Lamb, Keith. “China’s Never-Ending Quest for Environmental Justice.” 404, GNTN, 13 Nov. 2020, news.cgtn.com/news/2020-11-13/China-s-never-ending-quest-for-environmental-justice-VmyYrlkuXK/index.html. 

In the pursuit of profit, heavy pollution in China has damaged its citizens lungs and caused irreversible damage to their environment. The US and other western countries have been largely critical of China and this issue, however, many Chinese scholars and the CPC (The Communist Party of China) have blamed these same countries for polluting developing countries by placing their industries there (ironically China is guilty for the same thing, but this is a good point overall). Despite being the leading country in pollution, they are also leading the way for green technology, the Chinese President Xi Jinping and the CPC have expressed their environmental concern, making it a priority to help “achieve global biodiversity goals” said Xi Jinping at a United Nations Summit in October 2020. With China’s track record, you should be concerned if this is all talk with no real action being taken, yet, from 2017 to 2018, they have become a country committed to recycling and have completely uprooted their prior way of living, and citizens are embracing this new way of living. Their ecological protection programs have even lifted three million people out of poverty.

It is a fact that China has been the most dedicated country and the most successful country in their pursuit of a green carbon-neutral economy. And the CPC brings up a great point of how western governments and culture beg and always talk about environmental justice and climate change, but don’t look at how those countries are the same ones that are causing irreversible pollution to lesser developed nations. While China does this too, they bring into the conversation western superiority complexes, and how we often don’t blame ourselves for polluting other areas while we cry and whine for climate and social justice. This injustice has to be recognized there is to be any sort of global cooperation on this topic.

 “The Evolving Landscape of Environmental Justice in 2020 and Beyond.” The National Law Review, The National Law Review, 30 Oct. 2020, www.natlawreview.com/article/evolving-landscape-environmental-justice-2020-and-beyond. 

They start off by mentioning how environmental justice is starting to “take center stage” in the US as well as many parts of the world as we are starting to see the effects of the covid pandemic, and presidential campaigns. The US is currently experiencing the most progressive environmental justice push since the Civil Rights Movements in the 1960’s. Biden’s priority throughout his term is environmental justice, as he wants to establish a division in the government dedicated to this , as well as implement Cory Booker’s Environmental Justice Act of 2019. Many states have also, on their own, enacted specific climate laws. Like New Jersey who just made it a law in September that requires permits to submit an “Environmental Justice Impact Statement” that evaluates their impact on the environment and public health stressors on “overburdened communities”. Lots of what needs to be done is difficult to do as this topic doesn’t have grassroots connections to federal stature, as it remains difficult to define, however it is understood that when these acts are passed, good things come from it.

I think all of this development is great, the groundbreaking New Jersey law is a model for future action to take place. However, my issue with all of this talk about impacts and how ‘X law needs to be passed by 2030 or we are all doomed” is not being taken seriously. Most of this talk is very vague and people tip toe around the conversation because there is going to have to be drastic action taken, whether it’s now or later. There needs to be an understanding and acceptance of the fact that there people will have to compromise and cooperate now or there will be even more resources and money dedicated to this in the future. With environmental justice being talked about more, it brings to the table conversation about race, income, regulations, policies, implementation and more that all surround climate as it covers a ton of ground. This means that taking care of the climate should be a top priority as it contributes and affects everything in our day to day lives.

“Call for Applications: Environmental Justice Legal Fellowship, Kenya.” Natural Justice, Natural Justice, 10 Sept. 2020, naturaljustice.org/job/call-for-applications-environmental-justice-legal-fellowship-kenya/. 

This is an application for a non-profit organization, started in 2009 called Natural Justice that resides in Kenya, helping to support communities in decisions that “affect their land, culture and environment”, by helping then get involved and participate in these decisions on creating opportunities that allow for this conversation. They have put an emphasis on using the law, like paralegals, to make law and policy submissions and other legal advice. They want to “secure rights to their lance, resources and knowledge”, as the government and other private companies have been abusing their land.

I think that this is a really healthy and great way to get the word out that environmental justice is essential, and by being a grassroots organization that works with communities, NGOs and government agencies in Kenya, they are excelling in their work by focusing on environmental and human rights. They are looking for young Kenyan professionals, which is great for building grassroots and trust in communities, where they may not have the power or ability to speak for themselves.

