chapter 14 environmentaljustice: reflections …resultscalled into question the base for concerns,...

1\ performance hv the Toxic Avengers theater group dramatizes an incident inwhich an worker suffered brain damage at a toxic waste

in East Palo AJLO, California.Photo copyright David Bacon, 2006.

CHAPTER 14ENVIRONMENTALJUSTICE:

REFLECTIONS FROlVl THE UNITEDSTATES

Manuel Pastor

Introduction

Across the United States, a vibrant social movement lor 'environmentalhas Based initially on the recognition that US minority

groups have borne a disproportionate burden of environmental hazards,environmental advocates have long since shifted from simply

'environmental racism' to a positive concept of equalaccess to environmental and social goods.

The connection between this movement and the asset-buildingframework bas been limited, however, in part because of the nascent natureof the latter, in part because of the immediate preoccupations of the former.Resisting hazards would seem to land one squarely in the usual deficitmodel: the community is characterized by its lack of clean water, or thehigher risks induced by toxic pollutants in the air. Moving from resistance tothe challenge of defining a wealth-building strategy is a useful next step forboth the £;J movement and the asset-building framework alike.

In this chapter, I sketch a between the United States environmentaljustice movement and the asset-building framework. I begin by reviewing thebroad political development of the movement and the research on which itbas been based. As we will see, there has been some debate over the extent ofenvironmental inequity and this is an issue that even those who aresympathetic to the movement's aims and basic assertions must address in astraightforward fashion. Of particular concern are three issues: Is the

352 RECLAIMING NATURE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE 353

pattern of environmental inequity simply a manifestation of market outcomesrather than racial or cIass discrimination? Is the pattern a result of movesto minority residents driven by choice rather thandictate? and Arc there real and effects in terms of wealthand health, in which case paying attention to environmental inequity could

dividends for communities struggling for local improvement andempowerment? To address these and the relationship toorganizing, I review the research conducted in southern Californiaseveral and me, and discuss its connection to the efforts localenvironmental advocates.

In the second half of the chapter, I explore the relationship betweenenvironmental inequities and the state of assets in affected communities.Five I<xms of are negatively aflected by environmental inequity:

because polluted lands impede investment anddevelopment; because such lands present liability risks thatmake financing social because hazards tend to locate wheresocial power and cohesion are low, often exacerbating those conditions;human because air toxics have significant impacts on health andlearning; and natural because of direct damages EO land, air, water anda broader sense of environmental well-being. As a forenvironmental justice can lead to increases in the assets available to poorercommunities: their role as an 'environmental sink' andclaim to the natural assets at stake can have a complementary efleet onother types of wealth.

I conclude the chapter with some thoughts on what the United Statesenvironmental justice might offer to those naturalassets in international and comparative frames. I suggest four key lessons:the utility of natural assets in urban as well as rural contexts; thenotion that the debate about environmental inequity can be an entry pointto broader considerations about equal access to social theneed to deconstruct broad notions of both nation and the environment to

sort out who is winning and losing; and the potential for the EJ movement to

make links between local actions for equity and the broader socialgood of environmental sustainability and economic prosperity.

EnvironmentalJustice in the United States Context

Origins ofEnoironrnentalfuetice

analvsts date the emergence of the movement against environmentalracism in the United States to a set of landmark protests in Warren ',''''''1',

North Carolina in when a African-American rural communi tvwas chosen as the landfill site for burial of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB;)(Bullard I The protests prompted the US General Accounting Office,under pressure from the Congressional Black to conduct and issue a1983 study that seemed to confirm that landfills were disproportionatelylocated in Black communities, at least in the southern United States. Asubsequent study by the Commission for Racial Justice of the UnitedChurch of Christ I correlated toxic facilities and minority communitieson a national scale. These along with anger in local communitiesabout ongoing attempts to site waste incinerators and other hazards, helpedfuel the of the first People of Colour Environmental Leadershipconference held in Washington DC, in October 1991.

The period before and after the Summit saw a plethora of new fronts inthe struggle, In Los California, groups from black SouthCentral and the largely Latino Eastside came together to resist theplacement of a hazardous waste incinerator in an industrial zone betweentheir neighbourhoods, remarkable crossing of racial and geographic lines.In Oakland, California, People United for a Better Oakland (PUEBLO)

to eradicate lead among children and obtained themost comprehensive lead abatement programme at that time on the 'VestCoast, In the same period, residents in Louisiana's petrochemical corridor

as 'Cancer Alley'i resisted the imposition of a major industrial plant.Throughout the United States system of Indian. reservations, indigenouspeoples launched the dumping of uranium waste, a practicedenounced as 'radioactive colonialism' by Ward Churchill and WinonaLaDuke,;

