| By Alyssa Martinez
Many of us in the United States have grown accustomed to the typical lifestyle of the 21st century, which includes daily activities such as purchasing food at the grocery store, having indoor plumbing, consistently throwing away trash and using oil for transportation and electricity.
Unaware of the impacts of these actions, we often fail to realize that the planet is being drained of its resources, thus making it extremely hazardous to live in.
The actions of the privileged are affecting poor, minority communities, who do not have equal access to such luxuries. In other words, the people who are contributing the least to climate change and environmental challenges are the ones being most affected by their impacts.
A 2002 study by Lehman College defines environmental injustice “as the disproportionate exposure of communities of color and the poor to pollution, and its concomitant effects on health and environment, as well as the unequal environmental protection and environmental quality provided through laws, regulations, governmental programs, enforcement, and policies” (1).
People in power are abusing minority communities across the nation in pursuit of profit and economic benefit.
Below are some environmental challenges that minority communities face:
Flint, Michigan, the country’s poorest city for its size, with 40 percent of people living below the poverty line, has not had access to clean water since 2014–when the city changed its source of water to spend less money. The water from this new source eroded the pipes in Flint, and the water that runs through these pipes has become heavily contaminated with lead.
Below are some of the impacts this has caused the people of Flint:
A CAFO is a factory farm that houses a huge amount of animals in a concentrated space. Many CAFOs have been known to have poor waste management and widespread use of pesticides. A majority of CAFOs are located in low-income communities, and with improper waste management, the manure runoff is affecting the community’s air and water.
Here are some of the impacts of living close to a CAFO:
Alabama has become a state known for its dumping grounds. It has over 173 operating landfills, which is more than three times the amount of New York City. Alabama’s Uniontown, which was built atop a graveyard in the 1800s, contains a 1,000-acre landfill, with trash being dumped from over 30 states. The people of Uniontown are suffering tremendously because of this pollution. Some of the impacts on the city include:
It is imperative that we pay attention to the people who are being affected by our daily actions. We must look at our system and understand the faults that lie within it. Our society has become driven by money and profits, while billions of people are suffering at the hands of large corporations and politicians. Below are ways we can collectively contribute to a cleaner, healthier planet:
Sources:
(1) https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/pdf/10.1289/ehp.02110s2161
(2) https://www.nrdc.org/stories/flint-water-crisis-everything-you-need-know
(3) https://www.sierraclub.org/michigan/why-are-cafos-bad
(4) https://grist.org/article/were-not-a-dump-poor-alabama-towns-struggle-under-the-stench-of-toxic-landfills/
(5) https://sraproject.org/factory-farms-destroy-communities/
Photo source: Jake May/The Flint Journal/AP
Illustration by: Ricardo Levins Morales
