Environmental justice: Going green's not just for yuppies and hippies

Can't afford to go green? Environmentalism's seen by some as a rich, elitist group -- what with the $100K electric sports car Tesla and the $1,799 eco-ish Macbook Air getting a whole lot of attention. But many of our urban environmental problems, such as industry pollution, strike the poor and underprivileged the hardest.

In fact, the growing environmental justice movement is getting more vocal, showing that you don't have to be able to afford a Prius to be an environmentalist. And a lot of great enviro-justice work is happening right in L.A. The latest Utne article in its series on the new green justice movement highlights the work of Manuel Pastor, director of USC’s Program for Environmental and Regional Equity. Pastor used to run "toxic tours," taking people on bus trips through the most polluted areas of L.A.

Why is environmental justice important? Take a look at this handy map the LA Weekly put together (PDF), which color-codes cancer risk in L.A. and vicinity. The threat is greatest for people living near the ports of L.A. and Long Beach, where "1 in 200 residents are expected to get cancer because of the dirty air."

In general, the poorer a community, the more polluted it is. Sadly, those with the least power to fight back often get shafted again by rich companies and the public policies they influence. As the Utne article points out: "As stories about global warming, sustainable energy, and climate change make headlines, the fact that some neighborhoods, particularly low-income and minority communities, are disproportionately toxic and poorly regulated has, until recently, been all but ignored."

But the number of environmental justice activists is growing and getting louder. Of course, this means some growing pains for the environmental movement at large. Most recently, a number of Californian environmental justice groups launched a campaign against carbon emissions cap-and-trade programs, over concerns that such programs would impact negatively the communities that are already disadvantaged. Many established environmental groups are not against cap-and-trade programs, as these carbon reduction programs are most politically feasible than carbon fees.

Still, the environmental movement's already showing a willingness to pay closer attention to environmental justice concerns. The Sierra Club, for example, released a statement concurring with some of what the environmental justice groups said: "We share many of the concerns of the EJ groups regarding pollution trading, like possible hot spots, loopholes and windfall profits."

Want to get involved in the environmental justice movement? Communities for a Better Environment, a nonprofit working for environmental, social, and economic justice, might be a good place to start. You can find many other groups by looking at the list of signatories on the California Environmental Justice Movement’s Declaration on Use of Carbon Trading Schemes to Address Climate Change.

Photo by Ben Amstutz via Flickr

Comments

[m]

I think people have turned "eco"-friendly into a huge money making market, but there are also people like me that picked up many of my "eco" habits when I grew up in a relatively poor household. Recycling, adding our food waste to the compost pile to later be used as fertilizer for the garden, picking wild berries and nuts, being conscious of turning off lights and other electric items when leaving the room, mixing our own cleaners, reusing bags, containers and clothes over and over were just how we had to live out of necessity. When I recently spent time with my (large) extended family in rural Pennsylvania I realized they were carrying out more "eco" friendly behaviors and habits than most people I know in Los Angeles! Their greenness wasn't just about what they bought and it wasn't even something they thought of as "being green". It came from their connection with the earth and the land around them, understanding cycles and how everything works together and that value and usefulness is found in more than just money, manufactured goods and price tags. These people would hardly fit into the category of hippie or yuppie. They just came from a large Catholic family without a lot of money.

When it is people's excessive behavior and consumption that is causing the issue, I really don't see how they can justify NOT fixing it and changing their behavior. Are the people in the poor areas the only people consuming the goods brought into the ports? Probably not. Are only the people near the ports affected? Probably not. I take home more money than my extended family in Pennsylvania and my family when I was growing up, yet I *still* live in a more polluted environment than any of my family or when I grew up because I am in LA. That is very disturbing. From what I recall, almost ALL of Los Angeles has a higher cancer rate than what is generally considered to be safe.

[Norris McDonald]

We disagree. Cap & Trade can be very successful in reducing unwanted emissions. The Clean Air Act Acid Rain Program used such a system and everyone agrees it was very successful. The same system can be used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And such a system can actually be leveraged to benefit environmental justice communities. We describe our Environmental Justice Allowance Reserve at this link:

http://groups.msn.com/AAEA/allowances.msnw

Norris McDonald, President
African American Environmentalist Association