Introduction
In the global market, corporations and governments are noticed to tend to the disproportionate distribution of toxic facilities and hazardous manufactures more and more often. Analyzing the geography of such locating, it appears that such practices are connected to the aim to target poor ones, minorities, or “unwanted” communities and people groups. Such phenomenon received its title of “environmental racism”. In the following paper, this phenomenon and its development in the United States along with its pernicious influence and the proposal to improve the situation will be explored.
Of course, to solve such a complicated problem a miracle is needed as nowadays people only believe in material belongings whereas human values do not seem to be important for them; thus, there should be developed mechanisms which will either affect the way of thinking of people having authority or will enforce them to do so, for example, on the level of policymaking and compulsory law. Generally, after the evaluation of a row of facts related to the above-mentioned problem, it appears that the situation with environmental racism may be improved as a result of environmental justice movements’ activity that will provide their helping hand for the afflicted ones to support them in their law enforcement protective battles.
The Main Points of the Environmental Racism Problem
Speaking about environmental racism and its development in the United States, it is important to define this notion, first of all. According to Bullard (Environment and Morality, 32),
Environmental racism refers to any policy, practice, or directive that differentially affects or disadvantages (whether intended or unintended) individuals, groups, or communities based on race or color. It combines with public policies and industry practices to provide benefits for corporations while shifting costs to people of color.
With regards to this definition, a row of issues connected to social justice and the equality in the rights of people which is firmly established in the Constitution of the United States are to be taken into consideration to understand all the wickedness of such phenomenon (Karliner 152). Next, the other important point concerning environmental racism is in understanding the roots of this problem. It appears that the problem as all the major problems in our modern-day reality is connected to financial matters along with discrimination, and social injustice. And among the above-mentioned factors racism can be mentioned as the most influential variable in the whole course of the problem. This fact is supported by numerous researches conducted since 1987 including the one done by Toxic Waste and Race in the United States (Bullard, Anatomy of Environmental Racism 29). According to Bullard (Environment and Morality, 32), “environmental decision making often mirrors the power arrangements of the dominant society and its institutions. It disadvantages people of color while providing advantages or privileges for corporations and individuals in the upper echelons of society”. Judging on this meaningful comment, it becomes evident that to solve the problem of environmental racism the more difficult problems of social injustice, discrimination and nationalism are to be solved.
The Reasons for Examining Prior Solutions
Furthermore, the problem of environmental racism is even more complicated by many important issues. People living in the areas subjected to hazardous contaminations on the reason of placing polluting manufactures there develop health problems which become a reason for their continuation as representatives of the poor class. This can be explained easily as since their childhood spent in the areas with poor environments these people lose their health which is so important to break through economic problems and to relocate from such a risky area of inhabitance. Namely, since childhood, these people develop such deadly and terrible health conditions as lead poisoning, asthma, leukemia, encephalitis, and many more (Lester, Allen, and Hill 35).
Speaking about numerous sad illustrations when toxic wastes and hazardous manufactures were located in accordance to social and racial membership of people, a row of cases can be mentioned. For example, the vicinity along the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge in Louisiana is subjected to severe contaminations produced by the local manufacturer, and nuclear wastes are also stored here; and, of course, this area is inhabited by people of color and poor incomes (Johnson 45). One more example, in North Carolina local officials decided to locate PCB landfill nowhere else but in African American community. Such sad illustrations are abundant if not endless. The following comment made by Bullard seems to explain this phenomenon and its main concepts:
Environmental racism reinforces the stratification of people (by race, ethnicity, status, and power), place (in central cities, suburbs, rural areas, unincorporated areas, or Native American reservations), and work (in that office workers, for example, are afforded greater protections than farm workers). It institutionalizes unequal enforcement, trades human health for profit, places the burden of proof on the “victims” rather than the polluters, legitimizes human exposure to harmful chemicals, pesticides, and hazardous substances, promotes “risky” technologies, exploits the vulnerability of economically and politically disenfranchised communities, subsidizes ecological destruction, creates an industry around risk assessment, delays cleanup actions and fails to develop pollution prevention and precaution processes as the overarching and dominant strategy (Environment and Morality, 32).
The Proposal
With regards to all the above-mentioned crimes against humanity which are evident in connection to the problem of environmental racism, it becomes evident that the situation cannot continue like this anymore, or, otherwise, it may lead not only to a moral breakdown but to a collapse in the society. Thus, the strategy of overcoming the problem is to be developed. Speaking about the concepts directed to solving the problem of environmental racism, it should be stated that they are many and will demand a lot of efforts on the part of environmental justice movements and all the other people who are not indifferent with regards to these severe cases of the violation of human rights established in the Constitution of the United States.
There are many ways to improve the situation in connection with the problem of environmental racism. One of the most realistic and even giving its positive results nowadays is forming environmental justice movements. These movements are to help the afflicted people to defend their rights in courts, and, as a result, to attain good results in relocating harmful manufactures from their neighborhoods. Everyone knows, “you better fight for your dreams”. People who have authority and finance are strong enough to insist on their profit-making ideas; and, still, when they hear constant murmuring and grievances on the part of those who are affected by the harmful practices they sometimes give up as everybody has the limit of one’s nervous system.
The Implementation Plan
Alternatively, there exist more idealistic ways to solve the problem of environmental racism such as fighting discrimination and social injustices. It seems that humanity came to a moment in its history when the new era of enlightenment is needed. People need their new Rousseaus, Montesquieu’s, Franklins, and Jeffersons to develop a new way of thinking and treating their neighbors. Our people having authority who is responsible for policy-making must be affected by the ideas of humanism in the deepest meaning of these words. Nothing can be that effective. People may strive a lot and originate wars against the oppressors, but oppressors will still rely on their ideas of enrichment and enslavement of those who are weaker. Thus, it would be much more effective if there were a way to change the way of thinking of those oppressors.
In conclusion, it should be stated that nowadays the problem of environmental racism appears to be very much complicated both in the United States and in the world. Evaluating a row of injustices that people have to face on the reason of their social position or ethnicity, it becomes evident that basic human rights established in the Constitution of the United States are violated. Thus, it appears that the situation with environmental racism may only be affected using the efforts on the part of environmental justice movements’ activity that will provide their helping hand for the afflicted ones to support them in their law enforcement protective battles. And, what is more important, those having policymaking authority must change their way of thinking and shift to the ideas of humanism otherwise this “war” will result from many more pains, and not only on the part of afflicted ones.
Works Cited
Bullard, Robert. “Anatomy of Environmental Racism in the Environmental Justice Movement”. Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots, 1993. Print.
Bullard, Robert. “Environment and Morality: Confronting Environmental Racism in the United States”. Racism and Public Policy, 2004. Print.
Karliner, Joshua. The Corporate Planet: Ecology and Politics in the Age of Globalization, San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1997. Print.
Johnson, Barbara. Who Pays the Price? The Sociocultural Context of the Environmental Crisis, Washington, DC: Island Press, 1994. Print.
Lester, James, David Allen, and Kelly Hill. Environmental Injustice in the United States: Myths and Realities, Boulder, CO: Westview, 2001. Print.