Visualizing Environmental Science

36 CHAPTER 2 Sustainability and Human Values

Environmental justice is a fundamental

human right in an ethical society. Although

we may never completely eliminate past en-

vironmental injustices, we have a moral im-

perative to prevent them today so that their

negative effects do not disproportionately af-

fect any particular segment of society.

In response to these concerns, a growing environmen-

tal justice movement has emerged at the grassroots level

as a strong motivator for change. Advocates are calling for

special efforts to clean up hazardous sites in low-income

neighborhoods, from inner-city streets to Native American

reservations. On an international level, advocates of envi-

ronmental justice point out that industrialized countries

are obligated to help less- developed countries cope with cli-

mate change. These countries often suffer disproportion-

ately from the problems caused by climate change, while

it is the fossil fuel consumption in highly developed coun-

tries that is largely responsible for the changing climate.

1. What is environmental justice, and which
   communities are exposed to a disproportionate
   share of environmental hazards?

federal agencies consider environmental justice
as they make planning decisions. Nonetheless,
environmental injustice continues; throughout
the world, the poor tend to bear greater envi-
ronmental burdens than the wealthy. For exam-
ple, in oil-rich Nigeria, where per capita income
hovers around $2000 per year, people who live
around oil extraction and refining equipment are ex-
posed to elevated levels of air and water pollution on a
regular basis. Nigerians often face more environmental
downsides and fewer economic benefits from oil extrac-
tion than do wealthy people elsewhere in the world.

Environmental Justice and Ethical Issues

There is an increasing awareness that environmental
decisions such as where to locate a hazardous waste land-
fill have important ethical dimensions. The most basic
ethical dilemma centers on the rights of the poor and
disenfranchised versus the rights of the rich and power-
ful. Whose rights should have priority in these decisions?
Is it ethically just if environmental burdens and benefits
are not equally shared?
The challenge is to find and adopt solutions that
r espect all individuals, including those yet to be born.

environmental

justice The right

of every citizen to

adequate protection

from environmental

hazards.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Relate poverty and population growth to
   carrying capacity and global sustainability.


2. Discuss problems related to loss of forests and
   declining biological diversity.


3. Describe the extent of food insecurity.


4. Define enhanced greenhouse effect and explain
   how stabilizing climate is related to energy use.


5. Describe at least two problems in cities in the
   developing world.

T

here is no shortage of suggestions for ways to
address the world’s many environmental
problems. We have organized this section
around the five recommendations for
sustainable living presented in the 2006 book Plan B 2.0:
Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble

by Lester R. Brown. If we as individuals and collectively as

governments were to focus our efforts and financial

support on Brown’s plan, we think the quality of human

life would be much improved. Brown’s five recommenda-

tions for sustainable living are:

1. Eliminate poverty and stabilize the human population.


2. Protect and restore Earth’s resources.


3. Provide adequate food for all people.


4. Mitigate climate change.


5. Design sustainable cities.

Seriously addressing these recommendations offers

hope for the kind of future we want for our children and

grandchildren (ˆ}ÕÀiÊÓ°™).