous, and people of color have long been excluded from environmental policy , conservation , and public health issues because of racism .
Mainstream environmentalism has too often prioritized individual actions and responsibilities while overlooking issues of racial injustice and inequity. It’s vital, given this history, to examine sustainability through the lens of racial equity.
To celebrate Earth Month, Ecos—a sustainability employee resource group at Esri—is highlighting aspects of the environmental justice movement.
Through a series of pieces, starting with this one, you can learn about the history of environmentalism and engage with current justice issues. Staying up-to-date with new research can be tricky, which is why we’ll use this first piece to cover some of the essential terminology currently in use.
A woman standing with a sign at a protest (Photo by: Nathan Dumlao , on Unsplash)
Equality vs. equity: Is there a difference?
Understanding the difference between equality and equity will help you understand how environmental justice is framed in the United States today. Let’s start by comparing their definitions.
“Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome,” according to George Washington University .
Environmental justice research places an emphasis on equity, since “environmental inequities such as exposure to toxic hazards are systemic and...can amplify or reinforce...other social inequities and divisions such as those between racial or ethnic groups or different socio-economic classes.”
An equitable lens re-frames our understanding of environmental risks, putting an emphasis on the individual who is experiencing them.
The graphic below helps illustrate the differences between equality, equity, and justice.
Equality is giving the same amount of money or resources to every community for climate change mitigation.
Equity is recognizing that some communities, especially poor and marginalized communities, feel the effects of climate change more acutely and therefore need more money or resources to address those impacts.
Justice is addressing the root of the problem, changing or enforcing policies and regulations to stop the disproportionate impact of climate change–related issues on marginalized communities.
The soil represents historic barriers or consequences of long-term inequities.
The fence represents current barriers. Bureaucracies that create hierarchical social status—like policies and systems that influence the inequitable distribution of power or resources—are one example of current barriers.
Adding stools is equivalent to actions taken to aid barrier-affected communities, like a city creating a community garden to alleviate food deserts.
The sun represents the resources that are provided to the flowers.
The flowers represent people striving for those resources.
Removing the barriers represents successful policy work.
The ultimate removal of the barriers shows how these flowers can get the same amount of sunlight without supports or accommodation because the root inequity was addressed.
Research has shown that marginalized communities often experience environmental injustice in the United States through disproportionate exposure to pollution caused by historic inequalities. One example of this is that people of color and low-income people experience a heavier burden from extreme heat than other communities, due to banking practices banned in 1968.
Under the early 20th century practice of redlining, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) graded neighborhoods based on potential loan risk. Neighborhoods were graded from "A" (Best) to "D" (Hazardous), with the risk level largely based on the number of African Americans and immigrants living in the area. Low-graded areas were outlined in red on maps, giving the practice its name. Redlining, along with other housing policies, contributed to concentrating poverty and stifling home ownership rates in marginalized communities.
Heat islands are "urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas", according to the EPA . Built landscapes (like buildings, roads, and sidewalks) absorb and emit heat more than natural landscapes (like grass, trees, water, and other vegetation). According to a study by Portland State University, the Science Museum of Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University , redlined neighborhoods across the US are hotter than non-redlined neighborhoods by an average of 5 degrees, some by almost 13 degrees.
The map below shows the connection between redlining and heat islands in Los Angeles. The left map shows summertime surface temperature relative to the HOLC grade. The right map shows current population density by race. In West Los Angeles, you can see that areas with more tree shade are correlated to wealth and a lower percentage of people of color.
This example shows just one way that lasting segregation from redlining relates to current environmental injustice. Tree shade and vegetation have numerous tangible benefits , including reduced energy use due to lower surface temperature, improved air quality, enhanced water quality, reduced pavement maintenance, and increased quality of life. Furthermore, residents of redlined areas face a disproportionate risk of heat-related mortality and negative health impacts associated with heat and carbon pollution.
