Inside Climate News. (2021, January 15). Will 2021 Be the Year for Environmental Justice Legislation? States Are Already Leading the Way. Retrieved August 9, 2021, from https://insideclimatenews.org/news/15012021/environmental-justice-in-2021-legislation/
This article discusses recent instances of environmental justice policies, specifically over the past few years. The article, published shortly before Biden’s inauguration, focuses heavily on a political stance rather than an environmental or social perspective, and expresses the various goals of the Biden administration regarding new environmental policies. The author mentions the differences between the policies of the Biden, Trump, and Obama administrations. Additionally, the author even hints at being more left-leaning, and expresses pressures from activists on trying to get Biden to follow through with his proposed policies.
This article was quite heavily politically focused, which I suppose makes sense given that politicians have lots of power regarding what happens to the environment. However, I would have appreciated the article more if it went into more depth about the social aspects of environmental justice as well, not just the political aspects. Although addressing the political stances and perspectives regarding environmental justice is beneficial, readers of the article should also be aware that environmental racism should not only be viewed through a political lens, but be viewed through an environmental and social justice lens as well.
Mio- I completely agree with your position on this. Environmental justice, and environmental health shouldn’t be and doesn’t have to be a political issue. And it hasn’t always been political. Do we no all have a vested stake in env. health? When it comes to social justice, or env. justice, that’s when I suppose more progressives are pushing action. Do you agree with that idea? Also, is environmental justice is something to be spearheaded by Wash. DC, or should this be more of a local thing? I think/hope you’ll find other articles without the political slant and know you’ve got a really interesting topic to follow.
I also agree with your point that environmental health should not be a political issue, and it is quite sad that it is. However, in our world today, it is hard for anything to not be considered political. How do you think that we would be able to create distinctions between what should be considered political and what should have a shared belief across everyone on what is morally correct? Obviously, this is very unrealistic, but how do you think that system would work.
Thank you both for reading! I would say that since environmental racism is such a pressing issue, and because the federal government holds so much power, it would be the best for DC to listen closely to local leaders to try and resolve the issue. In response to how we can distinguish what can be viewed as political and what shouldn’t, I agree that it’s pretty unrealistic to erase politicized views, but I think that most things related to science would be a good start in trying to stop politicizing.