Introduction
Environmental disasters affect the quality of life of all people negatively. However, minority groups or people of lower socio-economic status are especially susceptible to negative consequences. This happens for two main reasons. First, socially vulnerable people are in disadvantaged conditions, including lack of transport access, food supply, unprotected housing, etc. Second, disaster policies are designed without considering people with special needs and disabilities.
Discussion
The article “Racial coastal formation” discusses how sea-level rise disproportionately affects the colored population in the United States, displacing coastal residents. On the East Coast of the United States, vulnerable to sea level rise, 20% of homeowners are black, higher than the national average (Hardy et al., 2017). The authors note that there is a constant flow of the white population to the areas most protected from flooding and the displacement of the black population from there. Such a change occurred, for example, on the island of Sapelo, where the black population decreased from 77% to 37% in 2010 (Hardy et al., 2017). The absence of a policy to support minorities leads to a double crowding out – first socio-economic and then environmental (Hardy et al., 2017). They become victims twice, moving to flooded lands due to economic inequality and racism.
Collins et al. examined conflicting data on areas at risk of flooding, which showed that the wealthiest segments of the population are most affected. Firstly, it turned out that wealthy people lose more property, savings, and wealth, but poor people are more likely to become victims of the elements (Collins et al., 2018). Secondly, they are much less likely to seek medical and psychological help since it is not covered by insurance (Collins et al., 2018). Thirdly, the housing zones most vulnerable to flooding are low-cost and populated by minorities, black people, and poor people. The percentage of whites in the population reaches only 38 (Collins et al., 2018). Thus, such a global problem as flooding has a racial and socio-economic context that the authorities ignore. The long-term consequences of degraded environmental conditions lead to the development of chronic illnesses among the population. Therefore, health concerns lead to a decrease in the population’s quality of life and aggravation of inequality among vulnerable people.
Conclusion
The discussed post emphasizes the importance of paying attention to the vulnerable parts of the community to make society more equal and just. Even though it is a great point that should be applied in practice, it is vital to remember that control over environmental pollution and destruction is a problem that should be addressed at the state level. The government and corporations should unite their efforts in addressing the environmental challenges to ensure that the ecosystem is not destroyed due to technogenic factors.
References
Collins, T. W., Grineski, S. E., & Chakraborty, J. (2018). Environmental injustice and flood risk: A conceptual model and case comparison of metropolitan Miami and Houston, USA. Regional Environmental Change, 18(2), 311–323.
Hardy, R. D., Milligan, R. A., & Heynen, N. (2017). Racial coastal formation: The environmental injustice of colorblind adaptation planning for sea-level rise. Geoforum, 87, 62-72.