Environmental Justice Is Social Justice

Environmental Justice Is Social Justice

This is the first in a series of articles on environmental justice.

by Audrey Dunn

For decades, just one road connected Wilmington’s Love Grove neighborhood to the rest of town. Trains blocked the road four to five times per day for up to fifteen minutes at a time, trapping residents on one side or the other. The community advocated for itself for five years before Wilmington approved the plan to construct the Love Grove Memorial Bridge, which now provides the neighborhood with a second access point to the rest of Wilmington. Love Grove residents are predominantly Black.

Lacking access to goods and services isn’t just an example of social injustice, it is also environmental injustice.

Just north of us in Duplin and Sampson counties, rural residents bear the health impacts of severe air, water, and soil pollution caused by living amongst the highest density of swine factory farms in the world. Those same counties also contain the highest proportion of Latinx people in North Carolina and higher than average Black populations.

Being exposed to inordinate amounts of pollution in your own home is environmental injustice.

After Hurricane Florence, Wilmington’s Northside received recovery support only after other wealthier, predominantly white neighborhoods had their power turned back on and their streets cleaned. Wilmington’s Northside is predominantly Black and the average annual income is $14–17,000.

Waiting longer for public services is environmental injustice.

Heavy metals contaminated New Hanover County’s Sutton Lake when Hurricane Florence caused Duke Energy’s inadequately stored coal ash (a hazardous waste created by coal combustion) to wash into the lake. Anglers living in nearby communities like Flemington, located off 421, continue to fish out of Sutton Lake to feed themselves and their families. Flemington is located only half a mile away from the Duke power plant and just down the road from the county’s landfill and recycling center; the area is also industry heavy. Flemington is a low wealth community with a high proportion of Latinx people.

Experiencing food insecurity and living in a blighted neighborhood are environmental injustices.

The water that flows out of the taps of over 300,000 North Carolinians living downstream of Fayetteville’s Chemours facility is polluted with GenX and other PFAS chemicals linked to cancer and other diseases. Purchasing an expensive, in-home filtration system is unaffordable for many. Spending extra time and money buying bottled water is also out of the question for some. With no other option available, low-income residents are forced to drink carcinogenic water.

Lacking access to safe drinking water is environmental injustice.

It is no coincidence that in every instance, people of color and of low income are the ones enduring these hardships. To look beyond Southeast North Carolina would be to find more of the same. To look back in time would be to find more of the same. Environmental injustice is borne today by the same groups of people who have been historically disempowered, disenfranchised, and dispossessed. And it is no accident. Those in power, those of power, have created a system that benefits themselves at the cost of other people’s health, well-being, and lives. Robert Bullard, known as the Father of Environmental Justice, has a famous quote: “When you start peeling the onion and uncovering layers and layers of inequity that have been subsidized by government, it makes a lot of people uncomfortable.”

The environmental movement is only just beginning to recognize and act on the fact that issues of racism, classism, and segregation run parallel to issues of pollution, vulnerability, and unequal protection. That a person’s zip code indicates their well-being and lifespan. That protecting people and the environment go hand-in-hand.

Environmental Justice is the idea that “all people and communities have a right to equal protection and equal enforcement of environmental laws and regulations.” Cape Fear River Watch is committed to centering environmental justice in their work and to uplifting the voices of those whose well-being is negatively impacted by their environment. The Wilmington-based environmental nonprofit has started a new initiative, their Environmental Justice Civic Engagement Program, in partnership with the New Hanover County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The program will be guided by the perspectives and experiences of people of color and those most impacted by environmental issues, amplifying their concerns and challenges related to environmental justice, educating and training community leaders and students to better take on these challenges, and building momentum for a lasting effort to effect the change they want to see. Cape Fear River Watch and the NAACP will start holding listening sessions this fall.

“If we strive to eliminate racism and classism, as well as pollution and environmental degradation, then we are doing what we can to make sure communities are sustainable and livable. It takes a lot of work; it’s not a sprint. But it’s achievable if we view it as important.” – Robert Bullard

If you are interested in learning more, getting involved, or participating in a listening session, please email audrey@cfrw.us.

Audrey Dunn is the Outreach & Programs Officer at Cape Fear River Watch. She is passionate about working towards a healthy, sustainable, and just world for all.