Reflection Paper The Environment - Essay Example

Reflection Paper: The Environment David Love’s article “Waiting for Environmental Justice to Come” talks about environmental issues in relation to the health of the colored and poor people. Although environmental toxins and pollutants have global effects, the poor face more health hazards than the rich are. The article discusses how a Jewish Home Lifecare plans to build a 20-story nursing home structure next to Public School 163, an elementary school located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan (Love 1).

Parents are worried that this will have negative environmental effects such as release of toxic fumes and too much noise, which will affect the schoolchildren. Corporate activities and government policies are not in favor of conditions that promote a healthy environment for everybody. Environmental problems mainly go unaddressed in urban areas where the risk of environmental hazards is high. Half of the students in the elementary school are Latino, while the others are white, African-American, and Asian-American.

No government legislations prevent such construction projects that have negative effects on the population. The parents have requested Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Council to implement legislations to protect the children. Political leadership in environmental justice is necessary to implement such legislations that go beyond race and inequality. The author says that several other schools in New York have asked for such legislation to protect them from such next-door building developments.

He cites an example in which construction of a large residential development next to Hells Kitchen school in 2011 had environmental effects that resulted in asthma, nosebleeds, and rashes for the students (Love 1). Although it was costly to move the project, they had to choose another venue for construction following protest from parents. In a separate residential project in the tony Tribeca section of the city, the developer had to use sound barriers and minimize environmental impacts in the course of construction before the authorities allowed the construction.

The parents of Public School 163 elementary school expect the same treatment for their children. Issues of race and inequality factor in the case because the society expects all children to receive protection from environmental effects. One parent cites that the lungs of all children are the same, and the construction should go elsewhere. Even so, it all depends on political pressures and environmental justice before implementing such measures. The school is a public institution, and most of the parents do not have an option of transferring their children to other institutions because of financial challenges (Love 1).

This is unlike private schools with wealthy parents who can transfer their children, or fight government laws that harm the health of their children. The story is reported in from the point of view of the poor parents and students. The author mentions that the Environmental Protection Agency demands for equality in application of environmental laws. Environmental racism is common in America because schools in black and Latino communities are located near polluted areas. The risk of environmental effects increases with the level of poverty.

All children and students deserve a healthy environment, but unfortunately, factors such as social class and race affects their physical setting of study.Work CitedLove, David. Waiting For Environmental Justice to Come. Huffington Post.Available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-a-love/waiting-for-environmental_b_5549181.html