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On December 2, 1970, President Nixon initiated the first-ever Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), due to the public’s growing concern of air and water pollution. Yet, almost 50 years past, minority communities are still in danger of environmental threats. Could this be because of our flawed regulations and policies in our environmental system? The notion of environmental injustice came from communities that were unusually hit with higher amounts of environmental threats than other types of communities. The communities affected may be subjected by their race, color of skin or even the amount of income that they produce. Environmental injustice manly affects minority communities and there should be stronger policies and regulations because of it.
Justice means there is fairness and respect for other people, environmental justice is no different. There is equitable treatment for everyone, despite their race, color, and income. There are many examples of environmental injustice like: low access to fresh healthy food or abnormal levels of air and water toxicity. One example is made in the article ‘Politics and Public Health: The Flint Drinking Water Crisis’, by Lawrence O. Gostin. Gostin mentions that Flint is a city that’s mainly occupied by low-income African Americans and that their drinking water is contaminated with high amounts of lead. Many of the citizens have lodged a complaint that the water’s odor is repulsive and that it contains an unnatural color along with it. The issue has been around since 2014 and no one has stepped up to heed Flint’s complaints. It took 2 years for people to realize that the city or state was not going to come to their rescue, so a small group decided to take matters into their own hands and what they found was astonishing. Gostin states, “workers who seemingly falsified water-quality results, allowing the people of Flint to continue to be exposed to water well above the federally allowed lead levels”. As a result of this dereliction of duty from city workers, repairing the water system would be near impossible because of the cost amount, which is $1.5 billion. This catastrophe is one of the many examples of the flawed system we have today.
In the 1960s up to 1970, many people didn’t know that spilling oil into the ocean would cause damage to marine life and harm their supply of food. No one thought that the exhaust from cars would create extreme air pollution and would later cause some health defects. Of course, no one knew of the damage that was being created because they weren’t aware of it. Until some people began protesting for better work environments because many workers, mostly colored people, would be gradually harmed from the unhealthy working conditions. In Robert D. Bullard’s article ‘Environmental Justice in the 21st Century: Race Still Matters’, he mentions that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was involved in the growing concern for the environment so he took steps in trying to upgrade the system. Of course, he died before anything could happen. Nonetheless, before he died, he participated in a protest for black workers and he attended an environmental and economic justice mission. For these reasons and many more, President Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency, also known as the EPA, on December 2, 1970.
The Environmental Protection Agency was made for improving the environment in cities; improving air quality, water quality, etc. Laws, regulations, and policies were made for the change to occur. Some of the most common laws currently in place are the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, Toxic Substance Control Act, and many more; these were introduced by the congress so the EPA can set regulations and policies and have authority over facilities creating toxic waste. The laws were mainly set for oil companies, refineries, and other types of polluting companies. However, how sure are we that those same companies will follow through with those rules?
Like climate change, many people are in denial of the existence of environmental injustice. Some believe there are reasons why minority communities are polluted more than others. In the article ‘Is Environmental Racism a Myth?’, by Margaret Kamara, states that there are studies that propose why minority communities tend to be more polluted and it’s not because of the income status or race. In the article, Dr. Liam Downey, a sociologist, states, “it seems likely that the roles these factors play in shaping environmental inequality is highly contingent on local conditions”. This means that communities just happen to have high pollution levels and it’s just so happened to be coincidental. However, Downey also claims, “This does not mean that residential segregation plays no role in producing environmental racial inequality”. Kamara’s article suggests that highly polluted areas tend to be more polluted because it’s a large metropolitan area. This indicates that these areas are affected the most with pollution and it could be because if it’s economic and political status.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations come from the Code of Federal Regulations, also known as the CFR. This is where all the federal regulations from 1996 to present-day are stored. The CFR divides these into titles, but the environmental-related title is called Title 40 which contains all environmental regulations. The EPA clearly states, “The CFR is revised yearly, with one-fourth of the volumes updated every three months. Title 40 is revised every July 1”. This implies that 75% of the volumes are not being updated, that’s more than half. Considering how often the environmental regulations get updated and how much the changes in these regulations have decreased; this signifies that the regulations need to be updated more often.
How often do the environmental policies get enforced and how are they enforced? The EPA has created many acts that work towards stopping the violations that threaten communities and the environment, but none include environmental justice. However, at the end of each fiscal year, the EPA decides to publish the enforcement results they have had. In the EPA Enforcement Annual Results 2018 form, they state, “The EPA retains authority and responsibility to assure compliance with federal environmental laws but does so in cooperation with authorized states and tribes”. This means some states can choose not to work alongside with the EPA because of reasons unknown. Unfortunately, the EPA has yet to enforce any environmental justice strategies.
The best path to help to minimize the amount of environmental racism is for the communities themselves to take action then maybe the government will follow suit. There is a movement known as the Environmental Justice Movement that was ignited in 1982. Throughout the years they have gathered support and spread awareness of the situation. The Environmental Justice Movement states, “Today, many of these groups have become strong and permanent forces for environmental protection and social change in their communities”. Thanks to this movement many communities like Los Angeles have gathered awareness about their own environmental justice issues that they weren’t aware that they had to begin with. These communities shouldn’t have to keep fighting for a basic human right to live in a healthy environment. This being the reason why environmental policies should be stronger; like having an environmental justice policy.
The environmental policies placed by government officials are a wonderful step in the right direction but none of the environmental regulations in the federal regulations regarding environmental injustice. This only means we are still behind in bettering the conditions of minority communities. Policies and regulations need to be put in place for these communities. The people have pleaded for far too long for nothing to be done by higher authorities. However, the EPA have stated that they have started on the discussion of environmental justice strategies for 2020. In the meantime, communities need to be more aware. Students should have a mandatory environmental class where they are being informed of their surroundings and the citizens should participate in their local environmental health programs. Hopefully, there will be a decrease in environmental injustice in the upcoming years.
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