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The Role of the Media in Environmental Racism

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The Role of the Media in Environmental Racism

The media plays an important role when it comes to enforcing environmental justice

around the world. It can shape the different perceptions people hold about the environment,

influence policy discussions, and raise awareness concerning issues regarding the environment.

Media influences the existing disparities that contribute to an inequitable understanding of

environmental justice concerns, like environmental racism. This paper focuses on the role media

plays in environmental racism.

The tenets of environmental justice are based on the idea that all individuals and

communities have the right to equal protection of environmental and public health laws and

regulations. Environmental justice is therefore a combination of cultural norms and values,

regulations, rules, policies, and behaviors that support sustainability. It mainly involves the

thought of a community and the natural environment being safe and productive. As such,

environmental justice entails the idea that both cultural and biological diversity are respected. It

may also refer to a situation where there is equal access to institutions and ample resources that

help in growth and prosperity. As described by Weintrobe (2021), taking care of the environment

does not always lead to sustainability but requires awareness of the complexity of the world.

Individuals live in a world that has differences of gender, culture, and biodiversity, which should

be recognized and respected to ensure environmental justice.

However, in the case where there is no environmental justice, it may lead to

environmental racism. Environmental racism refers to a combination of institutional rules,

regulations, government decisions, or policies that target specific communities deliberately for

lax enforcement and undesirable land uses, and environmental laws. As a result, communities are

disproportionally exposed to toxic and hazardous waste based on their race. Environmental
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racism in most cases is caused by a cocoon of issues, which may include intentional neglect, lack

of institutional power, and a need for a repository for pollutants in urban areas (Moore &

Lanthorn, 2017). Most people in these communities, incorporating people of color and the low-

income communities are disproportionately impacted by polluting industries and slack regulation

of these industries.

Most environmental hazards, including waste disposal sites and polluting industries, are

located in proximity to marginalized communities. As a result, these communities end up

suffering a myriad of negative impacts resulting from these issues, including a lack of fresh air,

clean water, and access to unspoiled nature. It also leads to mental and health effects (Comtesse

et al., 2021). Environmental racism explains the intersection that is there between race and class,

which mainly results in a trend where historically marginalized communities are located near

environmental hazards. The linkage between these communities and pollution sites has more to

do with race than any other defining demographics.

Environmental justice, based on its principles takes on the idea that governmental acts of

environmental injustice are a violation of international law. The marginalized groups, mostly

Native Americans and Black Americans, are continuously fighting inequality and

misrepresentation in different arenas, including economic, cultural, political, and environmental

(Borras, 2021). There is also an aspect of a contentious relationship when it comes to these

communities and the commercial popular culture, with the relationship marred by unequal power

and misrepresentation. Furthermore, media plays a pivotal role in the world’s ecosystem

emergency, playing a part in the solutions, and in a way, climatic chaos primarily biodiversity

loss, ocean acidification, deforestation, and water contamination (Lopez, 2021). However, media

can play a part in eradicating environmental justice, rather than promoting it.
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One of the issues is through media framing, where the media undertakes the role of

shaping how environmental issues are portrayed. The best-framed stories on environmental

issues educate the audience on the history, issues, and risks while giving out suggestions for

making such risks reducible. As such, media acts as a risk promoter or as a promoter of data,

information, and good practices (Ramondt & Ramirez, 2020). In reducing environmental racism,

the media can decide on critical issues like the choice of language, imagery, and certain

narratives that have the power to reinforce or challenge stereotypes related to race and socio-

economic status. In the case of environmental racism, the media has the responsibility of giving

out information on affected communities, mostly the marginalized ones. Additionally, it should

accurately represent the experience of communities that are affected by environmental racism,

mainly highlighting the systemic nature of such issues.

The environment and society are intertwined, which makes it essential to consider the

voices of all individuals in a community when making moves for equitable change.