This emerging movement a significant break withtraditional US environmentalism in several ways. The first was simply thecomplexion of the actors: US environmental movements had traditionallybeen dominated and these new movements werealthough not based in communities of colour. The second was inscope: while the traditional environmental movement emphasized

natural landscapes and endangered the E;J movementseemed more concerned with social and urban landscapes and threatenedpeoples. A third difference was in roots: while the traditional movements

were based in environmental protection se, most of the 1;J leadershipcame to the struggle through a civil rights prism in which access toenvironmental quality was viewed in the context of a of other accessissues. Environmentalism, in other was less the than equity,ClIlIlUUg,f1 many EJ proponents did argue that communities of colour had


special relationships with nature, and that traditional community notions ofharmony with the Earth could serve as a for the broader

environmental community."Finallv. there has been a difference in the ways in which science has been

deployed' in the EJ movement. Brookings Institution scholar ChristopherForeman has that traditional environmentalists tend tofavour 'rational' processes of debate objective scientific researchon hazards and their risks. As Guana points out, such frameworkstend to produce between businesses and their hired experts,environmental organizations and their (hired and sometimes volunteerexperts, and gO\;~rnment By contrast, EJ activists favour'democratic' epistemologies in which community participation facilitatesstory-telling about lived experiences; in Foreman's view, this simply leads to

'theatrics" but in the minds of many EJ advocates, this allows forcommunity empowerment. Thus, in recent years, groups likc theEnvironmental Health Coalition (1998) in San Diego have mobilized localmothers to test air quality and report the results to authorities and thepublic, and California's Communities for A Better Environment has usedsimple community-based monitoring technologies essentially buckets thatcan be used to sample facility emissions to force refineries and others to

reduce pollution (O'Rourke and Macey While these efforts havesometimes been attacked for yielding 'unscientific' data, the results are oftenquite solid and have informed and mobilized local communities.

The central point here is that the US environmental and environmemalmovements have followed distinct trajectories. Many mainstream

environmental organizations have now adopted FJ as a concern, and somehave done .important work documenting and challenging disparities(Sandweiss 1998). But relations have frequently been uneasy. One recentexample: an attempt in 200 I to locate an environmentally efTieient powerplant, using state-of-the-art technology, in South Gate in south/central LosAngeles County was supported by environmentalist groups, but resisted byon; of the mas; important EJ groups in California because of the burden itwould add to already over-exposed populations. the rJproponents carried the' day (Martin 200 200 Ib; see also Pastor el al.

There have been similar tensions around schemes,with some environmentalists supportive, and most EJ activists worried thatthe resulting 'hot spots'- locations where firms choose to purchaserather than clean up will be in low-income communities and

communities of colour (Chinn IDespite the fact that this movement is based in communities not

frequently known for their political clout, and that the broaderenvironmental movement has not always been supportive, FJ activists havemade surprising progress on the policy front. A Presidential ExecutiveOrder issued in 1994 directed all federal agencies to 'address, asappropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health orenvironmental effects of its programs, policies and activities on minoritypopulations and low-income populations in the United States' (ExecutiveOrder 12898, The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)has used EJ as a key rationale for prioritizing clean up and redevelopment ofpolluted 'brownfields' sites in minority communities, a topic we explore lateras a wealth enhancement strategy. In late 2000, the California legislaturepassed Senate Bill 115, a measure that directs the state's Office of Planningand Research to coordinate EJ initiatives with the federal government andacross state and the subsequent years have seen a series of relatedlegislation dealing with children's health, cumulative exposure and othermatters.

This flurry of activity does not reflect a sudden realization by enlightenedgovernment actors but rather the concerted political pressure of EJ activistsand others. California's recent attention to the question, for example, ispolitically rooted: environmental inequity has been a key concern of Latinolawmakers who are new to power but old to pollution, and happen torepresent critical voters in state elections. Community organizing andmobilization the social elements crucial to asset development inthe emerging community-building framework- have been both theimpetus and outcome of the EJ movement.

Research and Action

As this history shows, activism and research have often gone hand-in-handin the EJ movement. The anti-landfill in Warren County prompteda study, which subsequently justified community concerns. The UnitedChurch of Christ study fed the movement's efforts and gave activists a solidbase from which to lobby. While FJ groups may embrace a democratizingepistemology, they have frequently deployed friendly experts and supportivestatistics in their work; indeed, proving disproportionality has occupiedmuch of the time of activist groups and their allies.

Of course, empirical research is not uniformly supportive of the EJIn tbe early 1990s, several sociologists based at the University of

Massachusetts, Amherst, argued for both smaller geographic scales and moremultivariate both innovations, they demonstrated that racial

differences in proxirmry to toxic and disposal facilities were notsignificant once controls were introduced for income, access to industry andother relevant explanatory factors (Anderton et at. I 994b). This workrepresented a methodological improvement over previous research - and theresults called into question the base for concerns, particularly around race.

These national-level findings have been criticized for both methodologicalreasons and data deficiencies (Been 1 Bullard 1 Boyce hascogently argued that the Anderton et at. results in fact show significantdisparities by race once you move beyond the immediate site and intoadjoining residential neighbourhoods. However, other careful studies havealso failed to find evidence of environmental inequity. Given the mixed andcontroversial bag, many have accepted Bowen's (200 view that definitivepatterns are hard to encounter. However, a recent broad national study bythree researchers who were sceptical about E;J claims did find evidence ofsignificant disparities by race and class, depending on the geographic scaleof analysis used et at. Since these researchers initially thoughtthey were embarking on a refutation of EJ proponents, this is a particularlydri!:in"Y result.

