The environmental justice movement was started in the 1980s to promote the fair distribution of environmental risks among different communities. According to the article below, the movement is especially notable because it has a high rate of participation by minorities and by the economically disenfranchised (especially when compared to other environmental movements). Read the article, “Within mainstream environmentalist groups, diversity is lacking” by Darryl Fears for the Washington Post, March 24, 2013 (appended below). Use what you learn there and in additional independent research to answer the questions below. Remember to cite any other sources that you use.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/within-mainstream-environmentalist-groups-diversity-is-
lacking/2013/03/24/c42664dc-9235-11e2-9cfd-36d6c9b5d7ad_story.html
Use these sources (or others that you find during independent research) to augment your answers.
EPA Environmental Justice Homepage: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/index.html
Waterkeeper homepage: https://www.waterkeeper.org/
1. Write a thoughtful essay discussing participation of minorities in mainstream environmental movements. Do you think that the premise of the article is correct (that there are fewer minorities involved in the environmental movement than there should be)? What evidence does the article use? What other evidence would be useful in answering the question.
The subject of the article, Fred Tutman, is a “River Keeper.” What are the goals of the Water Keepers? Do you think that these goals would be of greater or lesser interest to minorities than other environmental issues? Explain your answer.
2. Why do you think participation by minorities in mainstream environmental movements occurs at the levels that it does? What educational. economic, cultural and social values may contribute to this?
3. How does the environmental justice movement differ from other environmental and conservation movements? Why do you think that this movement seems to attract more minority participation than others?
4. Do you think that the diversity (or relative lack of diversity) in the various conservation movements constitutes a problem? Why? What do you think would be a good idea to encourage minority participation in other parts of the environmental movement (or to encourage acceptance of minority participation by the establishment)?
5. Do some brainstorming and try to come up with some ideas to encourage participation in all types of environmental conservation by broader segments of society.