Here is a preview of my piece on environmental racism:
“Going green” in the United States means, “buy expensive new technology”, an inaccessible and non inclusive solution that almost defines the phrase, “bandaid on a bullet wound”. Discussions that involve climate change, deforestation, and environmental issues tend to stay focused on solutions such as water and natural resource conservation. It is rare that the media will publicize anything more on the state of the environment than criticism on the White House’s new policies or Tesla’s latest invention. Organizations like PETA and activist events like the 2017 “Science March” push for change in ways that surround the upper middle class, white perspective, saying that things like pollution are bad because they hurt “the animals”, the ozone, or the future, never admitting to or realizing that in many communities of color, across America, people are facing similar injustices today. This focus contributes greatly to burying the issue of environmental racism. Oxford dictionary defines this term as, “Racial discrimination in the development and implementation of environmental policy, especially as manifested in the concentration of hazardous waste disposal sites in or near areas with a relatively large ethnic minority population.” Solutions concerning environmental degradation need to better address the harsh realities of corporate America’s negative impact on air, water, and public health within communities of color.
My final essay came after an outline and two drafts. To complete this, I completed hours upon hours of research where I gathered information on the roots of environmental racism. To read more, check out my drafts below!