What are the key issues that have been raised in these various researchefforts?' there is the question as to whether race has effects separateand apart from those of class. The practical problem posed studies thatshow income to be and to dominate race is simple: in UnitedStates law, discrimination by race is actionable in court while displacementof hazards into poor communities is viewed as an outcome of the market. I

Even poor communities whose main self-identification is class mav searchto demonstrate racial disparity to be able to move the levers of publicand the courts.

But there is also a theoretical issue at stake: a correlation between hazardsand poverty may simply reflect the fact that those who must place hazardsare seeking the lowest costs in terms of land and compensation to residents.That is, the geographic distribution of hazards might actually reflect'rational market criteria' rather than bias in the planning Ofcourse, such a distribution could also reflect class power - but theobservational equivalence with the pure market outcome allows tohave their day. On the other hand, finding by raceeontrolling for income suggests clear evidence of a power dimension in sitingdecisions -_ .. and this, in turn, sets the analytical platform tor interpreting theeflect of income too as a result of vertical class-based command and controlrather than simply the horizontal allocativc function of markets."

The debate about the role of market also implicit in a second

key issue addressed by critics of EJ whether hazards were placed in minorityand poor communities or whether minorities and the poor were attracted byvirtue of low land prices. If the former is the case, then the fault most likelylies in discriminatory siting practices and the remedies would focus onaddressing the imbalance in political power that allows some communities tobe targeted. If the latter is the case, then any contemporary correlationbetween hazards and colour could be the result of individual choice ratherthan group imposition, and the search for remedies would be reasonablycircumscribed to providing full information and preventing any housingdiscrimination that crowds minorities into undesirable locations.

Many EJ activists dismiss this timing issue, suggesting that whatever itscause, disproportionate exposure presents a potential health problem thatshould be addressed. However, if 'minority move-in' is important, thencleaning up an area and driving up housing prices may simply causeresidents to move to a cheaper and more polluted area, reproducing thesame social inequality that we saw before. Moreover, from a natural assetsperspective, the timing issue is quite important: if the poor are simplychoosing to obtain low-cost housing in a environment, then whatappears to be environmental inequity could actually be consistent with nonet loss in assets individuals consciously trading off their ownenvironmental health or human capital for monetary or financialcapital).' Disentangling this question is, therefore, key to knowing whetherassets are being gained or lost.

A third issue relates to consequences. Some analysts have thateven if there are disparities in proximity to hazards too little is known aboutactual health risks, and that the differences in environmental exposure maynot be significant (Foreman 1998; Bowen 1999, 200 I). Foreman, inparticular, has also argued that the activist focus on corporate-induced

such as toxic storage and disposal facilities, has led 10 a de-emphasis on other epidemiological including individual behaviourwith regard to smoking or drinking; in his political targeting is takingprecedence over health. .

Several recent national-level studies have tried to address this issue bymaking use of exposure risk indicators based on toxic air releases; the resultssuggest that race is indeed correlated with the allocation of potential healtheffects (Bouwes et at. 2003; Ash and Fetter 2004). But while these effortsestablish the plausibility of enhanced risk, the transmission to illness is

unspecified. Actually confirming or disputing the risk-illnessconnection -- and specifying the exact physiological routes- requiresdetailed epidemiological studies that are difficult and expensive to mount. In



of

to a

research

to do with from

This issue has bedeviled both

because of the tremendous

with risk andor

than the rest of the dynanucbut at no more

California area.The third issue raised has

exposure to hazards,

and researchers for years,

difficulties and uncertaintiesmanagement. INe explored this issue to

in which

the releases rises with percentage of mmoritv residents and increases in the

other variables al. I was calculatecl in

dated the arrival of

facilities in Los

took up second broad researcha laborious archival research proccxs we

toxic storage and

and then linked those

ge()p'aphic.'ally C')11S:1St(:l1t small-area file of data that spanned1990. The results that hazards had indeed been

working class communities of colour, with race again nl"vlncr

an independent role even alter explanatory variables,

The aflcctecl change afiersouthern

permissible Cdlll':1 ~ because of the emissions new Our researchrelationship with eBE has consisted series of action projects.

such as an assessment of the environmental aspeC!.s of an expansion

or the Los A.ngeles International as well as more

the parameters of the environmental

southern California,This broader research programme has targeted the raised here.

have conducted studies the distribution of toxic storage

facilities and emissions from listed in the Toxic Release Inventorv

maintained the US Environmental Protection ""'CI'tV

1997; Sadd In both found a significant r1i,n"!~IV

III race, for income, local land use

patterns, per cent of 1I1 population andother reasonable variables. We also found that the relationship between

income and to these hazards is best modeled by an 'inverted I."rather than a line, The poorest communmes tend to suffer less

because have few industrial activities The richest

communities escape by virtue of their pmver. Working-

communities bear the brunt or exposure, with communities of colour

h,':;1r1nLr an especially burden. This pattern suggests that power, nor

dynamics, is the

study, we

a new

Latino

the

disamcniticsboth the

independent role forchallcugcs of mvesugatmg

of cnviromncnta!

