Global Environmental Justice

The term “environmental justice” carries with it a sort of ambiguity. On the one hand, it refers to a movement of social activism in which those involved fight and argue for fairer, more equitable distribution of environmental goods and equal treatment of environmental duties. This movement is related to, and ideally informed by, the second use of the term, which refers to the academic discipline associated with legal regulations and theories of justice and ethics with regard to sustainability, the environment, and ecology. It is this latter, more academic—though vast and interdisciplinary—use of the term that is the subject of this essay. However, activists who pay careful attention to the arguments offered with regard to the political, legal, social, and philosophical treatments of these issues are potentially in a stronger position with regard to their own social movement. In that way, the two uses of the term may progress hand in hand. More broadly, however, the foundational claim about which both grassroots activists and legal, ethical, and policy advocates can agree is that environmental burdens—climate change, pollution, and their associated health risks—are borne disproportionately by the poorest and most vulnerable populations, and tend to have the greatest impact on racial and ethnic minorities, no matter where they are in the world. This is what makes the empirical questions about the environment a normative question about justice

Environmental justice

Environmental protection

Second Generation Environmental Justice: Challenges and Opportunities

Presenter: Rachel D. Godsil, Professor of Law, Seton Hall Law School 3 pages

Action on Global Warming: Making Room for Tribal Governments in the New Kind of Wedge Issue

Presenter: Dean B. Suagee, Of Counsel, Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker LLP, Washington, D.C. 1 page

Environmental Justice in Alaska

This article also appeared on p. 3 of the Summer 2018 print edition.Pamela Cravez, editor of the Alaska Justice Forum, gives an overview of articles in the Summer 2018 edition, which addresses environmental contaminants in Alaska, some of the programs in place to deal with them, and the lasting impact that they are having on Alaska Native communities

Summary of Presentation: Climate of Environmental Justice Conference

Presenter: Michael B. Gerrard, Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP, New York, NY 2 pages

The Co-Evolution of Sustainable Development and Environmental Justice: Cooperation, Then Competition, Then Conflict

This article explores sustainable development and environmental justice as potentially conflicting policy goals. Sustainable development includes equity as one of its five dimensions (in addition to environment, economy, time, and space), whereas environmental justice focuses principally on equity. Over time there is likely to be an increasing number of contexts in which sustainability-based policy solutions do not satisfy environmental justice advocates

AGENDA: The Climate of Environmental Justice: Taking Stock

On March 16-17, The Climate of Environmental Justice: Taking Stock conference gathered 125 academics and practitioners from around the country to consider the pressing issues facing low-income and/or communities of color that continue to be subjected to a disproportionate share of environmental maladies. Some people are more equal than others when it comes to bracing ourselves for the impacts of climate change, said conference organizer Professor Maxine Burkett. Whether it\u27s because poor folks lived in the lowest areas of New Orleans when Katrina floodwaters rushed in, or are less able to afford the cooling bill during increasingly frequent heat waves, impoverished communities and communities of color are really bearing the brunt of a more unstable climate. On the heels of the most recent findings on the urgency of the climate crisis, we’re looking forward to talking about its impacts on those who are most vulnerable. The environmental justice movement has long been concerned with the disproportionate impacts of pollution and industrial waste on poor communities, and climate change adds another dimension of urgency to the field. Twenty years ago, the concept of “environmental justice” emerged in force, and the conference will provide an opportunity to reflect on the impact of two decades of effort in the face of a largely hostile political arena. Specifically, the conference will seek to identify innovative legal and policy options to improve the conditions of low-income and/or communities of color that are most affected by inequitable environmental practices. On the evening of March 16, the keynote session included a talk by U.S. Representative Mark Udall (D-CO), who reflected on his introduction of environmental justice and climate change legislation in Washington, D.C. He was followed by Jerome Ringo, who emerged from the Bayous of Southern Louisiana to become the Chair of the National Wildlife Federation and President of the national Apollo Alliance. Then, Denver environmental law practitioner Willie Shepherd led a discussion about environmental justice issues in Colorado. On March 17, panels discussed the status of the environmental justice movement, new issues related to climate change, and potential policy solutions that will help environmental justice practitioners in the field move forward

Healing Earth, Helping Neighbors: Using Brownfield Remediation Projects to Advance Environmental Justice [outline]

Presenter: Willie Shepherd, Chairman and Co-Founder, Kamlet Shepherd & Reichert, LLP 2 pages. Presentation Outlin

Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Justice: The Impact of Climate Change

Presenter: Rebecca Tsosie, Professor of Law, Arizona State University 1 page