Environmental Racism
Many believe there is no such thing as environmental racism, that our planet is equally shared. The truth of the matter is that non-white communities in the United States have been affected environmentally. Thus, there is even evidence that those of non-European background were affected when this country was formed. Therefore, environmental racism has been occurring for hundreds of years. Environmental Racism targets low-income non-white communities and their jobs directly by causing heightened health problems.
Environmental racism is a phrased used to describe a disadvantage in the environment, in the United States, the victims of environmental racism are African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asians, and Pacific Islanders, who are most likely than whites to live in environmentally hazardous conditions. According to Dr. Benjamin Chavis, director of the Racial Justice program says. ''Racial discrimination in environmental policy making and the unequal enforcement of the environment law and enforcement of the deliberate targeting of people-of-color communities for toxic waste facilities and the official sanctioning of a life-threatening presence of poisons and pollutants in people-of-color communities. (It is also manifested in the history of excluding people of color from leadership in the environment movement.'' In other words environmental racism is the act of decisions making, actions being taken, and policies rest in a racial discrimination or the creation of racial advantages in a community. This should be broadcast throughout the media because it helps people who are unable to get the knowledge necessary to speak up and have a voice. As Dr. Benjamin Chavis mentions that non-white people are not able to become leaders in an environmental movement because of the lack of education that is pour in to poverty and therefore, corporations find it easier to take advantage of these low-income communities.
Low-income non-white communities are discriminated by corporate power plants. Chicago's west side and south side are both victims of these corruptions. Crawford and Fisk generate spew 17,000 tons of deadly toxic into the air each year. The Crawford Power Plant located on 33rd and Pulaski in a predominately Latino community finally has a date to be shut down. Although this is great news, the bad news is that if the greater lawndale Community was home to white Caucasian people the Crawford Power Plant would have been shut down years ago. Midwest generation agreed to install pollution controls and shut them down by 2015 and 2018. The company agreed to reduce mercury emissions by 90%, nitrogen oxide emissions by 68% and sulfur dioxide emission by 80%. Although the Chicago clean Power Coalition protest for six years to have the Crawford and Fisk shut down Governor Rob Blagojevich reduce toxic but promise to stop the power plants in ten years. It goes to show he does not really care about the pollution being expose in the /greater Lawndale and Pilsen communities.
As for Fisk power plant, which is located in the Pilsen neighborhood, did not try to create a more safer environmental for the Pilsen residents. Although the Crawford power plant will shut down by the end of 2014. Midwest Generation will close the Pilsen-based Fisk plant on December 31, 2012. Since it is sooner to be shut down Fisk did not even bother to compromise and reduce some of the pollution being expose.
''Environmental job blackmail.'' is a phrase used to describe low-imcome blue color workers taken advantage at work. Minorities in America are more likely to have potentially hazardous jobs and have higher rates of expose to and consequential health problems. Asthma, cancer, heart attacks, nerve disorders, skin diseases, and birth defects are just some of the many health problems cause by hazardous jobs. In 1993 50% of the children suffering from lead poisoning in the U.S were African Americans. Farmers and any type of agriculture jobs accounts for 80% of pesticide usage in the United States. While 77% of these farmers are identify as minorities. Environmental jobs for minorities not only pay them poorly but affects their health. For those workers who are documented are also threatened to lose their jobs if are caught trying to create a revolution or join union. Studies have shown that morbidity and mortality rates as a result of occupational hazard exposure are significantly higher for workers of color than white workers, often within the same industries. Environmental racism discriminates in jobs by blackmailing workers while working in dangerous toxic surroundings.
During the 1980s people began organizing environmental campaigns to prevent the poisoning in inner city children. Activist also demanded the cleanup of communities like Triana, Alabama that had been contaminated with dichlorodiphenytrichloroethane. Dichlorodiphenytrichloroethane also known as (DDT) is an insecticide that is also toxic to animals and humans; banned in the United States since 1972. Only banned in the United States suburbs but not enforce in communities in the city. It is obviously not regulated to protect all people only a certain group and that is refer to racism through environmental laws.