and reverse an 'irreversible'

Research and Action in Los Angeles

These three

the many communities may be getting sick. At It", sarnr- ume

pcrccpnon of health risk the other environmcrual

that result from air and toxic fumes costs inof life and values,

power, versus choice

and examining the of have formed the parameters

a research programme which I have been involved for the last six

Conducted with at Occidental in Los and at

Brown University, we focused on the southern California area, partly

because it is one of the most in the States and parilv

because of an connection of political UT"""I",there, As with the early national above, our work has been

a community concerned about these

Our partner has Communities lor a Better ErIVIl'(lIUrICllt

iCBI~!, CBE, called Citizens Better Environment,

more technocratic and more Anglo based in the San Francisco

Bay Area, with small satellite operation in the southern part of the

The southern California office was the

involvement of Carlos a Latino frOJTI

union and civil traditions to of environmental

in the Los area, The shift to broaden had manx

including name from 'Cilizens' to 'Communities'

when Porras and other in southern California

that. the name was to many concerned whonot US citizens and whose human rights to a clean environment had

been violated for that reason.

CRE's southern in the wake ofthe

new orientation the results were impressive. The bauled

the Southern California Air Quality District. m,lI1<lg'lng

secure the end or programme that allowedrefineries 10 avoid old polluting vehicles and

them off the

but ran the risk of

neighbourhoods abutting the refineries,


we utilized zco-coocct

Note that once Asians

do not lead the pack mcontrollinz for un.in nc,

than African-

Estimated Lifretimc Cancer Risk 1'1'0111 Ambient

and Income. SouthernFigure 14.1: Distribution

Hazardous Air Pollutant

Calii()rnia

would

have a

.\J()J'cllomFrosch 1//.

80 ,~~"",~~m" -~~~~-~~~-~~~~-~~~-~--,

Ho uaehotd income Category

"''''";"",'n,,, and cancer risk measures discussed

data for school ethnic to estimate risks byAs can be seen in ] 4.2a and the

arc lor children

14.2a means the estimated risk compared

with no exposure

risk than

14.1: the differenceand since Asian households tend to have mcornesAmericans and Latinos, this is likely reduce risk the neighbourhoodswhere their children 'While the increased cancer risk fill'

minornv children may the risk rnav bercoortcd as an of asthma

among urban lor more on school risk, see Schettler

et al. 200 l). the differentials in both cancer risk andhazards even when we introduce other cxplanatorv variables, such as

local land usc and levels et al.

the

cancer:

to their

or lil(:ti:ne

both

consequencc ofexposure on

between the

tracts into threereleases and with

another

of

levels no"-",;";,,,,,'

Los '"10''11'''

students indistrict in the Unitedmiles within Los '\1'101'11',

a

accountfabricators

crude wav,

withoutreleases.

A more direct involves tract-level

individual cancer risk and a hazard index,exposure to 148 ambient air mobile and

These indices were derived estimates of ambient air toxirs

concentrations with dataderived from a Cumulative estimated

concentrations of 48 air toX1CS for everv census in theEmissions used in the model take into

small-scale service industries andand furniture

sources trucks and (W Udll.!.takes into and simulation

of processes Rosenbaum e! al. IRosenbaum al. The concentration data and informauon

were then used to calculate individual lifetime cancer risks and

hazard index associated with outdoor air toxics exposures over a Efetimc.!see Morello et al. 2001 mobile sources are the mawcontributinc facr.» to risk in southern California area we studied.

'1'0 be clear the variable we use is the actual incidence

rather, we have the estimated likelihood of cancerindividual in this tract Ior their entire life. Matchinzrheseaeographic

data with the characteristics of local residents

pattern evidenced in 14.1: while incomes do alleviateexposure rates, minorities more ambient air and hence

risks every income level. race and

etl1l11CnV holds even in a multivariate where we control lor variableshome measure of both and

housirn; value measure and

area cncornpassirn; 7CH

District

second

75

Figure 14.2a: Excess Cancer Risk for Schoolchildren by Race, LosAngeles Unified School District

363ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Again, researchers might reasonably worry that the lower scores for schoolsin more polluted areas might reflect collineariry with other explanatoryfactors. But in a set of multiple regressions in which respiratory risk iscoupled with other variables such as percentage of students on free lunches,percentage of students learning English, percentage of teachers with anemergency credential, parents' education background, etc., there is still anegative and statistically significant effect of the risk variable on academicperformance." The implications for human capital formation in poorminority communities would seem obvious.

Putting together the results, at least for the area we have studiedextensively, yields a clear and disturbing picture: there is indeed a problemof disproportionate exposure by race and class; this seems to reflect power indecision-making rather than 'efficient' market allocation; and it hasimportant consequences for health and academic achievement.

