Environmental justice is a movement that grew from the recognition of a disproportionate number of environmental burdens in certain communities. It works to ensure a healthy environment for all regardless of race, nationality, income, gender or age.
Environment: Definition
When you think about the environment, your mind might conjure up images of rambling rivers, peaceful woodlands or scenic mountains. However, a broader definition of
environment is the surroundings or conditions in which a person lives. By this definition, the environment would include your home, place of work, schools, and community parks. These are the places you spend your time, and they play a big role in your overall health, happiness and well-being.
Those involved in the movement called environmental justice feel that a healthy environment is a necessary component of a healthy life. In this lesson, we will learn about environmental justice and its efforts to make everyone's environment clean, safe and healthy.
Environmental Justice
The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. In other words, your health should not suffer because of the environment where you live, work, play or learn.
The concept of environmental justice began as a movement in the 1980s due to the realization that a disproportionate number of polluting industries, power plants, and waste disposal areas were located near low-income or minority communities. The movement was set in place to ensure fair distribution of environmental burdens among all people regardless of their background.
Environmental Justice Issues and Examples
Examples of environmental burdens that may be considered under the umbrella of environmental justice cover many aspects of community life. These burdens can include any environmental pollutant, hazard or disadvantage that compromises the health of a community or its residents. For instance, one of the environmental justice issues and examples is inadequate access to healthy food. Certain communities, particularly lower-income or minority communities, often lack supermarkets or other sources of healthy and affordable foods.
Another issue is inadequate transportation. While public transportation may be available in urban areas, policies must be monitored to avoid cuts in service and fare hikes that make it difficult for community residents to pursue employment or an adequate living standard.
Air and water pollution are major environmental justice issues. Because many lower-income or minority communities are located near industrial plants or waste disposal sites, air and water quality can suffer if not properly monitored.
These communities may also contain older and unsafe homes. Older homes are more likely to have lead-based paint that can chip and find its way into the dust and soil surrounding the home, leading to illness. These houses may also be prone to structural problems, mold or other hazards that put residents at higher risk of health problems.
OIL SPILLAGE IN NIGERIA NEEDS SERIOUS JUSTIFICATION
List of oil spillage impacts.
1. Human Health Risk
As much as it is sad to say or admit, a lot of people have suffered as a result of oil spillage in many different ways. Particularly, people who live near the banks of the Niger Delta are prone to these risks than any other. Oil definitely poisons the water and considering that people living there are mostly farmers that depend on it for their daily livelihood, it ends up affecting them health wise. As much as oil brings many benefits, the risks it poses to human life is devastating.
2. Damage To The Ecosystem
The impacts of oil pollution on the marine ecosystem can be categorized into long-term and short-term effects. Suffocation caused by oil spills and oil poisoning are among the first group. Oil spills reduce oxygen absorption of the water, causing oxygen dissolution under oil spills to be even less than the deep sea levels. The oil penetrates and opens up the structure of the plumage of birds, reducing its insulating ability, and so making the birds more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water. It also impairs birds? flight abilities, making it difficult or impossible to forage and escape from predators.
3. Health Hazard To The Aquatic Animals
We all understand what the marine nature offers to our society. Oil spillage causes so much damage to the aquatic animals. The spillage poisons the water and eventually leads to death of the animals that come to contact with the area affected by it.
4. Risk To Food Security
With poverty looming in some parts of the country, the oil spillage is making the situation even more critical. The spillages that occur on lands cause damage to the plants, poisons the soil and leads to poor farm produce which should be among the major source of foodstuff in the country.
5. Loss Of Aquatic Plants
There are several plants that play a very important role in the water bodies. The oil spillages sometimes get to the bottom and cause more harm to the aqua life. Some of the plants act as food to other species of aquatic animals. This generally leads to other poisonings that affect the entire ecosystem.
6. Depletion Of Fish Population
Fish has a special place in nature?s food chain, especially to humans. Considering the nutritional value of fish to the humans, playing a role in their depletion in a wasteful manner is the most unfortunate thing. Fishing is also one of the most profitable industries; taking good care not to destroy them has much more benefits to the society.
7. A Danger To The Wildlife In General
Wildlife is one of the major tourist attractions of the country, the wildlife should always be protected at all cost. Unfortunately, oil spillage plays a big role in destroying the wildlife. As the oil spillage poisons the water, most of the wildlife is affected as they all depend on it.
8. Pollutes The Air Leading To Other Illness.
It is known that oil has chemical gas that can get mixed up with the air we breathe. There are several cases reported that link to these chemicals. This effect can be fatal to individuals who are exposed to these chemicals.
9. Acid Rain
Acid rain is also another factor as the rainwater becomes corrosive and also pollutes the remaining water sources. This also affects the plants and soil in general. Acidic soil affects the plants negatively, plants don?t get enough nutrients leading to poor production.
10. Poverty
Poverty is a state that exists to be fought at all times and it can only be achieved with concentration. The major problem is that the oil spillage diverts money that would have been used to help eradicate poverty to other users like treating the affected areas.