When you don't protect the least in your society you place everybody at risk"
- Professor Robert Bullard [Father of Environmental Justice]
The History of Environmental Justice
Many historians believe the Warren County, North Carolina protest to be the first environmental justice movement. In 1978, a transformer company began to dump industrial waste containing PCB, a toxic manmade chemical. This practice eventually lead to the contamination of soil in a nearby black community. Four years later, the state's government decided to build a landfill for this chemical in the community. This led to several protests attempting to prevent the construction of this landfill. Though the efforts of the residents were unsuccessful. Their work set a precedent for environmental justice movements going forward.
To learn more, watch the video below.
EJ Terms You Need to Know
Stakeholders: Groups, citizens, politicians, and businesses that play a role in environmental justice issues. Stakeholders can either have a negative impact or a positive impact. An example of a stakeholder with a positive impact is a government organization such as the EPA, one with a negative impact could be the company or organization causing the pollution
Interest Groups: An interest group is a collection of concerned citizens that join together to solve a particular issue affecting their community. In Environmental Justice, these groups are often made up of affected community residents. Ex: residents of Warren County, North Carolina in the 1982 Protest
Grassroots Movement: A self-organized movement that utilizes local residents to achieve a political or economical goal. Grassroots movements are so important because their power comes from having members who are involved indirectly in the issues and are passionate about effecting change
Equity: A balance of resources according to the individualized needs of each group. Equity differs from equality in that it takes into account the different privileges a group may have that would give them an advantage, and distributes resources in a manner that accounts for this difference.
Disparity: A difference in experience or treatment between two groups, usually due to unfair treatment or sociodemographic factors
Sustainability: When resources are used in a manner that meets present needs, but also doesn't deplete the resource for the future generations
Interest Groups: An interest group is a collection of concerned citizens that join together to solve a particular issue affecting their community. In Environmental Justice, these groups are often made up of affected community residents. Ex: residents of Warren County, North Carolina in the 1982 Protest
Grassroots Movement: A self-organized movement that utilizes local residents to achieve a political or economical goal. Grassroots movements are so important because their power comes from having members who are involved indirectly in the issues and are passionate about effecting change
Equity: A balance of resources according to the individualized needs of each group. Equity differs from equality in that it takes into account the different privileges a group may have that would give them an advantage, and distributes resources in a manner that accounts for this difference.
Disparity: A difference in experience or treatment between two groups, usually due to unfair treatment or sociodemographic factors
Sustainability: When resources are used in a manner that meets present needs, but also doesn't deplete the resource for the future generations
Environmental Justice in the NRV
References:
A Watershed Moment for Environmental Justice—the Warren County PCB Protests | NC DNCR. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2013/02/26/a-watershed-moment-for-environmental-justice-the-warren-county-pcb-protests
Illustrating Equality VS Equity - Interaction Institute for Social Change : Interaction Institute for Social Change. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://interactioninstitute.org/illustrating-equality-vs-equity/
Justice and Equity in the Climate Action Plan — Sustainable Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://www.sustainchapelhill.org/featured/2021/8/16/environmental-justice-and-climate-equity-in-the-climate-action-plan
Pandemic Exacerbating US Wealth Disparity | Chief Investment Officer. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://www.ai-cio.com/news/pandemic-exacerbating-us-wealth-disparity/
We Birthed the Movement: The Warren County PCB Landfill Protests, 1978-1982 - UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://library.unc.edu/2022/08/we-birthed-the-movement/
A Watershed Moment for Environmental Justice—the Warren County PCB Protests | NC DNCR. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2013/02/26/a-watershed-moment-for-environmental-justice-the-warren-county-pcb-protests
Illustrating Equality VS Equity - Interaction Institute for Social Change : Interaction Institute for Social Change. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://interactioninstitute.org/illustrating-equality-vs-equity/
Justice and Equity in the Climate Action Plan — Sustainable Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://www.sustainchapelhill.org/featured/2021/8/16/environmental-justice-and-climate-equity-in-the-climate-action-plan
Pandemic Exacerbating US Wealth Disparity | Chief Investment Officer. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://www.ai-cio.com/news/pandemic-exacerbating-us-wealth-disparity/
We Birthed the Movement: The Warren County PCB Landfill Protests, 1978-1982 - UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://library.unc.edu/2022/08/we-birthed-the-movement/