MEET THE SITE LEADERS!
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Name: Gaby Fernandez
Major: International Affairs and Communication Studies How did I get involved in IMPACT?
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Contact Info:
she/her/hers gmf37169@uga.edu (706) 313-0132 |
Contact Info:
she/her/hers squaylemail@comcast.net (912) 312-5976 |
Name: Sarah Quayle
Major: Music Education with a Certificate in Music Business How did I get involved in IMPACT?
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ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Our trip to New Orleans, Louisiana focuses on the social issue of environmental justice and deals with factors such as how specific identities can affect the quality that life that one has, whether its race, gender, income level, etc, by affecting the environment that one lives in. Our trip also looks at how different issues affect the lives of the people in the city, such as air/water pollution and its effects on the community, as evident in the area labeled "Cancer Alley", as well as the after effects of natural diasters such as rising sea levels and Hurricane Katrina which can lead to issues with inadequate access to healthy food, inadequate transportation, and unsafe homes.
TERMS TO KNOW:
- Disproportionate Effects - Term used in Executive Order 12898 to describe situations of concern where there exists significantly higher and more adverse health and environmental effects on minority populations, low-income populations or indigenous peoples.
- Environmental Justice: The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, culture, national origin, income, and educational levels with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of protective environmental laws, regulations, and policies
- Environmental Justice & Environmental Equity: Though the EPA’s definition of Environmental Justice is listed above, a more encompassing definition of what EJ entails should include Environmental Equity, in which not only is what is being sought is the equal and fair treatment of all persons, but also the reduction and eradication of environmental harms and inequalities faced by anyone. This way instead of trying to balance the risks from disproportionately affecting any one demographic, the goal is for no one to face those risks.
- Environmental Racism: Environmental Racism is a concept within EJ that refers to how minority and marginalized communities face environmental harms and burdens at heightened rates “including toxic waste facilities, garbage dumps, and other sources of environmental pollution and foul odors that lower the quality of life.” This is not simply tied to New Orleans, Louisiana or even the United States, it is something that occurs around the world, in which “members of minority groups bear a greater burden of the health problems that result from higher exposure to waste and pollution” and “can occur due to unsafe or unhealthy work conditions where no regulations exist (or are enforced) for poor workers, or in neighborhoods that are uncomfortably close to toxic materials” (source)
→ Did you know that the biggest factor and indicator of whether a community would face a disproportionate risk to environmental inequalities and harm is race, not income level/wealth/poverty. BIPOC are those who face the most risks at disproportionate rates as opposed to their white counterparts, specifically Black communities. - Fair Treatment - The principle that no group of people, including a racial, ethnic or a socioeconomic group, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences from industrial, municipal and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state, local and tribal programs and policies. In implementing its programs, EPA has expanded the concept of fair treatment to include not only consideration of how burdens are distributed across all populations, but the distribution of benefits as well.
- Indian Country - As defined at 18 U.S.C. § 1151, (a) all land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and, including rights-of-way running through the reservation; (b) all dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States whether within the original or subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or without the limits of a state; and (c) all Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through the same.
- Indigenous Peoples - The term “indigenous peoples” includes state-recognized tribes; indigenous and tribal community-based organizations; individual members of federally recognized tribes, including those living on a different reservation or living outside Indian country; individual members of state-recognized tribes; Native Hawaiians; Native Pacific Islanders; and individual Native Americans.
- Low-Income - A reference to populations characterized by limited economic resources. The US Office of Management and Budget has designated the Census Bureau’s annual poverty measure as the official metric for program planning and analysis, although other definitions exist.
- Meaningful Involvement - Potentially affected community residents have an appropriate opportunity to participate in decisions about a proposed activity that will affect their environment and/or health; the public's contribution can influence the regulatory agency's decision; the concerns of all participants involved will be considered in the decision-making process; the decision makers seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected.
- Minority Populations - According to the U.S. Census Bureau, population of people who are not single-race white and not Hispanic. Populations of individuals who are members of the following population groups: American Indian or Alaskan Native; Asian or Pacific Islander; Black, not of Hispanic origin; or Hispanic.
- Overburdened Community - Minority, low-income, tribal, or indigenous populations or geographic locations in the United States that potentially experience disproportionate environmental harms and risks. This disproportionality can be as a result of greater vulnerability to environmental hazards, lack of opportunity for public participation, or other factors. Increased vulnerability may be attributable to an accumulation of negative or lack of positive environmental, health, economic, or social conditions within these populations or places. The term describes situations where multiple factors, including both environmental and socio-economic stressors, may act cumulatively to affect health and the environment and contribute to persistent environmental health disparities.
- Tribes - When used in this document, “tribes” refers to federally recognized tribes. Federally recognized tribes include any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges to exist as an Indian tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1944, 25 U.S.C.479a.
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How Environmental Justice looks in NOLA & Athens:
New Orleans' history is deep and rich, as well as Louisiana's. The battle that communities in LA face against environmental injustices date back for a while as well, with Historically Black towns, including settlements firstly established by newly freed Black men, being targeted and sited by factories and petrochemical companies, and many times succeeding in transforming once Black towns into nothing but ghost towns. One area in which many factories and facilities have congregated is on a strip of land between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, which is referred to as Cancer Alley, as a result of the elevated risk and increased numbers of people with cancer in the area. (Read some more on Cancer Alley + another article)NOLA has also faced environmental injustices as a result of natural disasters, specifically Hurricane Katrina, in which “disempowered populations are at a great disadvantage in securing equitable policy decisions from elected and appointed official bodies through conventional process because political power tends to be asymmetrical” (source) where the majority of those affected were Black and Brown folk, however it is these same neighborhoods that are put on the back burner in which “the whiter and richer communities in New Orleans have better access to grocery stores and hospitals and have gotten better levee protection from the Army Corps of Engineers than communities of color….African Americans, who made up 80% of the people affected by Katrina, are not doing as well as white people who make up 80% of the persons who have come back home” (source)
The social justice issue of Environmental Justice intersects with other social justice issues, such as food insecurity in which certain areas still face food desert as a result of Hurricane Katrina and do not have access to good, healthy and fresh food.
Athens: Georgia is home to and has many groups and organizations who aim and have an interest in pursuing environmental justice.
The social justice issue of Environmental Justice intersects with other social justice issues, such as food insecurity in which certain areas still face food desert as a result of Hurricane Katrina and do not have access to good, healthy and fresh food.
Athens: Georgia is home to and has many groups and organizations who aim and have an interest in pursuing environmental justice.
- Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful
- Athens Land Trust: 1994; focuses on both conservation and community by helping the Ath community find permanent affordable housing, as well as agriculture through access to local, fresh food, etc. (source)
- Athens Area Habitat for Humanity: 1988; helps to provide affordable housing for low-income communities. (source)
- UGArden: 2010; student run community farm that focuses on sustainable food growth and community outreach, and also donates a large portion of the food grown to organizations in the community. (source)
- Sandy Creek Nature Center: “Sandy Creek Nature Center is a gateway to outdoor exploration. The property features 225 acres of woodlands and wetlands with over 4 miles of trails, including an ADA interpretive trail and connections to the North Oconee River Greenway and Cook's Trail” (source)
- Georgia Climate Change Coalition: “Through education, advocacy and action, the [organization] aims to increase awareness about climate change and its projected impacts; work in partnership with all Georgians and stakeholders to promote solutions and adaptations to the climate crisis; actively support local, state, national and international energy/climate change initiatives and legislation; serve as a clearing house for climate information” (source)
MORE ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:
ARTICLES:
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