"Environmental racism, ecological racism or ecological apartheid is a form of institutional racism leading to landfills, incinerators, and hazardous waste disposal being disproportionately placed in communities of color."
This topic focuses on the intersectional aspects of environmental racism and how other forms of oppression (e.g. race, class, gender, sexuality) exacerbate environmental inequality.
Race: The concept of race and its impact on society, including the ways in which different racial groups have been disadvantaged and subjugated.
Environmental Justice: The principle that all individuals have the right to live in a healthy environment, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or social class.
Pollution: The release of harmful substances into the environment, including air, water, and soil pollution, and how these pollutants disproportionately affect marginalized communities.
Climate Change: The global phenomenon of rising temperatures and its environmental and social impacts, including how climate change exacerbates existing inequalities.
Environmental Racism: The disproportionate impact of environmental hazards and pollution on communities of color, which can result in unequal access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunities.
Health Disparities: The differences in health outcomes between different racial and ethnic groups, including how environmental factors can contribute to these disparities.
Intersectionality: The concept that multiple social identities, such as race, class, gender, and sexuality, intersect and interact with each other to create unique experiences of oppression and privilege.
Environmental Laws and Policies: The laws and policies that regulate environmental pollution and protect public health, and how these policies may reinforce or exacerbate existing inequalities.
Community Organizing: The strategies and tactics used by marginalized communities to advocate for their rights and demand environmental justice.
Systemic Inequality: The broader structures and systems of power that perpetuate racism and inequality, including the role of capitalism, colonialism, and imperialism in environmental injustice.
Intersectionality is a concept developed by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, which explores how different forms of discrimination and oppression intersect and interact with each other: It acknowledges that people have multiple identities, and that these identities (such as race, gender, class, sexuality, and ability) can influence their experiences of discrimination and oppression in unique and complex ways.
Environmental racism refers to the way that toxic waste sites, polluting industries, and other environmental hazards are disproportionately located in low-income communities and communities of color: This can have serious health consequences for the people who live in these communities, and it is often linked to systemic racism and economic inequality.
An African American woman living in a low-income community that is located near a toxic waste site: She may experience both racial discrimination and gender discrimination, as well as exposure to harmful pollutants that could affect her health.
A disabled person living in a community that is heavily impacted by pollution from nearby industries: They may face both ableism (discrimination based on disability) and environmental racism, as well as health challenges related to their disability and exposure to toxins.
A transgender immigrant living in a community that is affected by environmental hazards: They may experience discrimination based on their gender identity and perceived immigration status, as well as the health impacts of living near pollution.
Overall, intersectionality in environmental racism recognizes that different people experience environmental injustice in different ways, and that solutions must take into account the multiple identities and factors that contribute to this unequal distribution of environmental hazards.: Intersectionality in environmental racism acknowledges that individuals with intersecting marginalized identities are disproportionately affected by environmental injustices, necessitating the consideration of these various identities when proposing equitable solutions to the unequal distribution of environmental hazards.
"It is also associated with extractivism, which places the environmental burdens of mining, oil extraction, and industrial agriculture upon indigenous peoples and poorer nations largely inhabited by people of color."
"Response to environmental racism has contributed to the environmental justice movement, which developed in the United States and abroad throughout the 1970s and 1980s."
"Environmental racism may disadvantage minority groups or numerical majorities, as in South Africa where apartheid had debilitating environmental impacts on Black people."
"Internationally, trade in global waste disadvantages global majorities in poorer countries largely inhabited by people of color."
"It also applies to the particular vulnerability of indigenous groups to environmental pollution."
"Environmental racism is a form of institutional racism, which has led to the disproportionate disposal of hazardous waste in communities of colour in Russia."
"Environmental racism is a type of inequality where people in Communities of Color and other low-income communities face a disproportionate risk of exposure to pollution and related health conditions."
"landfills, incinerators, and hazardous waste disposal being disproportionately placed in communities of color."
"Extractivism places the environmental burdens of mining, oil extraction, and industrial agriculture upon indigenous peoples and poorer nations largely inhabited by people of color."
"The environmental justice movement developed in the United States and abroad throughout the 1970s and 1980s."
"Trade in global waste disadvantages global majorities in poorer countries largely inhabited by people of color."
"Environmental racism is a form of institutional racism, which has led to the disproportionate disposal of hazardous waste in communities of colour in Russia."
"Environmental racism may disadvantage minority groups or numerical majorities."
"Environmental racism may disadvantage minority groups or numerical majorities, as in South Africa where apartheid had debilitating environmental impacts on Black people."
"Extractivism, institutional racism, and global waste trade are among the factors contributing to environmental racism."
"The environmental justice movement aims to combat and address the inequalities and injustices caused by environmental racism."
"The environmental burdens of mining, oil extraction, and industrial agriculture are placed upon indigenous peoples."
"People in communities of color and low-income communities face a disproportionate risk of exposure to pollution and related health conditions due to environmental racism."
"Communities of color, indigenous peoples, and low-income communities are often the most affected by environmental racism."