Using individual's race to determine where they live is a problem that has been going on for ages and unsurprisingly affects mainly low income minorities. Accompanied with the forced living locations is the presence of companies that emits abundant amounts of pollution. Certain companies’ actions are killing both the environment and populations. Recognizing the problem, a term to acknowledge it was created called environmental racism. Environmental racism is the placing of harmful industries in predominantly black, poor neighborhoods; which can be displayed by the fact that it causes high amounts of health problems, changes in the climate, and remedy the issue. To begin with, environmental racism is detrimental to health. For example, pollution sources like refineries have been found to produce emissions which include “ benzene, mercury, and other hazardous air pollutants that have been linked to cancer, reproductive problems, and neurological effects “ (Kay & Katz, 2012). This conveys the idea that pollution sources like refineries are …show more content…
For example experts argued that the siting of landfills in Warren County made no scientific sense. This explains that the pollution sources are purposely placed in the vicinity of minorities despite the knowledge of the fact that it will the residents drinking water. Also, as shown in the article, “Environmental justice: Income, Race, and Health, “... Asthma prevalence in the U.S in significantly higher in minority and low-income populations than in the general population. Unequal exposure to environmental factors that triggers or exacerbate asthma may play a role.” This shows how the government places hazardous companies in minority dominant communities, which exposes them to toxic hazardous and unsafe conditions. This demonstrates how environmental racism is marked by contamination from different sources of
Exxon/Mobil, one of the nation’s leading oil producers, has its main refinery located in Beaumont, Texas. Each year, the residents of Beaumont/Port Arthur have to contend with the 39,000 pounds of pollution spewed each year by the Exxon refinery. Exxon’s emissions are 385% above the state refinery average. In 1999, the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Committee (TNRCC) allowed the plant to increase their emissions, without allowing the public to have a say in the matter. Interestingly, 95% of the people living near the plant are of African American descent and are in the poverty range. Some believe that this, along with the lack of education in the area, allows Exxon to get away with such high emissions. Residents in nearby neighborhoods have been complaining of headaches, nausea, eye, and throat irritation for years. Since 1997, Mobil has repeatedly violated health standards in its emissions of two key air pollutants: sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, These “rotten egg” smells are so strong, one can smell it through a car driving past the refinery. After numerous complaints and one record of a refinery worker becoming unconscious because of the fumes, the EPA awarded Exxon with a $100,000 environmental justice grant in October of 1998. Hopefully, Exxon has put the money to good use and cleaned up their emissions.
In summary, I will explore viewpoints on how race influences environmental decision-making, from a variety of perspectives: International sustainable development groups, national legislatures, and minority groups by interviews with representatives at each level.
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
Willie, Charles V., Bernard M. Kramer, and Bertram S. Brown, eds. Racism Racism Racism and Mental Health. N.p.: Univerity of Pittsburgurgh Press, 1973. Print. Contemporary Community Health Series.
This is portrayed in the film, starting out in the community of Norco and Diamond, which respectively contain majority Caucasian (which are financially thriving) and African American (which are financially declining) people. Near the homes of these citizens, a Shell refinery is located which releases chemicals in the air and this negatively impacts the health of these residents. However, the difference in opinion of the health impact is clearly seen between residents of Norco and Diamond. In Norco, many of the citizens have either worked or work for Shell refinery and deny that any adverse health effects were caused by this company. On the other hand, the citizens of Diamond voiced their concerns about what chemicals the air contained, along with the adverse health impacts. Concerns that arose include the impact on health, how the pollution is affected the community, the types of chemicals that were inhaled, economic conditions, etc. The Shell company tried to propose a solution by buying out two out of the four streets, however, this is a smaller community, which means by doing this then families would be separated and left in this community that is still polluted. This offer was rejected, and instead these
Nydia Velazquez is a representative for New York’s Twelfth Congressional District, which includes parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. In her essay “In Search of Justice,” Velazquez describes several unjust situations that happened in her district. She points out that the residents of Greenpoint, which is the heart of her district, are among the poorest in the country. She argues that large corporations carelessly dump their waste next to poor minorities’ living areas and emphasizes the terrible air conditions in her district. Velazquez believes that minority communities are treated unfairly under the environmental law, which targets large corporations.
