Reference no: EM133577825

Since the early 1990s, there has been an increase in the claims that poor, heavily minority communities bear a disproportionate amount of the negative health and environmental risks from the siting of polluting facilities, such as chemical factories, oil refineries, slaughterhouses, and so on. This problem has a name: environmental racism. Environmental social problems need environmental social solutions. They need an environmental sociological imagination for how to bring about justice in the biggest community of all.

In this week's initial posting, consider the following questions.

How big of a problem is environmental injustice? In other words, should other problems take precedence?
What are some of the key moments in the environmental history of the United States?
How can fair treatment and meaningful involvement help promote environmental justice?

It's hard to say exactly how much environmental injustice is, but it's clear that it's a problem that needs to be addressed. Environmental injustice can affect a person's quality of life, health, and well-being. In some instances, it can even cause death.

Environmental injustice is often inextricably linked to other social issues, like poverty, racism, and sexism. For instance, poverty often means that people don't have access to clean water or clean air, which can make health problems worse. People of color are also more likely to be living in areas where air quality is poor.

Because environmental injustice is so complex, tackling it from multiple perspectives is important. This could mean reducing poverty and improving access to resources. It could also mean changing the way environmental hazards are spread.