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Mohai and Saha in their article “Which came first, people or pollution?” have several explanations of explanations for disparate environmental hazard sittings. These explanations include economic, sociopolitical, and racial discrimination explanations. Economic explanations state that due to the desire by businesses to lower business costs, they dump hazardous wastes and other wastes in areas inhabited by poor people and especially the people of color (Mohai & Saha, 2015). This is because these areas have cheap land, which is economical for the large businesses, and they seek dumping places in these areas. The sociopolitical explanations state that the major businesses dumping their waste seek the “path of least resistance” which is available in areas inhabited by the poor and people of color (Mohai & Saha, 2015). The racial discrimination explanation states that due to a long-standing culture of discrimination in the society, many businesses and companies tend to dump wastes in areas inhabited by the poor and people of color because apparently they face less resistance in these areas and it is also cheaper to dump waste in these areas (Mohai & Saha, 2015). Out of these 3 explanations, the one that I align most with is the racial discrimination explanation. Discrimination due to race seems to be the major reason why many corporations tend to dump their waste in areas that are inhabited by the poor. Additionally, racial discrimination appears to be the root cause from which the other explanations such as economic explanations and sociopolitical explanations stem from. Racial discrimination means that the areas inhabited by the poor and the people of color provide the least cost avenue for corporations as well as the path of least resistance. The racial discrimination explanation is clear as evidenced in the film “Mossville: When Great Trees Fall.” In this film, people of color inhabit Mossville in Louisiana and they initially lived happily insulated from the horrors of Jim Crow. However, this has changed due to the fact petrochemical companies, which have drastically changed their way of life, have invaded them (Reel south, 2020). It is clear that these petrochemical companies are doing more harm to the community but no solid action is being taken because people of color dominate the area. Many people are dying from diseases such as cancer, which result from the hazardous wastes emitted by these companies (Reel south, 2020). The racial discrimination can be touted to be the major cause of companies preferring this area without any care about the lives of the inhabitants. Due to the economic power of the inhabitants of this area, the companies view Mossville as the path of least resistance to their activities. It is clear that they cannot do the same in uptown areas inhabited by the rich and especially the Whites because they will face greater resistance and it will also be costly to dump their waste there (Reel south, 2020). However, because the poor and especially the people of color inhabit Mossville, they feel that they can continue with their activities without facing any resistance. References Mohai, P., & Saha, R. (2015). Which came first, people or pollution? A review of theory and evidence from longitudinal environmental justice studies. Environmental Research Letters, 10 (12), 125011. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/125011 Reel south. (2020, May 25). Retrieved January 30, 2023, from https://www.pbs.org/video/mossville-when- great-trees-fall-se2q8k/

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