2051 2023 L18 Environmental Justice-GN
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2051
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Jan 9, 2024
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2051 2022
Environmental Justice
- Guided Notes
(Why should we think about environmental crises in terms of environmental justice?)
(What is structural violence and how does it connect to environmental justice issues?)
Today:
-
Flint
-
Environmental justice
-
Lead
-
Jackson
-
Justice
The Flint Water Crisis
(What started the Flint water crisis?)
(What two phenomena, not unique to Flint, predated but helped lead to the Flint water crisis?)
(What is Flint most famous for (aside from its water crisis?)
1
(Give two reasons why 6 million African Americans left the south for Flint from 1915-1960 ).
(Define white flight and give two reasons why it occurred in Flint. Which reason is specific to
Flint?)
(What specific problem occurs when a city’s population is cut in half?)
(Why was a city manager appointed in Flint and what was the problem with this city manager
system?)
2
(Name one of the most destructive decisions made related to the Flint water crisis. Why was this
decision so consequential?)
(Who is Mona Hanna-Attisha? Why does she matter?)
Write:
What obligation do local, state and federal governments have to provide clean water? Do
you think having clean water supplies is a right? Why? Why not? What ethical concepts from
class apply to this question and why?
3
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Environmental Justice
The EPA defines
environmental justice
as: “
Environmental justice is the fair treatment and
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with
respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws,
regulations, and policies.” (source: EPA.gov)
“Fair treatment
means that no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the
negative environmental consequences” resulting from private-sector and government actions or
policies.
“Meaningful involvement
means: a) People have an opportunity to participate in decisions
about activities that might affect their environment and/or health, b) The public’s contribution
can influence the regulatory agency’s decision, c) Community considers will be considered in the
decision-making process, and d) Decision makers will seek out and facility the involvement of
those potentially affected.” (Source: EPA and Mohai 2018).
(According to this definition, were the people of Flint given environmental justice? Why? Why
not?)
Lead
(What is the federal action level of lead in water?)
(What lead level in the blood is considered highly damaging?)
4
(Why is lead called the silent epidemic?)
(How were two leading uses of lead in the past? Name at least one problem with one of these
uses).
(Name at least one physiological effect of lead in the body)
(What does lead do to developing (child) brains?)
(What is the ACES score and how does it relate to Flint?)
“This new understanding of the health consequences of adverse experiences has changed how we
practice medicine by broadening our field of vision—forcing us to see a child’s total
environment as
medical.
We aren’t just looking at a child’s physical condition on the day of an
exam or clinic visit. We are looking for the larger factor in the child’s world that can impede
development and diminish an entire life—and may put her at risk as an adult for diabetes, heart
disease, or substance abuse. This is the most important concept in pediatrics and public health
today.” (Mona Hanna-Attisha,
What the Eyes Don’t See,
25).
5
(How were citizens in Flint active during this crisis? What problem common among the poor and
elderly did they face when bottled water became available?)
Write:
Environmental racism is “
any policy, practice or directive that differentially affects or
disadvantages (whether intended or unintended) individuals, groups or communities based on
race.” (drawn from Bullard,
Dumping in Dixie)
.
How is the Flint case an example of environmental racism? How is the Flint water crisis a justice
issue?
6
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Jackson
(In what ways is Jackson, MS, similar to Flint, MI?)
(What added problem made getting improvements in neglected infrastructure difficult?)
(What event shut down Jackson’s water plant? How might this kind of event be affected by
climate change?)
“We think of racism as just a police officer or we see blue eyes on TV or the Confederate flag
being part of a state flag, but not thinking about the way that our water systems are maintained or
not maintained and how that is ingrained in racism as well.” (Macy Brown, sophomore and
student activist, Jackson State University, from Trymaine Lee, “Into America” podcast).
7
Justice
(How is distributive justice an issue in the Flint and Jackson cases?)
Social justice
: Efforts to bring about a more just structure of society.
(Reflection question: How can we think about Flint and Jackson in terms of social justice?)
Procedural justice
: The right to engage in political decisions about how goods and opportunities
are distributed.
(Reflection question: How do the Flint and Jackson cases relate to procedural justice?)
Corrective justice
: Fair punishments for law breaking. But also attempts to restore the victim to
the condition he or she was in before the unjust activity occurred.
(Reflection question: How is corrective justice impossible in the Flint case?)
8