Why Environmentalism is a Race Issue

When you think of “environmentalism,” where does your mind go first? Climate change? Solar power and wind energy? Rampant wildfires? The Green New Deal?

These would all be accurate, but have you ever considered racism as being a vital part of this concept? Because it is. This is where environmental justice, and its subsidiary, environmental racism, come into play.

What is Environmental Racism & Environmental Justice?

Environmental racism means that environmental risks are not evenly distributed across groups of people, and that factors like age, poverty, race and minority status place some groups at higher risk for environmental disease. It is in intersectional discipline that weaves together racist practices and environmentalism.

Environmental Justice is a social movement that focuses more on the inequitable policies and practices that subject BIPOC to a disproportionate amount of environmental burden and harm. According to the EPA, Environmental Justice can be defined as:

“…the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. This goal will be achieved when everyone enjoys:the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards, and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.”

The way that these two concepts tie together is: Environmental racism is caused by systemic racism, which uses policies and practices to force BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) to live in communities situated near landfills, sewage plants and other polluting facilities like big industry corporations, shipping centers, power plants and freeways.

People in these communities are then exposed to contaminated water (often contaminated with toxins like E.Coli, arsenic, lead and mercury), lead and asbestos (asbestos is a mineral used in piping and heat-resistant fabrics that is directly linked to cancer), and higher amounts of air pollution, amongst other things. This, then, is where champions of environmental justice come in, as they seek to eradicate these inequalities.

What is the Impact of Environmental Racism?

Studies have long shown that your zip code is the #1 predictor of your health — even more so than diet, lifestyle and genetics. This is a main reason why environmental racism is so detrimental.

Due to the higher proportion of BIPOC living near the aforementioned toxic areas, residents impacted by environmental racism are 2x as likely as White people to have asthma and other respiratory issues, and have much higher rates of lead poisoning (like in Flint, Michigan) and lung cancer than Whites living in different (more affluent) areas in the same city.

More recently, we’ve also seen much higher rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths within BIPOC communities — unlikely a coincidence at all. Not only do these communities have lower access to health insurance and health care, but if we factor in the higher rates of asthma and other respiratory and lung disorders already present in these communities due to environmental racism, it’s no wonder that a virus targeting the respiratory system and lungs would hit these residents disproportionately harder than non-BIPOC communities.

Environmental Injustices

On top of health outcomes, environmental racism is essentially a practice of telling people that they are not as important as corporate or government profit (the classic “profit > people” paradigm of capitalism).

For example, in the book (and now Netflix documentary) “There’s Something In The Water” by Ingrid R.G. Waldron, we are introduced to several “invisible communities” (specifically, Black and Indigenous / Native communities) that lack a voice because they just simply aren’t seen as valuable.

We see this lack of value in BIPOC communities particularly reflected back to us during natural disasters, like how the people of New Orleans were left to essentially fend for themselves after Hurricane Katrina, or how a similar situation repeated itself after the destruction caused by 2020 Hurricane Laura in Lake Charles, LA (which is nearly 50% Black) left the city in shambles and yet, nobody seems to really care.

However, natural disasters aren’t the only occurrence of environmental injustice; in fact, most of the damage of environmental racism affects people’s lives on a daily basis. Below are some examples:

In the aforementioned film, we were introduced to the “Novia Scotia Dump” was built next to a Black residential community in Novia Scotia, Canada. It became a dumping ground for military and naval waste, dead animals, rotten food, chemicals, hospital discards (likely including human remains), and typical landfill waste from people’s and business’ trash.

The Dump was closed in 2016, but for years they would burn the waste to keep making space, covering the town and its residents with soot and an unpleasant odor, and releasing toxic gases and pollutants into the air. Years later, although the Dump had long been shut down, water well testing revealed consistent levels of harmful pollutants like E. Coli and arsenic in the town’s drinking water (well water was the only access to water they had, as the nearby city government refused to build a pipeline to bring in clean city water).

Nearly every single home in that neighboring community to the Dump had someone with cancer living there, with entire homes completely wiped out by their owner’s having cancer. A local activist, who began educating nearby residents about the water, lamented at the fact that they even had to fight for clean water at all, as it is a “God-given right” to have clean water.

And yet, local government officials didn’t care because it didn’t directly affect them. So instead of spending only the $10,000 that it would cost to bring in clean city water to the area, they allowed residents to continue drinking contaminated well water (until 2019 when a private donation of $10,000 was accepted and made this possible).

