Environmental Justice

Definition

Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. It aims to ensure that all communities, especially those that have been historically marginalized, have equal access to a clean and healthy environment.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Environmental justice is a key consideration in command-and-control regulations, which aim to set and enforce standards to protect the environment and public health.
2. International environmental issues, such as climate change and transboundary pollution, often have disproportionate impacts on marginalized communities, highlighting the need for environmental justice principles.
3. The environmental justice movement emerged in the 1980s in response to the unequal distribution of environmental hazards, such as toxic waste facilities, in low-income and minority communities.
4. Environmental justice principles emphasize the importance of community participation and empowerment in decision-making processes related to environmental policies and projects.
5. Achieving environmental justice requires addressing systemic inequities and ensuring that all communities have access to clean air, safe water, and healthy living environments.

Review Questions

• Explain how the concept of environmental justice is relevant to command-and-control regulation.
  • Environmental justice is a crucial consideration in command-and-control regulation, as these regulations aim to set and enforce environmental standards to protect public health and the environment. Command-and-control approaches must ensure that the development, implementation, and enforcement of these regulations do not disproportionately burden or exclude marginalized communities. Environmental justice principles help to ensure that the benefits and burdens of environmental protection are distributed equitably across all segments of the population, regardless of race, income, or other demographic factors.
• Describe the relationship between environmental justice and international environmental issues.
  • Environmental justice is closely linked to international environmental issues, as the impacts of global environmental problems often fall disproportionately on marginalized communities and developing countries. For example, the effects of climate change, such as sea-level rise, droughts, and extreme weather events, tend to have a greater impact on low-income and minority populations who are more vulnerable and have fewer resources to adapt. Environmental justice principles emphasize the need for international cooperation and decision-making processes that consider the unique challenges and needs of these communities when addressing transboundary environmental issues.
• Analyze how the environmental justice movement has influenced the development and implementation of environmental laws and policies.
  • The environmental justice movement has been instrumental in shaping the development and implementation of environmental laws and policies. By highlighting the disproportionate exposure of marginalized communities to environmental hazards and the unequal protection from environmental and health risks, the movement has pushed for the incorporation of environmental justice principles into legislation and regulatory frameworks. This has led to increased community participation in decision-making processes, the consideration of cumulative impacts on vulnerable populations, and the enforcement of environmental laws and policies to ensure equitable protection for all communities, regardless of their demographic or socioeconomic status.

Related terms

Environmental Racism: The disproportionate exposure of racial and ethnic minority communities to environmental hazards and the unequal protection from environmental and health hazards.

Environmental Equity: The fair distribution of environmental benefits and burdens across all segments of the population, regardless of race, income, or other demographic factors.

Environmental Activism: The grassroots movement to address environmental issues and promote policies that protect the environment and public health, especially in disadvantaged communities.