The tough conditions portrayed have given rise to equally toughenvironmental justice organizations. While the group with which we haveworked, Communities for a Better Environment, is one of the leadingorganizations in southern California, there are many others. TheLabour/Community Strategy Centre, for example, has challenged oilrefineries in low-income areas and led a struggle to keep bus rates low andpublic transportation accessible (Mann 1996; Pastor 200 I a). ConcernedCitizens of South Central and the Mothers of East L.A successfully fought thesiting of an incinerator ncar their neighbourhoods. In the seeming heart ofenvironmental darkness has emerged the light of community empowerment.Building on this - to go from the necessity of rejecting disamenities to apositive vision of how to create wealth for poor communities - is the nextchallenge for the EJ movernent in Los Angeles and nationwide.

LatinoAfrican AmericanAsian

RECLAIMING NATURE

Anglo

40

362

g-o 70g:: ,5

!~6!l

"'~ 55

~ 50

~'ii 45

:i

Most recently, we have tried to track the effect of these differentials on learningoutcomes using a school-wide performance measure called the AcademicPerformance Index. The appropriate measure in this case is the respiratoryindex, since there is substantial research showing a link between respiratoryproblems, such as asthma, and learning challenges. Figure 14.3 shows thesimple relationship between schools broken into thirds by respiratory risk andthe associated performance score; as can be seen, performance is indeed lowerin the schools in which children face the highest respiratory risks.

Source: Data takenfrom Pastor etal. (2002).

Figure 14.2b: Respiratory Risk for Schoolchildren by Race, Los AngelesUnified School District

Source: Data tokenfrom PIIS!or et al. (2IJIJ2).

EnvironmentalJustice and Assets

While the patterns of environmental inequity may be striking and thecommunity challenges may be inspiring, the relationship of environmentaljustice to assets and asset-building strategies has not been much explored.This is partly because activists and concerned policy makers have oftenrightly focused on preventing further damage rather than building new

wealth, an understandable impulse given the severity and urgency of thethreats many communities face. Nevertheless, there are five different assetsthat are touched by, and might be enhanced by, attempts to improveenvironmental justice: productive capital, financial capital, social capital,human capital, and of course, natural capital.

LatinoAfrican AmericanAsian

30

x~ 28

~ 26;r"E 24

~

I:I: 22Ie0~ 20C.

~ 18

16

Anglo


neighbourhood will tolerate and for what tradeoffs ~ IS usurped by afirm andlor by the society in the form of inadequate

regulation. When the net benefits are distributed widely and the direct costsare concentrated as when a whole toxic waste is disposed of inone particular neighbourhood, and the profits and employment engendered

waste firm accrue to individuals outside that area theaffected community is clearly suffering a negative externality withoutreceiving any compensation in return. This represents a violation of thecommunity', property rights.

Of course, if a community itself decides to utilize the or to tradeto the sink for other certain benefits, then this is consistent with

choice. But there is little direct evidence that communities are themselvesmaking these choices, and even less evidence that they secure benefits fromhaving done so. In the area we have studied most Los AngelesCounty, growth is actually the lowest in those communities that hosthazards and Pastor 200 I). The instances of inequity pointed to bythe E] movement are generally impositions, and tend to bring negativeeffects along a wide range of dimensions ofwealth and health.

Assets, Wealth and Enoironrnentalfuetice

How can the movement enhance wealth and communitydevelopment? The most direct route is through the recuperation ofdespoiled assets into capital that can be used 10 create communityincome. Perhaps the possibility of such a transformation is clearest in thecase of rural communities that have seen lands ruined and productivitythreatened chemical spills, toxic dumping, unsafe hog fanning andsimilar. practices; dean-up in these areas can restore the agricultural andother income-earning potential of the land and directly lift income flows.But there is a dear analogue to the rural problem and potential in urban'brownficlds' .

Brownfields arc contaminated lands that have become difficult to recycleto new uses. As Dixon notes, there are three broad categories ofbrownficlds: those that are well-located for business and are 'lightlycontaminated'; those that have attractive locations and moderate levels of

contamination; and those that are highly contaminated and!or are locatedfar from marketable opportunities. For the first and second category, the keyimpediment to productive redevelopment of the site is less the cost of theclean-up than the around property rights and liabilities. Briefly,US in response to pressures from the environmental movement,

Highest respiratory riskMiddle respiratory risk

RECLAIMING NATURE

environmental inequity arises when the commumtv S

that is. the to determine how much pollution a

Lowest respiratory risk

400

364

550

To bring out this potential, it is useful first to recast the assertions of EJthrough the prism of property and the associated claim toenvironmental including improved health, higher property valuesand enhanced income. While many E] proponents have eschewed the

of property rights, partly because private property and markethas been so often turned against them, one can understand the

movements that seek to combat hazards as asserting community-basedproperty rights over environmental sinks. In so doing, these movementscontest other forces who seek to gain income and benefits from those sinkswithout community permission.

