Environmental racism is the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on people of color.
Environmental racism is a term coined by the environmental justice movement. It also has its origins in the United States throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The term is generally used to describe environmental injustices that occur in racial contexts, both in practice and in politics.
Mainly Environmental Racism is the culprit for all these incidents, which are increasing in number. In addition, Environmental Racism has long exposed poor people and people of color to dangerously high levels of lead, polluted water, and bad air. These communities suffer from a high incidence of related diseases.
Generally, groups can ignore the patterns of indigenous communities and other minority groups, which are insignificantly affected by various factors. For example, discrimination based on race, poverty, caste, and religion living on the front lines of the pollution crisis. But the reality is that because of this marginalization, pollution mitigation is often not a priority for government action. Connecting the two concepts can help activists step up their work against environmental injustices by tackling the root causes of discrimination. And ensuring that marginalized communities have a voice in decision-making, as these policies will ultimately affect the environment in which they live.
From the standpoint of environmental racism, procedural justice helps reduce opportunities for powerful forces. Mainly because corrupt states or individuals often dictate the entire decision-making process. Through this process, we put some power back in the hands of those who will be directly affected by the decisions made.
Moreover, separating the disparate effects of poverty and race can be a difficult task, but more and more evidence points in one direction. The race is often a more reliable indicator of proximity to pollution than income alone.
A 2018 study by Environmental Protection Agency scientists found that people of color face on average 28 percent higher health burdens than the general population. Most of the reason is that they live near facilities that emit particulate matter, such as soot. Especially for Black Americans, the results were particularly troubling as the reported health burden on the community increased by 54 percent.
Public welfare often plays a central role in determining environmental policy. Particularly about land use, zoning, building permits, and regulatory compliance. But unfortunately, as a result, low-income families of all colors suffer the consequences of more pollution than their wealthier peers.
But even when wealth is taken into account, researchers still find a greater correlation between race and exposure to environmental hazards.