After reading the article Cancer Alley, and watched the respective videos. I do believe that if there is environmental racism. In fact increasingly it is the poor who struggle against environmental racism. Today there are many conflicts that have more to do with money and ambition to make more money regardless of who are hurting. I think that the conflicts in the world increase because the powerless are facing large companies exploiting the resources, in addition to garbage dumps or toxic waste are built where people are humble, not where the rich and powerful live. Just as in the article Cancer Alley says that almost all its people are suffering from cancer or any relatives or acquaintances are dying of cancer. This article also says, "Louisiana
From slavery to Jim Crow, the impact of racial discrimination has had a long lasting influence on the lives of African Americans. While inequality is by no means a new concept within the United States, the after effects have continued to have an unmatched impact on the racial disparities in society. Specifically, in the housing market, as residential segregation persists along racial and ethnic lines. Moreover, limiting the resources available to black communities such as homeownership, quality education, and wealth accumulation. Essentially leaving African Americans with an unequal access of resources and greatly affecting their ability to move upward in society due to being segregated in impoverished neighborhoods. Thus, residential segregation plays a significant role in
In the level of institutionalized racism, it is what all community organizers strive to overcome. This form of racism entails the power and access to materials that everyone should be able to obtain. When there is racism involved, there is a level of differentiation in the access that each race is entitled to. For example, Blacks have less access to nutritional food and health care when the live in an urban residential area. These inequities are the result of an institutionalized difference between racial groups and it may lead to health disparities. Dr. Jones believes that the root of association between socioeconomic status and race in the United States is in direct correlation to this form of racism.
Racism can take on many forms that plague the brain with irrationality that affects an individual’s thoughts and actions. Racism can be a physical form, through an external action, or can branch off into unethical thoughts. This is more known to be a discriminative thought, judging a person based on impressions. This social problem can also be ignored by the oblivious persons of the crowd. Many individuals speak out about how racial tension is long gone and forever forgotten ever since the first African-American was elected to be president in 2008, but this can be evidently proven false. Racial tension is still here to target the minorities in the forms of affirmative action and Ferguson conflicts.
Scientific racism is the use of ostensibly scientific or pseudoscientific techniques and hypotheses to support or justify the belief in racism, racial inferiority, racialism, or racial superiority; alternatively, it is the practice of classifying individuals of different phenotypes into discrete races. This practice is now is called pseudo scientific, yet throughout the years it got a lot of belief in the scientific community. As a theory, scientific racism use the study of human societies and cultures and their development (notably physical anthropology), anthropometry, craniometry, and other teaching in proposing anthropological typologies supporting the classification of human populations into physically separate human races, that might
Most Americans conjure imagery of a planet replete with pristine wilderness, crystal blue oceans, fresh air, and verdant forests when they think about the natural environment. In recent decades, this description is becoming increasingly applicable only to certain areas of the United States because poor and minority communities are overwhelmingly subjected to dangerous environmental hazards. As such, the concept of environmental racism has become a major issue affecting every aspect of their lives because of their placement and proximity to environmentally dangerous areas such as landfills, toxic waste sites, and other forms of pollution. The environmental justice movement seeks to remedy this problem by recognizing the direct link between economic, environmental, race, and health issues. The biggest aim of environmental justice is for all people to live, work, and play in clean, and environmentally safe communities. However, in mainstream American environmentalism, poor and minority communities are typically ignored in environmental communication because their white counterparts dominate the discourse. Recent scholarship suggests that people of color play a crucial role in fighting environmental discrimination because their cultural traditions, experiences, and histories allow them to uniquely communicate environmental risk and health concerns within their communities.
Since the beginning of time people have been defined by their race or their skin color. It 's evident that a place, or city where a person is raised may have an impact on that person 's behavior in what people do, the way people do, what people say or how people express themselves about certain things. Having a mixture of different races in our society is not a bad thing because it brings different cultures together. A mixture of cultures allows others to appreciate the differences of people. These differences may bring to light the good of some and the bad of others. The bad of others which can lead to something that needs to be taken away from society. The one key that needs to be taken away from society is racism, of any form, especially as it relates to color. To be racist means to believe that a particular race/culture is superior to another. Racism towards African Americans has caused emotional damages to citizens young or old. Racism can be destructive mentally knowing that a person is judging another person by the color of one 's skin, the
This means freedom from pollution, and dumping sites, access to clean water, and air quality, and freedom from environmental hazards, such as chemical toxins, industrial pollution, solid waste disposal and noise. Studies have shown that the social distribution of pollution suggest that poor households with low income, minorities, and poor African Americans in the United States are most affected by the environmental quality issues, (1) and “concerns about the environmental inequality led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency for Environmental Justice in 1992.” (1) The EPA is responsible for distributing and regulating the risks. (2) Since environmental Justice concerns where people work, live and play, it is also important for these people to be included in the decision making process.
Environmental injustice has become a prominent issue within the context of the United States, because the dominant ideology of the nation promotes profit over the livelihood of people. Environmental racism refers to the intentional dumping of hazardous materials into specific communities, as well as limiting communities access to health food. Capitalism and the commercialization of healthy food has disregarded the sustainability of the environment, as well as disproportionately impacts poor communities of color. Corporations target communities of color because of lack of political clout, due to the most labor and time being spent on working low wage jobs and surviving the conditions produced by poverty. The structural positioning of communities,