Belal, Filzah. “INDIA’S DRAFT EIA NOTIFICATION 2020 ERODES ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.” Fordham Environmental Law Review, 9 Aug. 2020, news.law.fordham.edu/elr/2020/08/09/indias-draft-eia-notification-2020-erodes-environmental-justicethe-draft-environment-impact-assessment-eia-notification-2020-2020-notification-is-an-example-of-diminish/. 

The Indian Draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) excludes the public from environmental democracy, showing the subpar standards and execution of environmental law and justice. The 2020 Notification “exempts ‘strategic projects’ from public hearing”, “strategic projects” are controlled by the Central Government, this means that they can protect certain plans. Thus allowing private companies to hoard and exploit resources with checks and balances from the public. In the Vizag gas leak, they were manufacturing a lethal gas that didn’t have an environmental clearance. Another company, dangerously, hired untrained employees to save costs, which ended up in a deadly coal blast that killed one person and injured four others. This, of course, happened without public knowledge, which begs the question; what other illegal shortcuts are being taken that the people and the UN don’t know about, that leads to death and sabotaging other countries that are trying to cut down on their emissions.

By ostracizing the people from being able to make public decisions, they are in direct conflict with the EIA process, and by extension the UN, as India is encroaching on its indigenous population and their lands without consent. This is especially problematic as India is one of the worst countries in carbon emissions output, and are one of the leading countries in their environmental impact, and they have not done much to counteract this. The Indian government have “turned a blind eye” to selfish private entities, allowing them to continue to take advantage of the system by having a “Grow Now, Sustain Later” attitude that encourages the government to restrict and eliminate protections. This leads to violating local citizens, a lack of accountability, and not even upholding the most basic of environmental protections.

Evangeliou, Dean. Indigenous Climate Justice in Canada, Climate Reality, 27 Aug. 2020, www.climatereality.ca/blog/indigenous-climate-justice-in-canada. 

For Canada, Climate Justice means Indigenous Justice. Indigenous lives, culture and traditions are inherently tied to the land, this means that they are immediately impacted by the effects of climate change. They rely on water for life, fishing and farming, and this is a big issue because they have less access to water. This is further exacerbated as “the Crown” (the article is a bit unclear, but it mentions the British Crown, it is just confusing as this is Canada) want to put in a Coastal GasLink pipeline across the Wet’suwet’en lands. These lands are considered to be owned by no one so this justifies this “dirty energy” pipeline that will spill oil onto native territory which is detrimental to their survival and will contribute to Canada’s crippling climate crisis. This is a critical connection with climate justice to indigenous justice, as well as addressing colonial wrongdoings. In 2015, a Liberal government was voted in, with promises of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, however this has been few and far between, with minimal attempts in protecting Native lands.

All around the world, environmental justice means different things for different areas and countries. In the US climate justice is often associated with racial justice, for Canada it has a stronger association with their Indigenous people like the Métis and Inuit people. Canada has taken some steps towards patching up this relationship and contributing to their climate change decline by passing the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Report and by incorporating the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP), however this is basically the extent of what they have done. And while it is a start, I think it’s kind of pathetic that all they have done in the past five years is to pass two pieces of legislation and a sort-of apology for their historical mistakes and wrongdoings. This natural gas pipeline is also not a good look on the Canadian Government, they invested $6.6 billion dollars into it. $6.6 billion dollars that could have been invested into green energy, so this is a big disappointment, and a massive failure in their climate justice case.

Times, The New York. “Blazes Scorch Habitats for Endangered Species.” Dailypress.com, 17 Sept. 2020, www.dailypress.com/life/pets/sns-nyt-wildfires-scorch-endangered-species-habitats-20200917-7dxp3gbl6neulmzukezwz4hnvu-story.html. 

This article focuses on the threat the wildfires posed to native species in their long-term survival in California and the west coast. The fires destroyed critical breeding grounds, and it’s estimated that 30% – 70% of birds were killed, and now the rest don’t have a safe place to hide and raise their young. Another issue this causes is that this land is going to take years to be able to recover, and with lackluster laws that don’t support the environment and the Federal Government that doesn’t want to send aid, it will be even more difficult. 

While briefly mentioned, I thought it was important to note that millions of people across California were also affected by electrical poles being burned and there were reported cases of the wires falling on people and houses. These fires need to be responded with harsh and intense laws, critical to serving environmental justice, if we have a chance of recovery, Gavin Newsom has reported that this was in the works, but nothing substantial has been produced, as it was highlighted that the Federal Government was unwilling to corporate and sending the message that everything will sort itself out. However, that will prove to be wrong, as some of these native species don’t have long till they could be extinct as a repercussion of the fires. Our native species and animals also deserve justice.