450

500

Figure 14.3: Academic Performance Index Score by EnvironmentalRanking

Solines: Data on tlu: Academic Poformance Index I!J' school from theEducation; school Iocations and ailacha] to risk indexindualrd ill Pastor etal. (2002j.

In thisproperty claim

367

the brownfields

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

ISThe

process andThe second

be one of the

and Shapiro

financial

sector,

development monies as well

can introduce bankers to

holding the

cleamng upIlows. and this

indirect benefit on financial Environmental

the growth in property values. In the

main form of wealth for the household is home

The of a home introduces a to the financial

increases in home values can generate the collateral needed lorto start a business an education. In this

environmental n(',""''',,'< can limit to financial capital.

the distribution of hazards and!or the E;J movement can

equa,!lzl11!5' access to credit as well.also draws upon and reinforces The

that is, the vibrancy of between community

the health of formal turns out to

defences In our stud)' of

et al. 200 we discovered that

toxic facility placed in

split between and

change between groups.

conditions under which the usual

arc not as as might this weakens

mobilization more difficult and increases

Environmental

SllCl!gLll of social

members as well

form of wealth that environmental build is

The brownfields movement is again illustrative. vVhile the

apparent obstacle to liability, the manifestation of the issue isfinancial: banks will not lend to until future claims n'lya,crl,n»

rcsponsioilnv for clear. Otherwise the bank itself can wind up

fill' past owners pollution. property claims and

in the brownfields can free financial

have spillover several reasons.

that by putting brownfield financing, banks

more accustomed to in areas that have

in this sense, environmental can

contribute to the broader credit blockade LiS11lJlllCI!'1tV communities and Skidmore 1999; Oliver

The second that brownfield deals often involve l1ew

the coupling of and

models like land trusts; this

new modalities for community

au« »nauc.

the

RECLAIMING NATURE

arc dealt with

366

that the Owner a must take financialrcsponsibilnv for the clean-up of any taxies located on a site. Unless

eglcegiOl,ls violations that result in formal of the property

as or other most owners do not have to thisissue until the time of sale. At that a may conduct an

inspection and discover of toxic contamination. The nature or

clean-up is such that cannot be fillly known until the

Because of this sales fall through. Current owners sue pastowners '- ,. who may sold the property when roxics were not considered

such a and the property remains unused or underutilizcd. \Vhencorporate owners 'mothball' a site to this avoids

costs, but it leaves the communities saddled with health

hazards and land. To a wav out of this dilemma.

the 'United government and various governments haveprogrammes In which are relieved of Iinur«that dean up sites to relevant standards,

Partly because of patterns of poverty and USminorities tend [0 live in older industrial areas where arc III

relative abundance. Firms to establish new olten avoid these

and choose on the or urban this an

additional thrust to the processes of and the suburbanizarion

or that have len mum Iar Irorn [he available

As Pastor 1970 and I

outside the the 111 '''''UlL'

mismatch' in which available is located f~lr Irorn the

l'\.(:vltallz1ng brownfields therdfJ1T olTns

benefits is, however.requires cornmunitv partu.ipanon in the redevelopment

which can translate requirements

J)llJ)n,,-,(\' ownership opporturuties and land I,)r

l'vleclolT and Sklar 1994 on the Dudley Streel

in Boston. leaders worry thatinvolvement and tough local benefits will

stymie the process. However, a the Cnited States

the that environmentalrcdrvelopmr-nr, found


negatives ~ that is, the misappropriation of a community's

natural capital in the form of sinks there is an increasing stress onachieving positive environmental outcomes. One key frontier for manyurban movements has been access to open space,collective gardens and the like. Some of these activities can lead directly to

measurable gruns in income; others, like parks in dense urban areas,

lead to less measurable but equally gains in the quality of life,

especially for young people (Pinderhughes 2003; 2003).All these forms of asset enhancement can be mutually reinforcing.

Regaining; control of productive assets in the form of brownfields can openthe gates of enhancing human capital can raise capacity andallow the of productive capital; social in the form of a

strong seems critical to making progress on any front; and

natural itself is at stake in the struggle. E;J movements thereforerepresent one way both to raise assets and to protect the naturalenvironment, while offering a broad challenge to the distribution of

wealth, power and opportunity in society.

Lessons from the US EnvironmentalJustice Movement

What are the of the US FJ movement lor an international

perspective on natural assets? Those of us in the North are often hesitantabout suggesting what be learned from our experiences. This caution

stems partly from justified concerns about ideological imperialism as wellan acute awareness that what fits well in one circumstance may fit m

another. But there may be useful lessons in this case, partly because the :ttlmovement is itself rooted in what be termed the 'South within the

North' that is. low-income communities and communities of colour who

have lought within the United States to find their voice and reclaim their

assets.One key implication stems from the urban character of much of the EJ

movement. There is a tendency to think of environmental quality as a rural

and of the natural assets therefore a good fit in ther()l1n,1n.r~i,·h' but it is clear that vibrant environmental struggles and crucial -"

forms of natural arc also present in areas. In the United

States, Ell groups have countered the notion that cities are merely 'sacrifice

zones', In contrast a traditional environmentalism instinct that stressed

nrcscrvarion of national parks and wilderness areas. EJ groups have

worked to avoid the abuse of their neighbourhoods as environmental sinks,

lobbied [or new forms of accessible open space, and to transformWhile the

One route is

about naturalgroups has been on

RECLAIMING NATURE368

susceptibility to polluters. Building social capital IS therefore oneachievinz envi ronmental justice.

