Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Socio economic impact of colonialism
Essay on environmental politics
Essay on environmental politics
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Socio economic impact of colonialism
The most important thing human beings should learn in their lifetimes is that we are a part of our environment. We are not above, to the left, to the right, or in it; we are a part of it. It’s vital that the understanding of the relationship between person and earth is done through the lens of ecology. Ecology, described by a quick Google search, is “the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.” Ecology is also considered a “political movement that seeks to protect the environment, especially from pollution.” When ‘environmentalism’ became a mainstream political talking point, arguably thanks to the founding of and aggressive campaigns of early 1970s Greenpeace, it was often in the context of protecting the planet from pollution. However, this talking point failed to acknowledge or seek out the perspectives of …show more content…
The economic relationship of America’s black communities [to white society]...reflects their colonial status. The political power exercised over those communities goes hand in glove with the economic deprivation experienced by the black citizens. Historically, colonies have existed for the sole purpose of enriching, in one form or another, the “colonizer”; the consequence is to maintain the economic dependence of the colonized.
Black ecology was birthed by the black liberation movement in how it finds the same conclusion in solving the environmental crisis that affected people living in American ghettos. In the final lines of “Black Ecology,” Nathan Hare declares:
The real solution to the environmental crisis is the decolonization of the black race...It is necessary for blacks to achieve self-determination acquiring a full black government and a multi-billion dollar budget so that blacks can better solve the more serious environmental crises of
He delves into the history of the word “environmental” as well as the history of environmental activism. He pinpoints the beginning of the movement to Rachel Carson. According to Quammen, she began the revolution by publishing her book Silent Spring. He says the negative connotations of the word began with her book, pairing “environment” and “the survival of humankind” as if they go hand in hand. This played a major role in the distortion of the word and the intentions of environmentalists.
What is the value of property-ownership if the Negro cannot draw upon the rich material wealth of his own soil (Du Bois 70)? How does the emergence of an industrial economy in the New South advance the economic interests of the African-American community after Reconstruction? What is the true meaning of progress for the Southern Negro? In The Souls of Black Folk and the Invisible Empire State, W.E.B. Du Bois situated the industrial rise of the New South with the case study of the Georgia Black Belt. He argued that African-Americans’ “lack of capital, land, and economic organization” stifled their potential for economic advancement as wage-laborers in Georgia (Du Bois 102). In chapter seven, Du Bois echoed the sentiments of the Negro Peon about the state of black-white labor relations. “The shadow hand of the master’s grand-nephew or cousin stretches out of the gray distance to collect the rack-rent remorselessly, and so the land is uncared-for and poor. Only black tenants can stand such a system and they must” (Du Bois 73). The reign of the white merchant, commissary shops, and the private industry (convict leasing practices) built the New South—building wealth for white creditors, while leaving African-Americans financially
Since the beginning of slavery in the America, Africans have been deemed inferior to the whites whom exploited the Atlantic slave trade. Africans were exported and shipped in droves to the Americas for the sole purpose of enriching the lives of other races with slave labor. These Africans were sold like livestock and forced into a life of servitude once they became the “property” of others. As the United States expanded westward, the desire to cultivate new land increased the need for more slaves. The treatment of slaves was dependent upon the region because different crops required differing needs for cultivation. Slaves in the Cotton South, concluded traveler Frederick Law Olmsted, worked “much harder and more unremittingly” than those in the tobacco regions.1 Since the birth of America and throughout its expansion, African Americans have been fighting an uphill battle to achieve freedom and some semblance of equality. While African Americans were confronted with their inferior status during the domestic slave trade, when performing their tasks, and even after they were set free, they still made great strides in their quest for equality during the nineteenth century.
In his article entitled The "environmental racism" Hoax, white male, David Friedman explains his disbelief in the existence of environmental racism. He argues that the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to prevent environmental injustice make it too difficult to push business projects through in urban areas. Therefore business efforts, “shift operations to white, politically conservative, less-developed locations,” to avoid complications with EPA requirements (Friedman). Moving industrial facilities to predominantly white areas creates jobs and economic growth in these areas rather than in areas with larger colored populations. Therefore, it could be seen that the EPA’s efforts ironically counteract their purpose of protecting colored communities. This view attributes for lack of industrial plants in urban areas, but fails to consider the relationship between environmental horrors such as Hurricanes Katrina, Irma, and Jose, DAPL, and the Flint Water Crisis. Effort is not actively put into protecting communities of color in our country. Citizens fail to recognize the weight of this issue because our leaders themselves don’t prioritize
In 1989, seventy five percent of Americans identified themselves as environmentalists, and the number has continued to grow since then (Walls 1). Environmentalism is now the most popular social movement in the United States, with over five million American families donating regularly to environmental organizations (Walls 1). Environmentalists today focus on what kind of world they hope to see in the future, and largely deal with limiting pollution and changing consumption rates (Kent 1 and 9). Modern environmentalists also have much different issues than those Carson’s America faced. With climate change becoming more threatening each year, protection of the natural world is needed more than ever. Pollution has caused the warmest decade in history, the deterioration of the ozone layer, and species extinction in extreme numbers (Hunter 2). It not only threatens nature, but also human populations, who already suffer from lack of clean water and poisoning from toxic chemicals (Hunter 16). Unlike environmental actions in the 1960’s, which were mostly focused on protection, a massive increase in pollution has caused efforts to be focused on environmental restoration (Hunter 16). Like in the time of Silent Spring, environmentalists are not only concerned with one country. Protecting the environment remains a global issue, and every nation is threatened by the
“Black Awakening in Capitalist America”, Robert Allen’s critical analysis of the structure of the U.S.’s capitalist system, and his views of the manner in which it exploits and feeds on the cultures, societies, and economies of less influential peoples to satiate its ever growing series of needs and base desires. From a rhetorical analysis perspective, Allen describes and supports the evidence he sees for the theory of neocolonialism, and what he sees as the black people’s place within an imperial society where the power of white influence reigns supreme. Placing the gains and losses of the black people under his magnifying glass, Allen describes how he sees the ongoing condition of black people as an inevitable occurrence in the spinning cogs of the capitalist machine.