Environmental justice fights for the addressing of exclusion and works to alleviate the burden on

groups of people who are not responsible for harming the climate, yet are paying the highest

price. In the wake of a wider spread of environmental impacts for those in poverty or minority

communities, it is essential to protect them. One way of protecting them is by bringing attention

to the environmental injustices that these individuals face. The media has the responsibility of

covering stories that show the disproportionate impact of pollution, climate change, and resource

exploitation on marginalized communities. For instance, climate change has caused a variety of

threats to human health (Comtesse et al., 2021). Some environmental changes may occur due to

natural disasters and extreme weather events. Such issues affect climate change. The media has

the responsibility of making such issues known to many. Additionally, the media, through
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investigative journalism and in-depth reporting, can shed light on such issues that lead to

environmental racism, contributing to public awareness and understanding.

The growth of social media has taken a toll on how people share their concerns about

climate change. In the same case, other types of media give a platform that people in the affected

communities can use. Additionally, by showing the experiences and perspectives of the people

most affected by environmental injustices, the media has the opportunity to empower

communities to advocate for their rights. They also have a chance to demand accountability

when systematic issues from either the government or policymakers result in environmental

issues in their communities. As a result, giving them a voice may end up influencing different

policy changes.

Besides, negative media framing often produces negative sentiments. Consequently, it

may show that colored communities are not any less concerned with environmental issues than

the media might suggest (Hernandez, 2014). However, with the right knowledge of

environmental racism, people can change their perspective on the issues, which may ardently

change how people approach the different aspects of environmental racism. In the case of the

media, it has the responsibility of educating people on the historical context and systemic

imbalances that mainly lead to environmental racism.

Many forms of media content can provide context on the issues, like documentaries and

articles, which may consequently help in raising an understanding of how socio-economic and

racial factors intersect with environmental challenges. An example is the documentary

Mossville: When Great Trees Fall, which offers a perspective on the Black community in

Louisiana, and how it was contaminated and uprooted by petrochemical plants. Such a move has
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an advantage in ensuring that different people have a different overview of what it means to

ensure that everyone is in the right when it comes to environmental justice.

There has been a run of misinformation, caused by the large amount of inaccurate

information that people are made to encounter. Misinformation about environmental racism has

particularly severe consequences, as it affects people’s quality of life (Swire-Thompson & Lazer,

2020). However, the media can play an important role in dispelling myths and challenging

misinformation that is related to environmental racism. The media has the responsibility of

disseminating accurate information and countering stereotypes. For instance, there is the belief

by many that people of color, when compared to white individuals, are not that much concerned

with environmental issues (Hernandez, 2014). The media can help in providing accurate

information about the issues while countering stereotypes. In this way, the media can contribute

to a more informed public discourse that can address the root causes of environmental injustices.

In such cases, it pressures necessary policymakers towards the need to address environmental

racism. In cases of environmental racism, investigative journalism can help uncover several

instances where there have been different regulatory failures or industry misconduct. Such issues

may introduce the need for stout environmental regulations and policies that are justice-oriented

in nature.

In summation, the media has an important role when it comes to addressing the

environmental racism issue, and its pivotal role cannot be understated. The media has the

responsibility that it holds to either perpetuate or dismantle systemic injustices related to the

environment. By responsibly framing issues, giving the marginalized a voice, and selling the

right information without specs of stereotyping, the media can ardently lead awareness and

accountability when it comes to the environment.

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References

Bullard, R. D. (1994). Overcoming racism in environmental decisionmaking. Environment:

Science and policy for sustainable development, 36(4), 10-44.

Comtesse, H., Ertl, V., Hengst, S. M., Rosner, R., & Smid, G. E. (2021). Ecological grief as a

response to environmental change: a mental health risk or functional

response?. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(2), 734.

Hernandez, Y. (2014). Environmental Racism and Media Framing: A Qualitative Analysis of

Major News Outlets’ Input of Environmental Issues.

Lopez, A. (2020). Ecomedia literacy: Integrating ecology into media education. Routledge.

Moore, E. E., & Lanthorn, K. R. (2017). Framing disaster: News media coverage of two Native

American environmental justice cases. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 41(3), 227-

249.

Ramondt, S., & Ramírez, A. S. (2020). Media reporting on air pollution: health risk and

precautionary measures in national and regional newspapers. International Journal of

Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6516.

Swire-Thompson, B., & Lazer, D. (2020). Public health and online misinformation: challenges

and recommendations. Annu Rev Public Health, 41(1), 433-451.

Weintrobe, S. (2021). Psychological roots of the climate crisis: Neoliberal exceptionalism and

the culture of uncare. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.