The Where, Whens, and Hows of Environmental Racism and Call for Environmental Justice - Coursework Example

The Where, Whens, and Hows of Environmental Racism and Call For Environmental Justice In a world that has always hoped to do right to the wronged, that has believed in restitution and justice to those sections of the society that has cried hoarse about inhuman behavior from other sections, and which has tried in vain to reduce dissimilarities and injustice between different countries, environmental racism comes as an evil that brings forth another dark side of semi-autocracy in a world that claims to understand and follow democracy and communalism, directed towards the common good. Environmental racism is a new evil that has come forward as an aftermath of the racist psychology that once predominated the Western and African countries, and ruined peace of families and citizens residing there in. While apartheid is already considered abolished, hidden tendencies of the selfishness of the same dominant populations is evident in silent incidences of environmental racism and military behavior in different raids and drug arrests. We all know that military behavior is based more on speculation and doubts and can be refuted in the courts on a later date; environmental racism is a bigger hazard to the health of people who live in polluted surroundings. What is Environmental Racism? Every developed city has an uptown and a downtown. And while the uptown is kept fresh and clean, the downtown environment is not very clean, unless the corporations take real good care of the roads and localities. The hazard has come up mainly in the inner areas of these countries, wherein rapid industrialization and release of toxins and obnoxious chemicals has become a regular aspect that affects the surrounding areas, and is left neglected by the authorities. To add to the chagrin, the waste from other parts of the city is dumped in these already polluted areas. The overall result is that people living in these areas are facing pollution that is slowly deteriorating the health conditions of the society that thrives in there, the worst victims being the children who are unable to fight the obnoxious gases in the air. The situation turns further grim when waste disposals are transported to areas of the country where commercial success is not much seen. The United States experienced massive movements and awareness in environmental racism and call for environmental justice in the twentieth century mainly after the health of children started deteriorating in areas that were pre-dominantly occupied by people of color and black communities. According to local reports, the situation has not improved with every four out of five children getting hospitalized and returning home with breathing apparatus, as against one out of five children around five years back. The degree of heat and pollution increases in those areas where sewage dumps, noise pollution, and occupational hazards (Cole & Foster, 1) are more. The same difference in living and hygiene standards exists all over the world, where many big companies from Western countries have been setting up factories and mills. Important green areas are uprooted and localities in countries in Asian, African, and Russian continents see several times degradation in environment I the name of commercial and industrial development. As a result, diseases and epidemics become rampant in these areas. Revisiting the situation in the United States, it has always been found that the response of authorities to clean up pollutants in white communities was swifter than that seen in communities in which are inhabited by Hispanic, minority and Black populations. (Cole & Foster, 57) Redressal Challenges: A Quick Look The call for environmental justice came as further studies proved that poor people living in these areas cannot easily get medical and healthcare facilities (Cole & Foster, 59) and therefore, die of the pollution unattended. Different American environmentalists raised awareness to this silent form of discrimination from the authorities. Areas which suffered from excessive environmental racism were recognized and brought to the notice of governmental bodies, authorities, and social bodies. But removal of the toxins from these areas has been difficult. The scenario all over the world is also the same. While WHO has released several publications and campaigns for countries facing increasing health hazards, eliminating the environmental risks has been a slow process. There are many causes behind this failure of onset of environmental justice, in spite of authorities trying to bridge the gap they have left behind different communities. Causes which impede the growth of environmental justice movements include the individual lifestyle of people of these communities (Cole & Foster, 60) and market value of the affected neighborhood’s property (Cole & Foster, 61). Therefore, even if racism seems highly apparent in these areas, it is difficult to get appropriate action to get rid of the pollution, as authorities are unable to cross the mental divide that has characterized these localities for long. Also, it has been accepted that in the past, these factors have been responsible for the settlement of such populations in the past in these areas that today, suffer from high levels of environmental toxic effects due to garbage dumps and unjustified release of waste into water bodies and the air. Therefore, lifestyle and market dynamics are two factors which have caused the onset of the environmental racism and presently impede the process of restitution through environmental justice brought about by several movements and protests. Environmental Racism: It is more social than you think it is At this juncture, the only possible solution appears to be that of environmentalists and law makers accepting social responsibility of the habits and tendencies of people living in and around these areas. While the white populations have grown accustomed to cleanliness of their surroundings, they do not care about the unclean surroundings found in Hispanic and Black communities. Similarly, people living in the affected communities have deep rooted habits which they cannot get rid of, and end up returning to hospitals. What is worse is that they leave behind a society where the innocent children are most affected by presence of pollutants and find it hard to continue normal lives without the support of breathing apparatus, which helps them fight asthma (Cole & Foster, 67). If environmentalists do not realize this social connection, and declare polluters to be social problems, whose actions are close to inhumanity, it will be hard to spread the consciousness around. Unless the whites, blacks and colored communities realize that this is a gross wrongdoing to the human race, they will not find the urge to stop this unequal behavior. The ideal way to address environmental racism would be through the use of education and awareness. When we talk of education we mean that the tendency of people to resort to old psychology and resume inferior lifestyle is important to be avoided through awareness campaigns and repetitive reminders in the form of banners, silent marches, and memorandum to local bodies. The government on its part should check the growth of industrialization in possible low land value areas, where such communities thrive. Although a large part of the damage is already done, an important percentage of loss can be avoided through the sanction of grants and legal papers for establishment of new industries and future projects in areas that are not prone to be affected by environmental racism in future. Government and environmentalists should be able to develop metrics that enable them to recognize key social indicators of such after-effects in a new area of industrialization, and take suitable measures to stop it. Monetary benefits extended to these communities much reach the people without wayward loss or removal of funds. (Cole & Foster, 70) Conclusion Thus, through social awareness and collaboration of governmental bodies worldwide alone, can one hope to redress the problem of environmental racism and reduce the health hazards that Hispanic, Black, and colored communities face in US and all over the world. Environmentalists of all strips must come together and join hands in addressing this problem and keep the focus on bringing equality and reduction in health risk factors across different communities. References: Cole, L.W. & Foster, S. R. (2001) From the Ground up. Environmental Racism and The Rise Of The Environmental Justice Movement. New York and London: New York University Press. Read More