Beyond the well-documented economic impacts of redlining, we see these environmental impacts. Health hazards like factories, industrial waste sites, and landfills tend to be congregated in communities of color which were historically redlined. Individuals in these communities across the United States live with dangerous air pollution, unsafe water, and deteriorating lead paint within their homes.
Redlining in Atlanta, Georgia (Data source: Living Atlas )
The environmental justice (EJ) movement began as a response to environmental inequities caused by practices like redlining. It was started primarily by people of color who wanted to address the inequity of environmental protection in their communities. Since the beginning of the EJ movement, networks have coalesced formally and informally to acknowledge and address historical injustices.
In the early 1980’s, the residents of Warren County, a low-income and primarily Black region of North Carolina, organized to oppose the construction of a hazardous waste landfill in the city of Afton. Concerns about toxic chemicals leaching into the drinking water had not been addressed by state officials, and residents and allies protested and marched for six weeks, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
This protest is generally thought of as the beginning of the environmental justice movement, although people of color had been protesting environmental threats for years already. The Afton protests garnered national media attention and provided a foundation for the idea of environmental justice in the United States. They also spurred research that exposed how pollutant-producing facilities are disproportionately located in communities of color.
Some early conservationists like Madison Grant, a close friend of Teddy Roosevelt who helped establish Glacier and Denali National Parks, supported eugenics and white supremacy as a means of protecting “pristine” wilderness areas. Today, some approaches to environmentalism espouse similar principles, arguing that the human population needs to be reduced drastically, even if forcefully, using white supremacist ideology to determine which human lives should be prioritized.
Kimberlé Crenshaw: The urgency of intersectionality (Video from: Ted.com )
In contrast, intersectional environmentalism is an inclusive version of environmentalism that identifies the connection between injustices that marginalized communities are experiencing and the future of planet Earth.
This philosophy, introduced by Leah Thomas, builds off the idea of intersectionality coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw. Crenshaw created the term intersectionality to address prejudice happening at the intersection of gender and race for Black women in the United States.
Without a proper way to identify what occurs at the intersection of race, economic status, and environmental health hazards, environmentalism will keep failing to address injustice.
These are only some of the many ways people identify.
Cumulative burden describes the multiple inequities marginalized populations are facing. Many communities face environmental exposure (like pollution) along with social stressors (like limited access to healthcare). These factors compound and accumulate over time, which makes equity for the communities more difficult.
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Oljato-Monument Valley, United States (Photo by: Cayetano Gil )
Underlying all the other issues we’ve discussed is the history of the land we call the United States. In order to establish and sustain the country, settler-colonists have displaced tribes from their ancestral homelands and engaged in the destruction of natural resources. Many of our public lands are sacred sites for Indigenous peoples, and we must recognize that the history of these lands is rooted in the violent dispossession of the Indigenous peoples who used to live on and care for them.
The federal government is legally required to ensure that tribes can access natural resources to protect their sovereignty, culture, and economic well-being. Too often, however, the government has sanctioned development that threatens sacred sites, ignores tribal concerns around environmental degradation, and weakens or thwarts tribal consultation.
Early conservationists viewed Indigenous people as obstacles to their idea of "pristine" wilderness. However, Indigenous groups have always been activists for the land, and continue this work today. Including indigenous groups in environmentally focused policy means supporting collective land and resource rights.
The map below shows the native lands around the world as a way to educate and bring awareness to the histories of the lands and their nations.
Global Native Land, Contact your local nation to verify (Data Source: Native-Land.ca )
The climate movement is something that has long excluded marginalized communities, and we hope that this story has introduced you to some of the terms and concepts used in conversations around these issues.
This is an ongoing topic, and we would appreciate your feedback moving forward with these resources. Please send any corrections or comments to esri_sustainability@esri.com . Thank you!
The resources below can help you learn more about the EJ movement and taking action in your community.
Environmental protest signs in crowds | Photos by: Li-An Lim and Markus Spiske