"Environmental justice or eco-justice, is a social movement to address environmental injustice, which occurs when poor and marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit."
The intersection of environmental issues and social justice has become increasingly important in urban history, as communities of color and low-income neighborhoods have often been disproportionately affected by pollution and other environmental hazards.
Environmental Racism: The disproportionate impact of environmental hazards and pollution on marginalized communities, particularly communities of color.
Environmental Justice: The fair treatment of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income level, in relation to environmental issues.
Sustainable Development: A development approach that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Economic Development: The process by which a society improves its economic well-being and standard of living.
Climate Justice: The intersection of social justice and the climate crisis, recognizing that the most vulnerable communities are also the most impacted by climate change.
Urbanization: The process of people moving from rural areas to cities, resulting in the growth of urban areas and the decline of rural areas.
Environmental Governance: The systems and processes by which environmental policies and regulations are created, implemented, and enforced.
Environmental Health: The study of the relationship between the environment and human health, including exposure to pollution, toxins, and hazardous waste.
Land Use and Land Cover Change: The conversion of natural land covers to anthropogenic land covers, such as urbanization, agriculture, and deforestation.
Environmental Disasters: The sudden and catastrophic events that harm people, wildlife, and the environment, such as oil spills, chemical accidents, and natural disasters like hurricanes and floods.
Public Participation: The involvement of citizens in decision-making processes relating to environmental issues.
Environmental Sustainability: The long-term maintenance of ecosystem health and biodiversity, with an emphasis on human well-being.
Environmental Policy: Sets of laws, regulations, and guidelines that aim to protect the environment and promote sustainable development.
Natural Resource Management: The management of natural resources, such as water, forests, and minerals.
Green Jobs: Employment opportunities that contribute to the development of a low-carbon economy and a sustainable future.
Environmental Education: A process of learning about the natural world and the relationships between humans and the environment.
Environmental racism: Refers to the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on communities of color or low-income communities.
Environmental classism: Refers to the tendency for environmental degradation to impact communities with lower socioeconomic status more than wealthier communities.
Environmental ableism: Refers to the unequal distribution of environmental health and well-being impacts on people with disabilities.
Environmental ageism: Refers to the disproportionate environmental health risks faced by elderly populations.
Environmental colonialism: Refers to the exploitation of natural resources and the destruction of natural habitats for the economic benefit of powerful groups, often at the expense of indigenous peoples and historically marginalized communities.
Environmental feminism: Refers to the ways in which environmental issues and activism are shaped by gender, and how environmental degradation disproportionately affects women and their communities.
Environmental justice for workers: Refers to the ways in which workers are affected by environmental hazards in their workplaces and how these impacts are connected to larger environmental justice issues.
Environmental gentrification: Refers to the ways in which environmental improvements in historically marginalized communities can lead to their displacement and replacement by wealthier residents.
Environmental rights: Refers to the legal frameworks and policies that protect individuals and communities from the impacts of environmental degradation and pollution.
Ecological justice: Refers to the broader context of environmental justice and encompasses the recognition of the interconnectedness of ecosystems, the responsible stewardship of natural resources, and the promotion of sustainability.
"The movement began in the United States in the 1980s."
"It was heavily influenced by the American civil rights movement and focused on environmental racism within rich countries."
"The movement was later expanded to consider gender, international environmental injustice, and inequalities within marginalized groups."
"The movement for environmental justice has thus become more global, with some of its aims now being articulated by the United Nations. The movement overlaps with movements for Indigenous land rights and for the human right to a healthy environment."
"The goal of the environmental justice movement is to achieve agency for marginalized communities in making environmental decisions that affect their lives."
"The global environmental justice movement arises from local environmental conflicts in which environmental defenders frequently confront multi-national corporations in resource extraction or other industries."
"Local outcomes of these conflicts are increasingly influenced by trans-national environmental justice networks."
"Environmental justice scholars have produced a large interdisciplinary body of social science literature that includes contributions to political ecology, environmental law, and theories on justice and sustainability."
"Environmental injustice, which occurs when poor and marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit."
"The movement began in the United States in the 1980s."
"The movement was heavily influenced by the American civil rights movement and focused on environmental racism within rich countries."
"The movement was later expanded to consider gender, international environmental injustice, and inequalities within marginalized groups."
"As the movement achieved some success in rich countries, environmental burdens were shifted to the Global South (as, for example, through extractivism or the global waste trade)."
"The movement overlaps with movements for Indigenous land rights and for the human right to a healthy environment."
"The goal of the environmental justice movement is to achieve agency for marginalized communities in making environmental decisions that affect their lives."
"Local outcomes of these conflicts are increasingly influenced by trans-national environmental justice networks."
"Environmental justice scholars have produced a large interdisciplinary body of social science literature that includes contributions to political ecology, environmental law, and theories on justice and sustainability."
"Exposure to environmental harm is inequitably distributed."
"As the movement achieved some success in rich countries, environmental burdens were shifted to the Global South."