This is a prime example of how environmental racism plays out, and the costly impact that it can have on communities.

Another example of an environmental injustice is from a study that shows how neighborhoods which were redlined in the 1930s (redlining was a discriminatory housing practice that made it virtually impossible for Blacks to gain access to housing loans if the area they were interested in was “redlined”) are today upwards of 13 degrees hotter than wealthier neighborhoods in the same city.

This is caused by what are called “heat islands” which are a result of denser housing, proximity to major roadways, lack of trees and green space, and more concrete and pavement. Essentially, highways and dense housing generate more heat, concrete and pavement retain the heat, and the lack of greenery prevents the area from being cooled properly (a function of trees and plants). It’s no surprise that these heat islands are predominately found in lower income neighborhoods inhabited by BIPOC.

These, and many more (such as the ongoing water issues in Flint, Michigan), are examples of environmental injustices.

Fighting Back Against Environmental Injustice

So, what can be done about the injustices caused by environmental racism?

Well, for one, we must put pressure on the Environmental Protection Agency (The EPA) to listen to residents and take action on their behalf. After all, that’s literally one of the sole purposes of the agency . . .

Unfortunately, as we’ve seen time and time again with inefficient and racist governmental institutions, the EPA has historically done nothing to help combat these injustices. In fact, in the 22 years that it has been in operation, there have been more than 300 environmental discrimination complaints filed and zero findings of discrimination by the office (highly unlikely odds). And on top of that, 9 out of 10 times that communities have filed Title IV complaints (a right outlined within the 1964 Civil Rights Act), the EPA has rejected or dismissed the claim altogether, not even investigating at all.

More grassroots efforts have been created in a response to the lack of protection and oversight by the EPA regarding environmental injustices, including many non-profit organizations like Greenaction or WE ACT (and here’s longer list of environmental justice nonprofits to support). These are great organizations to support and get involved with, as they are working on the frontlines to empower communities and fighting back against racist policies and practices that jeopardize the earth and its people.

There has also been a rise of “NIMBYs” (Not In My BackYard), defined as people who are vocally outspoken against harmful facilities being built in their communities, such as nuclear power plants, toxic waste sites, wastewater treatments plans and more.

In certain contexts and circles, a NIMBY may be viewed as detrimental to the progress of a city or town because they may protest any public building project like pedestrian walkways, renewable energy sources like wind mills, light rails etc. However, sometimes these groups area the only barrier between a marginalized and disempowered community and a “Dump” like we saw in Novia Scotia. In those cases it would make sense that they’d use their voices to protest potentially harmful construction projects. In other words, in certain situations a NIMBY may be considered another form of a grassroots effort against environmental racism and injustice.

In general though, we need to take environmental racism and the injustices that it creates seriously. All people deserve access to clean air and clean water. All people deserve to have their lives respected and valued. No person is more important than someone else just because of their zip code. Getting involved is a great first step. Keeping a pulse on your local government’s upcoming projects is another important thing you can do. stay informed and show up for communities who are trying to be heard.

And if you are White, find ways to support and amplify the BIPC organizers and activists who are already doing the work.

Together, we can approach environmentalism the way it needs to be approached – intersectionally, and not only through a white lens and narrative, but by joining together as citizens of this planet.

Citations & Additional Learning

How To Be An Intersectional Environmentalist: https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/practicing-intersectional-environmental-justice

Disproportionate Exposures in Environmental Justice and Other Populations: The Importance of Outliers: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222496/

There’s Something In The Water (book): https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/there8217s-something-in-the-water

[VIDEO] What is Environmental Racism? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrbeuJRPM0o

[VIDEO] Environmental Racism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPB5RzReiIY

Environmental Racism Has Left Black Communities Especially Vulnerable to COVID-19: https://tcf.org/content/commentary/environmental-racism-left-black-communities-especially-vulnerable-covid-19/?session=1

NPR — Racist Housing Practices From The 1930s Linked To Hotter Neighborhoods Today: https://www.npr.org/2020/01/14/795961381/racist-housing-practices-from-the-1930s-linked-to-hotter-neighborhoods-today

Massive List of Resources from EJnet.org: https://www.ejnet.org/ej/

[PODCAST] Why Supporting Community-based Organizations May Be Key To Environmental Justice: https://greendreamer.com/podcast/peggy-shepard-we-act-for-environmental-justice

Dr. Robert Bullard (AKA The Father of Environmental Justice): https://drrobertbullard.com/time-for-whites-to-stop-dumping-their-pollution-on-people-of-color/