As the same time, environmental themselves can buildsocial capital. Alter all, the environment is a prime orgamzmg Issue.

Residents in affected communities have an immediate 'hook' on which to

their concerns and environmental can seem like a sort ofcapstone to all the other injustices perpetuated on low-income communities:

on top of unequally distributed jobs, education and hcalthcare comesinequitable access to a clean environment. Thus, while have been

able to take advantage of communities 'with weak social bonds, ~J

organizers have been able to use the sense of to move community

leaders to address a of issues. Such bonding is critical for protecting

natural assets: as Cole notes, lawyers can help communities to wininjunctions, but it is a mobilized community that will ensure enforcementand thus protect their local environment.

'Wealth enhancement also comes in the form of human

simply through human a key baseline factor for

participation in the economy. As noted earlier, the research on the linkbetween environmental exposures and health outcomes is, like the research

on racial disparities, somewhat controversial. Part of the is thatmany of the communities that are over to hazards are also

to other disparities, including access to health care; disentangling thecontribution or environmental factors is a challenge (Institute of Medicine

I The strict standards of methods, including the need

to firmly establish physiological mechanisms and biological pathways, also

have made it difficult to establish direct causal links, except in the case oflead of Medicine

is accumulating evidence on the impact of air pollutants

on and certain chemicals have been clearly linkedwith cancer. Communities have a dear sense that reduction in exposure 'will

prolong life and improve health. As the research outlined here suggests,disproportionate pollution may also harm school and hence

that form of human capital development; given the other impedimentssuccess faced communities, this seems like aindeed. Partly as a result, environmental justice advocates are mcreasimzlv

embracing the principle' the notion that in the absence of

proof that exposure causes no harm, public policy should be directed to

limiting exposures.

Finally. environmental is also

initial {(XUS of many environmental justice

brownfields into productive natural assets.

E;J analysts and activists also have begun to tackle broader issues of sprawland the construction of metropolitan space itself (Bullard ei al. 2000; Pulido2000; Urban Habitat Programme 1998). This challenge to US urban Corm

can be instructive where hyper-urbanization is bringing choking trallic.

despoiled landscapes and faltering levels of employment. It is not enough to

point to the unequal consequences for the poor. \Ve must take on, andreverse, the incentive structures that result in environmentally andinsensitive patterns oC development. Steering business from greenfields to

brownficlds. and encouraging a better match between jobs and housing, can

both protect the environment and ameliorate the conditions that cause

poverty.A second insight concerns the potential for the environment and natural

assets to serve as a starting point in a broader debate about inequity,

injustice and power. For years, I asked my students in an introductoryeconomics class two hypothetical questions. The first was whether a

community affected by a polluting firm had the right to shut the firm down;

the answer was generally a strong . The second question was whether a

community that would be negatively affected by a plant shutdown had the

right to keep the firm open; the answer was almost always a strong 'no',

even when I stipulated that the company proposing to shed employees wasprofitable (albeit at a lower rate than might be ,garnered elsewhere).

The asymmetry of their responses suggests how much progress we havemade in recognizing environmental externalities, and how little we have

made in seeing the economic activity in the same way. The right to a clean

and healthy environment has a legal basis in many state and nationalconstitutions (Boyce and Pastor 200 I moreover, there are popular

conceptions of environmental rights that seem to be held by the broad

public. Many other aspects of social and economic justice arc not codified inthe form of rights. In a market for example, unequal distributionsarc often viewed as the reflection of an underlying distribution of talents.

and attempts to promote social and economic justice are seen as well

meaning luxuries to be taken up when the economy is booming and wastclu!expenditures are affordable. As for racial justice, while discrimination mavbe legally outlawed. the right to Iull justice which might, for eX,JmTlI(.',

include reparations to African-Americans who carry the of

much in the same way we might require polluters to compensatecommunities who have had their local environments remams

ideologically oil-limits.

l'vlany l:~J leaders have used the acceptance of environmental rights as a

way to broaden the notion of the public good and raise the questions of

social, racial and economic justice. The environment is an entry point wherebroad human rights are recognized and inequity seems to be disdained (fewargue that the rich deserve cleaner air, at least outside the rarified realms of

neoclassical economics). But if people deserve clean air, why do they not

deserve good schools, safe neighbourhoods, decent employment and other

amenities that comprise our built and social environments? EJ movements,thus, serve as a way to raise issues of broader economic fairness and toaffirm that poverty reduction is integral to environmental protection itself:

