The Relationship Between Pollution and Politics and How Environmental Racism Affect People

Environmental Science Final Paper
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Environmental Science Final Paper
Environmental racism is a form of discrimination whereby people of color are subjected to air, soil, and water pollution. People from low-income communities such as blacks are subjected to pollution, which affects their health negatively. Benjamin Chavis developed the concept of environmental racism in 1982 while addressing the dumping of harmful polychlorinated biphenyl waste in North Carolina (Mohai & Bryant, 2019 ). The United States developed the term, but environmental racism occurs internationally. Laws and regulations deliberately target people of color, especially communities with low economic power. The poor lack the political and socioeconomic power to prevent large organizations and corporations from depositing hazardous waste. They can also not relocate because of economic status and political influence, which determine where a person lives due to government policies such as zoning, redlining, and colorblind adaptation planning.
Environmental racism can take many forms, such as exposure to chemical processing plants, intake of contaminated water, residing in buildings which can cause harm to human health. Examples of pollution incidents that have been witnessed include toxic waste dumping in the lower Rio Grande Valley and residents of Flint, Michigan, being exposed to poisoned tap water. China has experienced poisoning of its citizens by exposure to electronic waste, which results from the global waste trade (Beech, 2020). During the Apartheid rule in South Africa, mining industries grew rapidly due to a lack of regulation. Most mining sites were set up in communities where people were poor or unemployed. Health problems reported by the affected people include cancer, pregnancy complications, and mental health issues. In 2008, coal ash spilled into the Emory River located in Kingston, Tennessee. The Tennessee Valley Authority channeled the spill to Uniontown in Alabama, where residents are mainly blacks who are low-income earners. These and more pollution incidences have been witnessed and continue to be witnessed globally.
What's the relationship between pollution and politics?
Politics have largely influenced decisions concerning how and where waste products are discarded. The government plays a huge role in authorizing landfills, incinerators, and air-polluting industries. Robert Bullard, commonly referred to as the father of environmental justice, described an observation that he had made in Houston from the 1930s to 1978. All five of the landfills that belonged to the city were located in black neighborhoods. In another incident, out of eight incinerators owned by the city, six were in neighborhoods owned by black people, and among the four landfills which were owned privately, three were in black neighborhoods (The Climate Reality Project, 2020). The City Council made the decision and approval of the location of the landfills of Houston. The city council was made up of all white members, meaning that the marginalized groups, including blacks, were not represented nor involved in the decision-making. Marginalized communities were viewed as collateral damage, and the leaders were not concerned about the negative health consequences.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr visited Memphis in Tennessee, where 1,300 sanitation workers from the black community had boycotted work. The workers were advocating for better working conditions and a pay rise. The visit to Memphis was his last campaign, and he was assassinated before accomplishing his goal. Ten years after his death, another dispute concerning garbage arose in Houston, Texas. African Americans residing in the area opposed a municipal landfill in their suburban neighborhood. The black middle-class homeowners who only made up 25% of the population in Houston filed a lawsuit dubbed Bean v. Southwestern Waste Management Corp. through their lawyer Linda McKeever Bullard to prevent the facility from being put up (Amanpour & Co., 2020). Bullard reported that 82% of waste from Houston was dumped in black neighborhoods, although the city lacked zoning.
Environmental racism is a form of environmental injustice targeting people of color. Lack of political representation for the minority groups contributes to the affected community's inability to resist dumping or negotiate with the government or corporations. Jim Crow Laws encouraged segregation based on race in the Southern United States. Housing segregation led to pollution segregation, whereby much pollution was observed in areas with more people of color and low-income families. Dr. Robert Bullard stated that African Americans from middle-income families were more likely to be exposed to pollution than their white counterparts from lower-income families (Amanpour & Co., 2020). Due to this reason, children from African communities are five times more likely to be affected by poisoning from lead compared to whites.
Due to lack of financial muscle and inadequate political representation, minority groups reside near landfills called locally unwanted land uses (LULUs). Despite high pollution levels, the facilities set up in these lands employ the community members. The quality of life is usually compromised, but the people cannot relocate because it is more affordable to live there. The minority groups are also unable to oppose the location of the facilities since most of them depend on the employment opportunities presented by the existence of the facilities.
NIMBYism (Not In My Backyard) further contributed to pollution in areas inhabited by communities of color. It was a term commonly used by the white high-income communities to protest siting of facilities that may cause pollution in their neighborho...