The structure of a society is based on the concept of superiority and power which both “allocates resources and creates boundaries” between factors such as class, race, and gender (Mendes, Lecture, 09/28/11). This social structure can be seen in Andrea Smith’s framework of the “Three Pillars of White Supremacy.” The first pillar of white supremacy is the logic of slavery and capitalism. In a capitalist system of slavery, “one’s own person becomes a commodity that one must sell in the labor market while the profits of one’s work are taken by someone else” (Smith 67). From this idea of viewing slavery as a means of capitalism, Blacks were subjected to the bottom of a racial hierarchy and were treated nothing more than a property and commodity that is used for someone else’s benefit. The second pillar involves the logic of genocide and colonialism. With genocide, “Non-Native peoples th...
In the United States and internationally, there is a multitude of indicators that the racial environment is changing. Environmental pollution and racism are connected in more ways than one. The world is unconsciously aware of environmental intolerances, yet continues to expose the poor and minorities to physical hazards. Furthermore, sociologist continue to study “whether racial disparities are largely a function of socioeconomic disparities or whether other factors associated with race are also related to the distribution of environmental hazards” (Mohai and Saha 2007: 345). Many of these factors include economic positions, health disparities, social and political affairs, as well as racial inequalities.
Racism is commonly thought of as an act that is synonymous with violence; however, one common form of racism, environmental racism, often takes place without people being aware the events are happening before detrimental activities have been put into action. In Melissa Checker’s book Polluted Promises, she relates that Reverend Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. coined the term environmental racism while stating that there is “deliberate targeting of communities of color for toxic waste disposal and the siting of polluting industries” (Checker 14). This problem is important to discuss, as many groups of people around the United States continue to be impacted by these events every day. Such people include
Until the power structure that benefits from the “othering” of minorities and the poor is dismantled, people of color will continue to pay the price. Before attention is given to the cultural traditions or practices of people of color, we must examine the history and mechanisms behind environmental racism. The issue of environmental multicultural education also helps determine whether people of color choose to engage in bettering their communities through environmental activism. The practices and traditions of these groups must also be considered because they are demonstrative of the connectedness to the earth that people of color have and the desire to see nature thrive. More scholarship needs to focus on how people of color discuss environmental risk because they are equally concerned about the safety of their communities, and the health of their families.
After two decades of fighting to draw attention to the glaring inequalities prevalent in the placement of toxic waste sites and environmental health hazards, the environmental justice movement finally gained governmental recognition. A 1968 study conducted by Reverend Martin Luther King directed attention to the egregious environmental racism prevalent in America (“Environmental Justice”). After decades of protests by civil rights activists, the United States General Accounting office inspected environmental racism claims in 1983, using data from the 1980 census, and finding that,
In reading James Cone and Evan Osnos’ articles on the relationship between environmentalism and racism and the Flint water crisis, I was particularly struck by what Bishop Frederick C. James said: "We in the Black community have been disproportionately affected by toxic dumping, disproportionately affected by lead paint at home, disproportionately affected by dangerous chemicals in the workplace” (Cone 5). The high levels of lead in Flint’s drinking water, and the relative inaction of state officials in response, reminded me of a discussion my classmates and I had in our Biology class just a few weeks ago. The course focuses on cancer and its causes, and while discussing environmental factors that contribute to high rates of cancer, we found
The zine is also dedicated to the themes of the course, which include environmental justice, issues surrounding hegemonic ideas, and the importance of identities. In regards to environmental justice, Gosine and Teelucksingh (2008) believe that this “ connects a range of social movements, including anti-racism, Aboriginal rights and sovereignty movements, labour union movements, and the mainstream environmental movement.” (p. 11). Creating an environmental justice framework is an opportunity to evoke change by demanding the fundamental right for individuals to live free from environmental hazards. This idea relates to the core purpose of our zine because we believe that environmental justice is essential in order to change the global food
It’s up to us, as the new generation of the planet, to change the way we think about the world around us. We need to realize that the environment is not just a background to our lives, it’s apart of our lives and has just as much importance and right to be here as we do.
The most obvious reason that the environment has moral significance is that damage to it affects humans. Supporters of a completely human-centered ethic claim that we should be concerned for the environment only as far as our actions would have a negative effect on other people. Nature has no intrinsic value; it is not good and desirable apart from its interaction with human beings. Destruction and pollution of the environment cannot be wrong unless it results in harm to other humans. This view has its roots in Western tradition, which declares that “human beings are the only morally important members of this world” (Singer p.268).