Environmental Justice

Communities of color face more environmental exposures, which are associated and higher risk of several chronic diseases. 

Every class, we'll look for those who are most exposed and most at risk.

Read

• Frumkin, H. (Ed.). (2016). Environmental health: from global to local. John Wiley & Sons. 3rd Edition. Chapter 11 Environmental Justice and Vulnerable Populations, starting on page 251

• Frumkin (2016). Sections of Chapter 10: Environmental Health Ethics (Read from Justice section starting on page 235 – see discounting as a viewpoint on risk)

Learn more about Environmental Justice from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Watch:

• Unequal exposure (impact of pollution on children) (52 sec; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjPPkOlCnYY)

Read: 

• Gochfeld, M. & J. Burger.  Disproportionate exposures in environmental justice and other populations: the importance of outliers.  American Journal of Public Health. 2011 December; 101(Suppl 1): S53–S63. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300121 PMCID: PMC3222496 PMID: 21551384.  Link via NCBI

• Banzhaf, S., Ma, L., & Timmins, C. (2019). Environmental justice: The economics of race, place, and pollution. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33(1), 185-208. https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.33.1.185 

• Pellow, D. N. (2016). Toward a critical environmental justice studies: Black Lives Matter as an environmental justice challenge. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 13(2), 221-236. Link via escholarship

From CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR):

"Social vulnerability refers to the potential negative effects on communities caused by external stresses on human health. Such stresses include natural or human-caused disasters, or disease outbreaks. Reducing social vulnerability can decrease both human suffering and economic loss."

"CDC Social Vulnerability Index (CDC SVI) uses 15 U.S. census variables to help local officials identify communities that may need support before, during, or after disasters."

Explore Interactive Sites:

• CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index helps to identify communities at risk if/when disaster strikes: https://svi.cdc.gov/map.html

• Also, check out the CDC's new "Places" initiative (lots of interactive maps!)