Some may say that history always repeats itself. Native Americans were physically targeted when the Europeans conquered the Americans by forcing them to live in crowded and over populated areas. Diseases were rapidly spread causing people to die for not having poor environment quality. In order to have nuclear energy one needs uranium, power plants, and a place to store the waste. All this is found in Native American reservations. Throughout the west, Native Americans reservations are the main places where uranium is mind, power plants are located and waste is store. Huge power corporations take advantage because of the the few people per square mile and the leads to less potential of political resistance. In 1992, in South Dakota Native American reservations have become targets of waste disposal. An entire group of people are being disenfranchised by not even given a voice. These corporations take actions without any concern about the citizens who have taken care of their land for generations and generations. This is definitely consider environmental racism because what is going on today was also going on years ago affecting Native Americans who treasure their land and believe earth should be treated with respect because that is all we have to live on.
Cultural differences play a significant part when dealing with environmental racism. Every culture is unique in its own way and has different methods of remedy to different types of issues including our environment. Studies have shown tht white and non-white people are more concern about different environmental issues. many believe in the assumption that poeple of color do not care about the environment because if they are the once being affected by living in toxic environments. This leads them to become furthermore concern about the environment because they are worry about their health. The reasons why minorities are not being represented in the EPA is because of the lack of resources given to them in their educational institutions and this again leads to racism.
Non-white communities get targeted in an environment way and demonstrates environmental racism. People in low-income communities are concern about the environmental issues. The reason minorities are not as involved as whites in the environmental movement is because they focus on higher priority issues like: housing, education, jobs, crime in their community, and discrimination that they not have time to deal with environmental issues even though they are being direclly affected. Culture differences cause problems in coming up with solutions since everyone comes from different places people do not understand one another. Africans before being capture by Europeans and forced slaves believed that the environment is everyone continues part. Slavery caused a change in their mindset because they had other more important priorities to face such as survival. Since everyone has different issues hat does not mean people do not care about the environment.
A 1993 survey found that 87% of studies done on the distribution of environmental hazard have revealed disparities based on race. As the number of people of color in a community increases, so does the probability of waste facilities within the community. Three-fifths of African Americans live in communities where abandoned toxic waste site are located/ Nearly half of all Native Americans live in communities with uncontrolled toxic waste sites.
Environmental racism is a big deal because it affects all those who are non-white and live in low-income communities. It is a form of discrimination and needs to be aware by all no matter race, gender, religion, and political views because it is deadly harmful to those who live in toxic communities. It affects non-white people in America ever since the beginning of history by health problems, working conditions, and targets specific areas. The significance of this social issues is that it has been going on for too long and needs to be under control before our future generations are left to deal with an even greater issues.
Environmental racism is a phrased used to describe a disadvantage in the environment, in the United States, the victims of environmental racism are African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asians, and Pacific Islanders, who are most likely than whites to live in environmentally hazardous conditions. According to Dr. Benjamin Chavis, director of the Racial Justice program says. ''Racial discrimination in environmental policy making and the unequal enforcement of the environment law and enforcement of the deliberate targeting of people-of-color communities for toxic waste facilities and the official sanctioning of a life-threatening presence of poisons and pollutants in people-of-color communities. (It is also manifested in the history of excluding people of color from leadership in the environment movement.'' In other words environmental racism is the act of decisions making, actions being taken, and policies rest in a racial discrimination or the creation of racial advantages in a community. This should be broadcast throughout the media because it helps people who are unable to get the knowledge necessary to speak up and have a voice. As Dr. Benjamin Chavis mentions that non-white people are not able to become leaders in an environmental movement because of the lack of education that is pour in to poverty and therefore, corporations find it easier to take advantage of these low-income communities.
Low-income non-white communities are discriminated by corporate power plants. Chicago's west side and south side are both victims of these corruptions. Crawford and Fisk generate spew 17,000 tons of deadly toxic into the air each year. The Crawford Power Plant located on 33rd and Pulaski in a predominately Latino community finally has a date to be shut down. Although this is great news, the bad news is that if the greater lawndale Community was home to white Caucasian people the Crawford Power Plant would have been shut down years ago. Midwest generation agreed to install pollution controls and shut them down by 2015 and 2018. The company agreed to reduce mercury emissions by 90%, nitrogen oxide emissions by 68% and sulfur dioxide emission by 80%. Although the Chicago clean Power Coalition protest for six years to have the Crawford and Fisk shut down Governor Rob Blagojevich reduce toxic but promise to stop the power plants in ten years. It goes to show he does not really care about the pollution being expose in the /greater Lawndale and Pilsen communities.
