Environmental justice describes a set of values, rules and actions which place the responsibility for the dangers to the environmental health on citizens from all ethnicities and socioeconomic classes of the society and guarantee them equal access to environment’s benefits and safety from hazards. It aims to maintain a healthy, functioning society for all people to live in, that exists in an environment that is safe and flourishing (“Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences” par. 1-4; Bryant).
Environmental Justice groups attempt to amend such issues as the unequal placement of landfills and polluting industries, which are often placed near the housings of underprivileged minorities, the inability of certain ethnic and social groups to enjoy recreational areas, make choices about the conditions of their environment, or have their concerns voiced in such matters.
These groups are always searching for new methods to make it easier and more efficient to uphold the environmental justice. Since problem awareness is one of the core requirements before anything can be done about it, new technologies and forward thinking are being used to create the Environmental Justice Atlas. The Atlas is an international collective project to create a global database of social conflict resultant from environmental issues. It details the struggles of communities around the globe to save their environments against various damaging projects and extraction of resources (Watts par.5-8). Its creation is moderated by the Autonomous University of Barcelona and was inspired by several Environmental Justice Organizations. These organisations were listed in The Guardian article “Mapping the global battle to protect our planet”: the World Rainforest Movement, the Latin American Observatory of Mining, Grain, Oilwatch International and OCMAL (Temper par. 4-9).
The interactive map is very easy to use, and effective for locating environmental justice issues and collecting information about them. When studying the map of USA, it is easy to notice severe Water and Waste Management issues spread around the country (“EJAtlas | Mapping Environmental Justice.”).
Water Management issues are defined by restricted unequal access to safe, fresh water. The information provided by the Atlas shows a connection between the ethnicity of the population and their access to drinkable water. Also, the main reasons for water shortages seem to be ground, lake and river water contamination with pesticides, liquid waste and other contaminants of agricultural or industrial nature. Water management also deals with the attempts of private businesses to privatise water utilities in the region. These guilty parties are opposed by the local population and various Environmental Justice organizations, who demand the projects that are causing the problems to stop, for the affected areas to be restored and for new legislations to be passed, meant to secure their water supply and equal access to it.
Waste Management deals with communities who suffer as a result of inadequate or illegal waste dump by businesses. The results are water and soil contamination, health problems among the population living in the vicinity, displacement from homes. Similarly to Water Management, this is usually opposed by the locals and environmental groups, such as Communities Against Toxic Wastes in Landfills, Center of Community Action and Social Justice. The government is represented by Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Toxic Substances Control, the governments of the States, and similar ones. Again, the resolutions here are to stop the projects causing the issue, remove the contaminating factors, and initiate area restoration action, compensations and fines for the guilty parties.
While Waste and Water Management are similar, especially since the former can cause the latter, Waste issues are relatively easier to bring to justice, since they are more often tied to overt malpractice.
I believe that the Environmental Justice movement is doing a very significant service to the society and is a cause that every person has a personal stake in. Without the help from groups of this movement, people affected by the discussed issues would find it much harder to protect themselves and their rights.
Works Cited
Bryant, Bunyan I. Environmental Justice: Issues, Policies, and Solutions. Washington, D.C.: Island, 1995. Print.
“Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.” Environmental Justice. n.p., n.d. Web.
“EJAtlas | Mapping Environmental Justice.” Environmental Justice Atlas. n.p., n.d. Web.
Temper, Leah. “Mapping the Global Battle to Protect Our Planet.”The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 2015. Web.
Watts, Jonathan. ” No battle can be fought without a map.”The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 2015. Web.