Environmental Justice

Charity or Justice:

The Ghetto Green or Gray 

People living in impoverished area's receive aid from the federal government to help fill the financial gaps their households have. There are two main sides to the welfare argument, charity and justice. Some consider the aid given to these people charity coming from the pockets of tax payers who may or may not want to share their earnings. Others would consider this justice helping to balance out the scales making it possible for American citizens to receive their right to pursue happiness. A new dimension to this argument is the linkage of degraded environments in these areas which may cause negative effects on the health of people in these area's who do not have the financial resources to leave or protect themselves. Today we will evaluate a possible solution to this problem. Do you believe that this aid is charity or justice? 

"Every Cadillac produced at any time means fewer lives in the future." - Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen

"These basic rights need not even be written in the Constitution for they are assumed to exist from the inception of humankind." - Supreme Court of the Philippines (in 1986) upholding the right of children to litigate to stop deforestation to protect future generations' right to a healthy environment.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident..." - google if you don't know who and from where

Learning Objectives:

• Evaluate the appropriateness of procedures for investigating a question of causation via communicating complex ideas effectively by practicing change agent skills for sustainability and developing a plan to address sustainability challenges through engagement at VT and beyond 
• Identify assumptions via analyzing multi-dimensional problems by analyzing how their values relate to sustainability, and how their actions impact sustainability issues

Today's Activities: 

• Browse: Go to http://www.epa.gov/myenvironment/  Links to an external site.and look at the different types of data available for your hometown area. Please post the following to the discussion board Links to an external site. before class. NeighborHOOD Links to an external site.
  • The location of your hometown City, State -- (if necessary include nearest major city) 
  • Air quality %, water quality impairments, a health risk of your choice (mortality, cancer, low birth weight,..) 
  • Do you agree or disagree with the data?
  • Is this information commonly understood in your area? 
  • Are there any reasons your area has high or low levels of pollution? 
• Play Spent: http://playspent.org/ Links to an external site. give each person in the class 10 minutes to play spent and discuss what the class thought after.
• Watch: Clint Smith Place Matters Link  Links to an external site.
• NeighborHOOD Presentation/Speaking in Tongues Download NeighborHOOD Presentation/Speaking in Tongues
• Environmental Justice Perspectives Download Environmental Justice Perspectives

Before Next Class: 

• Discuss Inequality (NeighborHOOD) Links to an external site. - Post a comment about each of the perspectives, and like/comment on a classmates viewpoint of the perspectives. 

Additional Resources: 

• Movie/ebook:  Living downstream trailer -Sandra Steingraber:  (DVD and book avialble in the Library)

• Ted Talk Case Study: Why buses represent democracy in action- Enrique Penalosa 

http://youtu.be/j3YjeARuilI  Links to an external site.

• Book: Twenty lessons in environmental sociology chapter on environmental injustice: http://www.amazon.com/Twenty-Lessons-Environmental-Sociology-Kenneth/dp/0195371127 Links to an external site. (Avialble in the VT library) 
• Or Contact me Freddy Paige: freddyp@vt.edu