Environmental Justice
Environmental justice is an important part of the struggle to improve and maintain a clean and healthful environment, especially for those who have traditionally lived, worked, and played closest to the sources of pollution. Environmental discrimination has historically been evident in the process of selecting and building environmentally hazardous sites, including waste disposal, manufacturing, and energy production facilities. The location of transportation infrastructures, including highways, ports, and airports, has also been viewed as a source of environmental injustice. Among the earliest documentation of environmental racism was a study of the distribution of toxic waste sites across the United States. Due to the results of that study, waste dumps and waste incinerators have been the target of environmental justice lawsuits and protests.
Define the concepts and origins of environmental justice.
Research and describe two examples of environmental justice in America.
From the examples that you found, evaluate the responses by government officials to alleged environmental justice.
Develop and defend an opinion about how to mitigate the negative impacts of toxics on citizens in general and especially on poor communities and communities of color.