What is Environmental Justice

1.

A political and academic process whose objective is to understand and remove the inequitable environmental burdens borne by groups and economically disadvantaged areas, and to promote a fair access to natural resources and ecosystem services. Learn more in: Expanding the Hydroinformatics Agenda: Information and Inequality behind Water Problems

2.

A theory that is used to explain the equitable and respectable treatment of all living and non-living things to include all human beings regardless of race, color, national origin, or income and the ecosystem. Learn more in: Ecotourism in Protected Areas: A Sustainable Development Framework

3.

Cases of human rights and the environment impacting each other. Learn more in: U.S. Public Support to Climate Change Initiatives?: Setting Stricter Carbon Dioxide Emission Limits on Power Plants

4.

This connotes the extent of environmental injustice in the placement of “disamenities” (or environmental bads). It is widely accepted that disamenity placement –whether in land, air, or water-should not be affected by race or ethnicity. The ultimate goal of environmental policy is to improve society and policy makers should concern itself with justice irrespective of race or ethnicity. Learn more in: Integrating Ecosystem Management and Environmental Media for Public Policy on Public Health and Safety

5.

Balanced action between the social and environmental dimensions of sustainability, associated with intra and intergenerational equity, seeking to balance the advantages between present and future generation. Learn more in: Alignment of Organizational Competence for Sustainability With Dimensions of the Triple Bottom Line

6.

Requires that no one group should disproportionately bear the burden of adverse health outcomes from environmental hazards simply on the basis of ethnic and racial background, geography and income. Each cohort and/or people group must be fairly represented in all environmental related decision-making processes – so as to prevent environmental discrimination. Environmental discrimination occurs when certain communities, because of their minority or disadvantage status, bear a higher burden of risk from environmental hazards without enjoying the benefits that are easily accessible to other groups. Learn more in: A Systems Approach for Sustainably Reducing Childhood Diarrheal Deaths in Developing Countries