Health, Risk, and Environmental Justice Lecture Part 3 SOC165 Spring 2010 [USEMAP] The Invironment and Risk ● Part 3 2 In Part 3 •Environmental Justice paz_01_img0096 [USEMAP] The Invironment and Risk ● Part 3 3 Definition •Also known as environmental injustice, environmental racism •Social scientists study social injustice in the way natural resources are used – how goods & bads are distributed in society 105-300x300 •Environmental injustice exists when members of poor, ethnic, minority or other groups suffer from environmental risks or hazards disproportionately [USEMAP] The Invironment and Risk ● Part 3 4 Definition •Environmental policy that affects people of color or ethnic/racial groups in a negative way •Many times this involves limiting such peoples to living on polluted lands, the dumping or release of pollution and toxic substances in their communities, or the placement of polluting industries or unpleasant facilities such as sewage treatment plants in these areas. (wikipedia) [USEMAP] The Invironment and Risk ● Part 3 5 Principles •Environmental justice advocates in US defined 17 principles, including: • •Democracy •Open government •Public participation •Responsibility of polluters •Government protection •Less power to corporations •Clean-up of pollution •Education [USEMAP] The Invironment and Risk ● Part 3 6 History •In the USA, the environmental justice movement began in the 1980s in response to local environmental problems •Today: –Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice –National Environmental Justice Advisory Council [USEMAP] The Invironment and Risk ● Part 3 7 Theories of Environmental Justice •Recall ToP and justice •Environmental movement is a struggle against the powerful •Globalization & export of pollution is unjust –Example: Bhopal –More recently: China and “e-waste” image001 PRC_beijing_transport 1 [USEMAP] The Invironment and Risk ● Part 3 8 Theories of Environmental Justice •Risk: wealth and class are still important •Lower classes are exposed to more dangers •The wealthy can buy more safety spheres limo2 [USEMAP] The Invironment and Risk ● Part 3 9 Risk •Yet there is also the “boomerang effect” – all can be affected by risks, including the rich –“Democratization of risk” • boomerang-art boomerangs [USEMAP] The Invironment and Risk ● Part 3 10 Research Methods •USA & UK: correlation between income/race and location of toxic dumps or factories •Quantitative analysis comparing census data, industry reports, and maps map2-1 [USEMAP] The Invironment and Risk ● Part 3 11 EnvironJusticeMap05TIP figure4_1 Spatial and Demographic Analysis [USEMAP] The Invironment and Risk ● Part 3 12 Methods in Debate •Controversies over study of environmental justice •Statistical methods imperfect e-waste odis_gis_census_tract [USEMAP] The Invironment and Risk ● Part 3 13 End of Part 3 Continue to Part 4. FAQ_banner [USEMAP] The Invironment and Risk ● Part 3 14 Citations Used in This Lecture •“Environmental Justice.” 2006. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_justice (Accessed March 28, 2006).