A third implication of the EJ research and activism reviewed here has to

do with the importance of deconstructing broad categories of both 'thenations' and 'the environment'. As Boyce (2006) has argued in analyzing

environmental degradation, the key questions are: who wins, who loses and

whv are the winners able to impose costs on the losers? In a powerful paperfor'the World Conference against Racism, Robert Bullard (2001) points outthat environmental racism operates at both an intra-national and inter-national

level. Drawing parallels between the struggle of the South to avoid dumping

dirty industries and the EJ struggles of people of colour in various US

communities, Bullard argues that the dynamics of oppression are similar

also Bullard et al. 2(05),But Bullard wisely avoids the simplistic argument that treats the South as

a unitary whole of'the dispossessed. Anyone familiar with environmental

conditio~s in thc developing world knows that the opportunities are alsounequally distributed within those countries: indigenous people in Ecuador,

for example, face the environmental consequences of refinery production

while local elites among them those Ecuadoreans who profit the mostfrom oil extraction - are able to shuttle from beaches to mountains to

what nature, rather than oil companies, has to oiler. Highlighting the

gains and losses within particular countries helps clarify the issues and

facilitates the search for those who share common problems.A final implication has to do 'With the link between the local and the

global, the particular and the universal. Many of the EJ movements in the

United States seem to be highly localized: they start from particularcommunity-based grievances about serving as society's dumping ground,

and challenge the particular racial and other power mosaics that have made

such disparities possible, This local character, however, has not prevented

the development of ties among groups facing the commonalities ofdomination, poverty and poor environmental health. There are now a.

number of national networks in the United States built from local'

community groups, and there are growing international ties among


373

'ts ThereAngeles

more problematic. in

on the

Oakes and Michael R. FraserDOfloSi:m/II'rv 31: 229-

and Lori D.of Hazardous

cent of students who arcrorrelated for other reasons with the

problems are appropriate.


L., Andy B. Anderson, Peter H. n~'J." •. [ohn Micha«! Oakes, MichaelEleancJr W. Weber and Edward J Calabrese 'Hazardous Waste

Issues in . Eraluatun. Retl~au 18:

holds even if we control [or theas know is

distribution o! respiratory risk. See Pastor

Recent

II:Boer. ., Manue] Pas lor,Jr.. James L.

Environmental Racism? The Demographics

Ash, Michael and T. RobertTracks]'

Indicators Model'. SKi"lScienceBeen. Vicki '1CJC)4) 'Locally

Disproportionate Sitiuu or Marke. Dvnamics:"of· Environmental

Anderton,R. Fraser.Facilities:1 40.

Anderton. L.,'Em~ronmcntal

9.

References

thatwcllas

etfectively stop .E;J claims based on outcomes,the door is stin open. For now, most El-suorxmive

administrative rather than claims.5. low levels of economic even seek such

raciiiries as they try to economic development Been 1994). Theresults of studies do not square with this notion since, as notedthe fit is often a of income.

6. See Hamilton for a cogent of the for

the location of environmental hazards.This, of course, that individualsforced to relocate by external pressures

like redevelopment agenues.power a large

8. Another reason for the merhodologicai. we havehazard levels are rooted in structure and that whatshould count is the distribution by race the In a fasciImtln:;:;new and Felter evidence that this really matters:fixed e{ft,'l'l regression they show that Latinos, example, live in

but live in more within the race dIcetnational level but would still be any particular

drawn from Bullard

«ausation and con::;('qucI1Cc. Auotlnr"""" ;·,11" which levd

con irols for

the examples

Camacho I

corporations and

and

RECLAIMING NATURE

similar to thatof r;J

Summit included an('C(llo,tica.l unitv and the interdcpcndcnr-e

the

Ior

Sec Churchill and Lal.iukc (jlc)Cl4b.

rrhe

important issue has

372

communities involved in environmental jusuce battles.

in both their rhetoric and theirgroups in the United States not. simply <c",L',nn'

to white

successful resistance will

source

1.

Notes

h:tabLlsl:1ll1g this new sense of the commons and of evervone

right to a more effective. and democratic use of the Earth's

preClOI,IS natural resources -- would represent a true internationalization of

the natural assets framework. \Vhile much remains to be done on both

or,ganizirlg and fronts. it seems that at environmental

through the natural assets at natural in terms

of the distributive and power issues that been central to cnvironrncntal

could help us to better realize the shared of

cU''''U', social equity and environmental sustainabilitv.

IS

that is. when societies are

Income and power from the to

communities, there is more of an incentive to minimize the wastefulofindustrial m a that will benefit all,

The link the global environment is dear.

rebutted the accusation of self-interest that

environmental disarncnitics away from poor and communities of colour

result in pressure for so too must ensure that the

for environmental in the North does result in

displacementof environmental burdens to but rather contributes

to a new and more sense of the commons that we in this

the

375

Policing:

an Urhrill

Facilities,

9 March.

Wilson, buthVolume I,

Opposition', UJ'

Prejudice,132.

Education and Health

The New Economy and

Ennrcmnentcl Injustue iii ihe

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chapter 14 environmentaljustice: reflections …resultscalled into question the base for concerns,...

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