What is Environmental Justice: A Primer

Carl Bybee

What is Environmental Justice?

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency: Environmental Justice (EJ) is
the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national
origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of
environmental laws, regulations and policies.

Fair treatment means no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative
environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental and commercial operations
or policies.

Meaningful involvement means:

• People have an opportunity to participate in decisions about activities that may affect
their environment and/or health;
• The public's contribution can influence the regulatory agency's decision;
• Community concerns will be considered in the decision making process; and
• Decision makers will seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected.

Some quick video introductions:

National Resource Defense Council: What is Environmental Justice? Video: 2 minutes.

Grist. “What Do Racism and Poverty Have to Do with Pollution and Climate Change?,” January
26, 2016. https://grist.org/cities/what-do-racism-and-poverty-have-to-do-with-pollution-and-
climate-change/. Video: 3 minutes.

Some quick written overviews:

Environmental Justice Principles. In 1991, the People of Color Environmental Leadership

Summit in Washington, D.C. brought together more than 300 African, Latino, Asian and Native
American activists from all 50 states and throughout the Americas. The three-day summit was
not about responding to the environmental movement, but rather reaffirming the connection of
people of color to the land, and our understanding that environmental issues are linked to
economic, racial and social justice. This statement of principles was adopted by the summit on
October 27th, 1991.

“The Environmental Justice Movement,” Renee Skelton and Vernice Miller. National Resource
Defense Council, 2016. 7-minute read.
.
Environmental Justice for Kids: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Arboretum Statements on Environmental and Social Justice:

Dunne, Niall. “Statement on Racial and Social Justice.” Arboretum Foundation (blog), June 13,
2020. https://arboretumfoundation.org/2020/06/13/statement-racial-social-justice/.

“Equity and Justice: Conversations with Staff Resources | University of Washington Botanic
Gardens.” Accessed January 26, 2022. https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/equity-and-justice-
conversations-with-staff-resources/.

“Mission | The Botanic Garden of Smith College.” Accessed January 26, 2022.
https://garden.smith.edu/about/mission.

Some organization/websites with information and/or policy activism

EPA: United States Environmental Protection Agency: Environmental Justice.

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality: Environmental Justice.

NAACP. “NAACP | Just Energy Policies & Practices.”

NAACP. “NAACP | Environmental & Climate Justice Resources.”

Eugene/Springfield NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Committee.

OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon: Building power for Environmental Justice and Civil
Rights in our communities.

Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation:

• Academic Research Centers that Analyze and Support EJ
• Community Based and Non-Governmental Organizations
• A Brief History of Environmental Justice & EJ Definitions

Digging in a bit more:

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: Not in My Backyard: “Chapter 2: What Is Environmental

Justice?” 2002. 30 minutes read. https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/envjust/ch2.htm. Full report here:
https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/envjust/main.htm

Pellow, David N. “TOWARD A CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE STUDIES: Black

Lives Matter as an Environmental Justice Challenge.” Du Bois Review: Social Science Research
on Race 13, no. 2 (ed 2016): 221–36.
https://escholarship.org/content/qt0g47p6k2/qt0g47p6k2.pdf. 30 minute read.

Bond, Sarah. “How to Define COVID-19 as an Environmental Justice Problem.” US

Environmental Policy (blog), March 22, 2021. https://blogs.nicholas.duke.edu/env212/how-to-
define-covid-19-as-an-environmental-justice-problem/.
 Reading lists to go deeper and broader.

“16 Essential Books About Environmental Justice, Racism and Activism • The Revelator.” The
Revelator (blog), June 16, 2020. https://therevelator.org/environmental-justice-books-june-2020/.

Social Justice Books. “Environment / Climate Justice.” Accessed June 30, 2020.
https://socialjusticebooks.org/booklists/environment/. Including books for primary and middle
school children.

“Environmental Justice Reading List | Environmental Law Institute,” March 19, 2012.

A fun read--- Pope Francis explains the connection between the environment and social justice:
Francis, Pope. Laudato Si -- On Care for Our Common Home. Our Sunday Visitor, 2015.

Environmental Education and Environmental Justice

Oregon Environmental Literacy Program. Accessed January 25, 2022.

https://oelp.oregonstate.edu/.

National Wildlife Federation. “Earth Tomorrow.” Environmental Justice Youth Leadership

Program. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://www.nwf.org/Home/Educational-
Resources/Education-Programs/Earth-Tomorrow.

Ten Strands. California Signs K-12 Environmental Justice Education into Law: “Climate Change
and Environmental Justice Curriculum Endorsers.” Accessed January 25, 2022.
https://tenstrands.org/climate-change-and-environmental-justice-curriculum-endorsers/.

Vergou, Asimina, and Julia Willison. “Relating Social Inclusion and Environmental Issues in
Botanic Gardens.” Environmental Education Research 22, no. 1 (2016): 21–42.
https://naaee.org/eepro/research/library/relating-social-inclusion-and

“Amah Mutsun Relearning Program.” University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum. Accessed
January 24, 2022. https://arboretum.ucsc.edu/education/relearning-program/index.html.

“For the Love of Nature: Bringing Environmental Justice to Urban Elementary Students
« Journal of Sustainability Education.” Accessed January 24, 2022.
http://www.susted.com/wordpress/content/for-the-love-of-nature-bringing-environmental-
justice-to-urban-elementary-students_2020_04/.

Holden Forests & Gardens. “Black Botanists: Building a Legacy in Your Classroom » Holden
Forests & Gardens.” Accessed January 24, 2022. https://holdenfg.org/resources/black-botanists-
building-a-legacy-in-your-classroom-2/.
Bolivar, Sarah. “More Kids in the Woods: Morris Arboretum as Outdoor Laboratory.”
https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1048&context=morrisarboretum_intern
reports