Trent, Steve. “Fire, Floods, Famine: When Will We Act on Climate?” Environmental Justice Foundation, 22 Sept. 2020, ejfoundation.org/news-media/fire-floods-famine-when-will-we-act-on-climate. 

In this article, the Environmental Justice Foundation states that the wildfires that happened in California were a product from years of mismanagement and thinking that we have years left before we are in real danger. But that is clearly not the case. Four million acres were burned in California alone, 35 people died in them, entire towns were burnt to ash and six fires this year have set new records for the worst fires in our history. They also point out that these fires are now a real threat to cities and not only endanger the poor but also the rich.

Usually when environmental justice is being talked about, there is a focus on how to help disadvantaged communities, but these fires showed that everyone is in danger and no one is safe. This season showed that the blazes were incredibly difficult to put out, but another danger revealed itself, displaying that smoke from the fires affects not just the state of California but those surrounding it, and has the potential to cause health problems to some people for years to come. This year is also especially difficult because of the added difficulty of the virus, making the lives of those who had lost their homes to be even more tragic.

“U.S. Government to Demolish Buildings at Contaminated California Nuclear Test Site.” Edited by Grant McCool, U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 20 May 2020, www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2020-05-20/us-government-to-demolish-buildings-at-contaminated-california-nuclear-test-site. 

After decades of nuclear, rocket fuel and liquid metal testing, the Trump Administration said that they are planning on the removal of ten radioactive buildings at the U.S. government’s former Santa Susana Field Laboratory located in the northwest corner of Los Angeles which opened in the late 1940’s. This decision from the Trump Administration is part of an environmental legacy left over from nuclear and government research from the cold war, as well as concerns for the upcoming fire season (this article was from late May) that could pose a threat “on and off the Santa Susana site”. Gavin Newsom says that the surrounding communities are excited for this “cleanup”.

This is a somewhat shocking but good plan of action from the Trump Administration. In the 60’s an experimental sodium-cooled unit experienced a core meltdown, making the surrounding area to become very dangerous, and resulted in many lawsuits. The radioactivity from this site has a good chance at damaging the health, and possibly the cells, of humans, animals and marine life as LA is obviously near the ocean. While much of the damage is done, this is a great step forward in environmental justice for the surrounding community, as well as great strides towards other building that pose threats in other areas of the state and country.

Greenaction Team. “Bayview Hunters Point Says: WE CAN’T BREATHE! Protest.” Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, 10 Aug. 2020, greenaction.org/2020/08/10/bayview-hunters-point-says-we-cant-breathe-protest/. 

This is a flyer from a group based in San Francisco called “Greenaction”, they are a group that mobilizes community power to change corporate and government policies that help promote environmental, social and economic justice and to help protect the health of marginalized communities. This is an organized socially distant protest at Bayview Hunters Point on August 25 to “stop environmental racism”, specifically pollution and displacement, cleaning up toxic and radioactive waste at the Shipyard in Hunters point and other contaminated areas in the Bay Area, and lastly to stop upscale developments that would directly impact people of color.

I think that we live in an entitled bubble where we think that a lot of this stuff we hear on the news could never affect us, like radioactive waste being dumped in San Francisco. That is something that I never thought of, I thought that “we were better” than that, and that is why I think this group of activists is so important. They are bringing awareness to the injustices that are happening to the environment where we have grown up in, and showing the government that the people are serious and will force better laws to be made to help the future.

Dooley, Emily C. “Environmental Justice Becomes Part of California City Planning.” Bloomberg Law, 27 Aug. 2020, news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/environmental-justice-becomes-part-of-california-city-planning. 

In 2018 California became the first state that passed a law requiring local governments to add an environmental justice element to their general plans if they add two or more aspects. This means that over 140 local governments and cities are adding environmental justice goals and laws to plans, where some haven’t been changed since the 1970’s. Poor communities, and communities with a high population of African American and Latino residents are disproportionately abused and taken advantage of when it comes to air, soil and water contamination, often bearing more of the burden when it comes to pollutants.  

This is a monumental step towards solving the climate crisis, and governments are now realizing that in order to do that they need to solve this issue of abusing disadvantaged communities and systemic racism. However as great of a step this is, it unfortunately has no authority to enforce this part of the general plan requirements. The state can send letters stating that a local government has to “specify” how they are going to help, and send letters to make sure they are meeting standards, they just can’t enforce. As exciting as this seems, taking a step back, government’s can just outline what they want to do but then just not follow through, making this law somewhat empty besides maybe putting political pressure on other states to do the same.