Environmental Justice And Environment: Protecting The Environment

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Protecting the environment is regarded from many people as an optional matter and of minor importance. It is believed that is something people should care about only when they have plenty of time and money. But this is not the case; lowincome communities and minority ethnic groups often have to face the most severe consequences of environmental degradation and pollution. This essay is centered on environmental justice: the fact that the aforementioned communities often bear a disproportionate share of environmental costs. (Massey, 2004)
Environmental racism is one of the reasons polluters tend to target disadvantaged communities. Poor people account for more than 20% of the human health impacts from industrial toxic air releases, compared to …show more content…

(Bryant, 1995)
Community groups, on the other hand, have to demonstrate a greater environmental awareness, and community people to be motivated to learn quickly if a situation is life-threatening to them. By becoming informed enough they may challenge professionals on the issues; wherever possible, citizens should question researches by consulting other professionals with different opinions. (Bryant, 1995)
Governments should give an emphasis on prevention of the environmental damages. Industries should be supported economically to make the economic transition from producing harmful chemicals to producing more environmentally benign chemicals. (Bryant, 1995)
New policies should be also crafted to ensure that environmental justice will be served. The social structure in which wealth is accumulated should be examined.
In order to deal effectively with health risks and exposures, structural components of poverty and racism have to be examined. Effective national health care policy has to be achieved, in order to eliminate environmental racism. A sustainable energy economy based upon alternative sources of energy for each country is also necessary.
In addition, to eradicate environmental illiteracy an effective environmental …show more content…

The report highlights some significant contributions to environmental justice in the areas of policy development and dissemination; education and training; research and data collection, analysis, and utilization; and services. (U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, 2015)
The notions of environmental justice and environmental inequalities, which have been part of the US policy arsenal for almost two decades, have been only recently acknowledged from European policy-makers. Yet, challenges to equality and fairness in the environmental domain are many and growing within the European
Union. (Laurent, 2011)
In conclusion, the environmental justice movement seems to be gaining momentum. There is a large list of organizations founded to fight environmental

discrimination and racism. The movement has united weak minority communities, giving them a platform to convey the truth about environmental racism and its effects.
Although it is essential to promote democratic accountability and ensure that minority communities can have a voice, it is the impacted communities themselves that are the most effective advocates for clean and safe

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