Environmental Justice

The fight for environmental justice is the process by which communities are challenging the structural inequalities where they live, work and play that negatively impact their health and well being. These battles regularly, but not exclusively seek to create communities that are free from environmental toxins, seek redress for any environmental inequalities suffered, and seek to have equal access to environmental goods, such as green space, public transportation and nutritious/affordable food.

It is no mere coincidence that many of the toxic waste sites and heavy industrial factories that spew harmful chemicals into the air, water and human bodies of those living nearby are located disproportionately in low-income communities and communities of color. For example, right here in Richmond, CA (where 82% of the people are listed as "minorities" by the U.S. census), local residents are organizing to prevent the expansion of Chevron's second largest oil refinery, already rated as one of the dirties facilities in the nation (see below for more info on the Richmond Chevron refinery). This kind of environmental racism is prevalent in thousands upon thousands of localities around the world, as powerful corporations site their most destructive and polluting facilties in economically oppressed communities that struggle against systemic racism, oppression, and political disenfranchisement. Thus, a strong international alliance in the battle for environmental justice has emerged, bringing together environmentalists, labor advocates, economic development advocates, indigenous rights organizations, church groups, racial justice advocates, and many others to fight for environmental justice. Local acts of resistance are supported by the strengthening of local/global linkages of civil-society networks and alliances, international boycotts, and legal battles, as communities assert their right to live in environments free from industrial toxins and environmental racism.

For more information on the struggle for environmental justice in Richmond, CA, please see http://west.actforclimatejustice.org/ and http://truecostofchevron.com. Planting Justice co-founder Gavin Raders has also published his research on the fight for the right to clean water and the struggle against water privatization in India, which you can read here: