A Brief History of Environmental Justice
Human Health & the Environment
ProPublica, 08 04, 2017
Video (3:35)
Description
Landfills, chemical waste facilities and power plants are more often built in poor and minority communities, which don’t have the power or money to advocate for themselves.
For decades, these communities have called for environmental justice: the idea that people shouldn’t be forced to deal with more pollution because they belong to a certain race, national origin or income bracket.
It’s a simple notion, but America has struggled for decades to implement any policies that actually protect poor and minority communities from environmental toxins. Now, President Trump’s budget seeks to end the Office of Environmental Justice and cut overall funding to the EPA by 31%. What will happen to the marginalized communities that most need a government advocate?
Images:
CNN, Fox News, MTV, AP, The EcoLogic Channel, José da Vede, Chicago Sun Times, St. Louis Public Radio, Leroy Woodson via The Atlantic, Frank J Aleksandrowicz via The Atlantic, Harry Shaefer via The Atlantic, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Julie Dermanksy, CBS News
Music:
“Climbing the Mountain” - Podington Bear
“Falcon Hood Tight” - Podington Bear
Transcript
Environmental justice concept
0:06 · Nationally the facilities where we dump our garbage and process dangerous chemicals tend to be located in poor and minority communities.
0:14 · The people who live there have little or no protection from the industries around them.
0:18 · And things could get worse.
0:22 · So, there’s this idea of environmental justice.
0:24 · It’s pretty simple: Communities shouldn’t be forced to deal with more pollution because they belong to a certain race, national origin or income bracket.
0:33 · Yet, America has struggled over the years to implement any serious policy that actually protects these communities.
0:38 · So, let’s lay out the ways the government has failed them.
The fight for justice
0:42 · “We will not allow Warren County to become a dump site.”
0:47 · The fight for environmental justice took off in 1982 when residents of Warren County, North Carolina mounted mass demonstrations against a plan to dump contaminated soil in a landfill in their community.
0:59 · The EPA investigated four similar landfills in southern states and found that they were all located in black or low-income neighborhoods.
1:07 · In 1987, the United Church of Christ Racial Justice Commission found that around the country, hazardous waste facilities were more likely to be located in mostly minority communities.
1:18 · Amid mounting proof, the federal government was forced to act.
Government action and policy
1:23 · So, in 1992 President George H.W. Bush founded the Office of Environmental Justice inside the EPA.
1:30 · Two years later, President Bill Clinton signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to consider environmental justice in all of their policies, as well as extending civil rights protection to environmental discrimination.
1:42 · But Congress never passed a bill to make Clinton’s executive order law.
Political shifts and delays
1:47 · Then came George W. Bush.
1:50 · His administration shifted the focus of the Office of Environmental Justice from protecting low-income and minority communities to “all people,” Leaving vulnerable populations without a federal environmental advocate.
2:02 · “80% of New Orleans, including much of downtown, is under water.”
2:05 · Under Bush, many environmental civil rights claims were rejected or delayed for years.
2:11 · In 2009, after President Barack Obama’s election, his administration recommitted to environmental justice.
Congressional inaction
2:18 · Generally speaking, in this country a lot of environmentally problematic facilities tend to be located in places where poor folks live.
2:30 · Yet, during the two years Democrats controlled the House, the Senate and the White House they didn’t file a single bill focused on strengthening environmental justice protections.
2:40 · Passing major environmental legislation faded further when Republicans took control of Congress in the 2010 midterm elections.
Current EPA threats
2:47 · Now, President Donald J. Trump is making good on his vow to weaken the EPA.
2:52 · “Environmental protection, what they do is a disgrace.”
2:55 · “Every week they come out with new regulations.”
2:57 · “Who’s going to protect the environment?”
2:59 · “We’ll be fine with the environment.”
3:00 · “We can leave a little bit.”
3:04 · This budget–a 31% cut to the EPA, $2.6 billion cut away from the EPA, that’s what the president wants.
3:10 · As the EPA loses funding and regulations are rolled back, vulnerable communities may very likely fall through the cracks.
3:18 · I’m Talia Buford. I’ll be covering these communities and digging into systemic environmental injustice.
3:23 · If you have something to tell me, email me at Talia.Buford@ProPublica.org.