As for Fisk power plant, which is located in the Pilsen neighborhood, did not try to create a more safer environmental for the Pilsen residents. Although the Crawford power plant will shut down by the end of 2014. Midwest Generation will close the Pilsen-based Fisk plant on December 31, 2012. Since it is sooner to be shut down Fisk did not even bother to compromise and reduce some of the pollution being expose.
''Environmental job blackmail.'' is a phrase used to describe low-imcome blue color workers taken advantage at work. Minorities in America are more likely to have potentially hazardous jobs and have higher rates of expose to and consequential health problems. Asthma, cancer, heart attacks, nerve disorders, skin diseases, and birth defects are just some of the many health problems cause by hazardous jobs. In 1993 50% of the children suffering from lead poisoning in the U.S were African Americans. Farmers and any type of agriculture jobs accounts for 80% of pesticide usage in the United States. While 77% of these farmers are identify as minorities. Environmental jobs for minorities not only pay them poorly but affects their health. For those workers who are documented are also threatened to lose their jobs if are caught trying to create a revolution or join union. Studies have shown that morbidity and mortality rates as a result of occupational hazard exposure are significantly higher for workers of color than white workers, often within the same industries. Environmental racism discriminates in jobs by blackmailing workers while working in dangerous toxic surroundings.
During the 1980s people began organizing environmental campaigns to prevent the poisoning in inner city children. Activist also demanded the cleanup of communities like Triana, Alabama that had been contaminated with dichlorodiphenytrichloroethane. Dichlorodiphenytrichloroethane also known as (DDT) is an insecticide that is also toxic to animals and humans; banned in the United States since 1972. Only banned in the United States suburbs but not enforce in communities in the city. It is obviously not regulated to protect all people only a certain group and that is refer to racism through environmental laws.
Some may say that history always repeats itself. Native Americans were physically targeted when the Europeans conquered the Americans by forcing them to live in crowded and over populated areas. Diseases were rapidly spread causing people to die for not having poor environment quality. In order to have nuclear energy one needs uranium, power plants, and a place to store the waste. All this is found in Native American reservations. Throughout the west, Native Americans reservations are the main places where uranium is mind, power plants are located and waste is store. Huge power corporations take advantage because of the the few people per square mile and the leads to less potential of political resistance. In 1992, in South Dakota Native American reservations have become targets of waste disposal. An entire group of people are being disenfranchised by not even given a voice. These corporations take actions without any concern about the citizens who have taken care of their land for generations and generations. This is definitely consider environmental racism because what is going on today was also going on years ago affecting Native Americans who treasure their land and believe earth should be treated with respect because that is all we have to live on.
Cultural differences play a significant part when dealing with environmental racism. Every culture is unique in its own way and has different methods of remedy to different types of issues including our environment. Studies have shown tht white and non-white people are more concern about different environmental issues. many believe in the assumption that poeple of color do not care about the environment because if they are the once being affected by living in toxic environments. This leads them to become furthermore concern about the environment because they are worry about their health. The reasons why minorities are not being represented in the EPA is because of the lack of resources given to them in their educational institutions and this again leads to racism.
Non-white communities get targeted in an environment way and demonstrates environmental racism. People in low-income communities are concern about the environmental issues. The reason minorities are not as involved as whites in the environmental movement is because they focus on higher priority issues like: housing, education, jobs, crime in their community, and discrimination that they not have time to deal with environmental issues even though they are being direclly affected. Culture differences cause problems in coming up with solutions since everyone comes from different places people do not understand one another. Africans before being capture by Europeans and forced slaves believed that the environment is everyone continues part. Slavery caused a change in their mindset because they had other more important priorities to face such as survival. Since everyone has different issues hat does not mean people do not care about the environment.
A 1993 survey found that 87% of studies done on the distribution of environmental hazard have revealed disparities based on race. As the number of people of color in a community increases, so does the probability of waste facilities within the community. Three-fifths of African Americans live in communities where abandoned toxic waste site are located/ Nearly half of all Native Americans live in communities with uncontrolled toxic waste sites.
Environmental racism is a big deal because it affects all those who are non-white and live in low-income communities. It is a form of discrimination and needs to be aware by all no matter race, gender, religion, and political views because it is deadly harmful to those who live in toxic communities. It affects non-white people in America ever since the beginning of history by health problems, working conditions, and targets specific areas. The significance of this social issues is that it has been going on for too long and needs to be under control before our future generations are left to deal with an even greater issues.