I've been talking a lot about environmental justice lately, and I've had a couple of people question exactly what I meant. Not having an official definition at hand, I've had to cobble together something halfway accurate. Here's a little secret for you: I'm really good at knowing what words mean, and not so good at actually defining them. So when friends asked what exactly environmental justice is, I told them something along the lines of "It's.. it addresses the fact that some people -er, some disadvantaged communities are more likely to be stuck, um, dealing with the environmental impacts of ...stuff."
Luckily for me (and for you, too), an article in the latest Environmental Health Perspectives contains both a succinct definition and a longer explanation:
Environmental justice was defined by Robert Bullard, director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, in his seminal 1990 work Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality as "the principle that all people and communities are entitled to equal protection of environmental and public health laws and regulations." In countries around the world, the concept of environmental justice can apply to communities where those at a perceived disadvantage—whether due to their race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, immigration status, lack of land ownership, geographic isolation, formal education, occupational characteristics, political power, gender, or other characteristics—puts them at disproportionate risk for being exposed to environmental hazards. At a global scale, environmental justice can also be applied to scenarios such as industrialized countries exporting their wastes to developing nations.Enviroblog tends to emphasize environmental health issues in the US (with the exception of Jovana's writing, which often has an international bent), but the article from which the quote above was taken offers a great overview of who's doing what globally to promote environmental justice. In Brazil, The Brazilian Network on Environmental Justice brings together 100 member organizations to attack the issue of environmental injustice from all sides. The Indonesia-based Via Campesina organizes small and medium agricultural producers, has members in 56 countries. The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives coordinates efforts to stop incineration and has members in more than 77 countries. Our friends at Friends of the Earth International have been charting the course for international environmental justice initiatives since 1971, and now have more than two million members in 70 countries.
Enough from me. I'm sending you over to the article now -- it's an inspiring read, especially if the intersection of health, equality, and international politics interests you.