Exam 2 Material Flashcards
environmental justice
fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of their race, color, national origin, or income concerning the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies
fair treatment
no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental, and commercial operations or policies
environmental injustice
idea that sources of environmental pollution are unequally distributed among different social groups and categories of people
environmental racism
a form of systemic racism where communities of color are disproportionately burdened with health hazards through policies and practices that force them to live in proximity to sources of toxic waste such as sewage works, mines, landfills, power stations, major roads, and emitters of airborne particulate matter
racial discrimination in environmental policy-making, enforcement of regulations and laws, the deliberate targeting of communities of color for toxic waste facilities, the official sanctioning and the history of excluding people of color from leadership of the ecology movements
precursor of environmental justice
1960s - Civil Rights Movement
individuals who wanted to address the inequity of environmental protections in their communities
Memphis Sanitation Strike`
Feb 11, 1968
strike against unfair treatment in environmental justice concerns in Memphis, Tennessee
investigated by MLK, Jr.
first broad-based national African American mobilization against environmental injustices
Bean v Southwestern Waste Management Corp
group of African American homeowners filed a lawsuit to block the Whispering Pines Sanitary Landfill from being located 1500 feet of a local public school (and within 2 miles of 6 public schools) charging environmental discrimination
it was unsuccessful but has significance for other cases around the country
Warren County, NC sit-in
Sept. 1982
sit-in to protest the construction of a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) landfill in Warren County, North Carolina
500+ activists arrested
seen as a catalyst for the EJ movement
April 1983, Dr. Bullard’s EJ findings
found that African American neighborhoods in Houston were often chosen for toxic waste sites
5 city-owned garbage dumps
80% of city-owned garbage incinerators
75% of privately owned landfills were sited in black neighborhoods
General Accounting Office (GAO) Conducts Study
June 1983
empirical evidence for claims of a correlation between hazardous waste landfill location and race and economic status in 8 South-Eastern states
United Church of Christ Commission on Racial Justice (UCC) released toxic waste in the United States
found that 15 million African Americans, 8 million Hispanics, and 50% of all Asian/Pacific Islanders and Native Americans live in communities with abandoned or uncontrolled toxic waste sites
first to address race, class, and environment at the national level
1990 Dumping in Dixie
first book that documented environmental injustices in the US
First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit (Washington D.C.)
October 1991
17 Principles of Environmental Justice adopted
serves as a template for national and international movements
NIMBYism
“not in my backyard”
Justice 40 Initiative
exec order 14008 (Jan 2021)
exec order 14096 (April 2023)
the US government has created the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of Federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments go to disadvantaged communities
EPA Administrator Creates the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council
Sept 1993
a federal advisory council focusing on EJ issues that holds public meetings around the country
Executive Order 12898 (President Clinton)
federal actions to address environmental justice in minority populations and low-income populations
directed federal agencies to take into consideration how programs policies and other activities impact human health and environmental impacts on minority and low-income populations
Brulle and Pellow (2006) arguments
they stated that trying to definitively prove one of the other misses the larger point that environmental injustices deserve more research focus and efforts at change
this controversy led to a refining methodological and conceptual approaches for analyzing environmental injustice
debates within EJ
lack of statistical measures, varying individual exposure levels, lengthy incubation periods, confounding influences on health (health care and individual behaviors)
local struggles of EJ
the community level is where the struggles for EJ have had the most impact
waste incinerators and landfills in LA & Chicago, power plants in South Gate and San Jose California, as well as oil refineries in San Diego were all forced out of business by the local communities
institutional building and cultural impacts of EJ
the EJ movement has built up local organizations and regional networks and partnerships with existing organizations such as churches, schools, neighborhood groups, and cooperatives
National Environmental Policy
EJ movement has been successful at impacting environmental policy at national and state levels of government
but often these policies are either too specific or very general and aren’t good at bringing about substantial and long-term environmental equality
Globalization and EJ
impact of globalization and transnational capitalism have undermined local attempts to regulate environmental and public health concerns
neoliberalism and EJ
as a theory of political economic practice that posits that humanity’s well-being can be advanced by liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills
the institutional framework that best facilitates these political and economic practices is characterized by strong private property rights, a self-regulating market, and free trade
the appropriate, and only, role of the government, according to this theory, is to guarantee the proper functioning of such markets
institutional racism
discrimination or unequal treatment based on the membership in a particular ethnic group (typically one that is minority or marginalized), arising from systems, structures, or expectations that have become established within an institution or organization
Peggy McIntosh (1988)
defined white privilege as an unearned race advantage
where do we find our drinking water
3% of the water on earth is freshwater
28% ground water
0.8% in the lakes
0.1% in the atmosphere
0.001% in rivers
rest in icesheets
groundwater
water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock
38% of drinking water in the US comes from ground water
50% of drinking water in the world comes from ground water
70% of ground water withdrawn around the world and US is used for agriculture
water scarcity
28 countries (Middle East and North Africa) are water scarce
less than 100 cubic meters of water per person per year
1 cubic meter = 264.172 US gallons
how much water do we use?
the average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day at home
roughly 70% of this use occurs indoors
water security
44 countries in the world depend on other countries for more than 50% of their water
water footprint
measures the amount of water used to produce each of the goods and services we use
is also a measure of humanity’s appropriation of fresh water in volumes of water consumed and/or polluted
The Water Footprint Network
quantifies the water footprint per capita in the US as 7,800 liters per day
7,800 liters = 2060.542 gallons
global water use
86% agriculture
10% industry
4% domestic use
water demand is increasing at a rate of 2% per year
pulses
dried seeds of the legume plants
global water use for types of food
1 cubic meter = 1 kg of pulses, roots, tubers
6 cubic meters = 1 kg of poultry
15 cubic meters = 1 kg of beef
issues impacting our water supply
increase in population
changing diets - increased meat consumption
climate change
pollution
water pollution
any change in water quality that can harm living organisms or make the water unfit for human uses such as drinking, irrigation, or recreation
point source pollution
a single identifiable source of air, water, noise, or light pollution
e.g., pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, dredge spoil
nonpoint source pollution
comes from many diffuse sources
e.g., nitrogen from agricultural and residential fertilizers, oil in parking lots
point source or nonpoint source pollution, which have been more successful to reduce?
point source pollution
sources of pollution
agricultural - sediment erosion, fertilizers, pesticides, bacteria from livestock and food-processing waters
industrial facilities
mining
untreated wastewater
costs of industrial agriculture
nitrogen and phosphorous contamination, persistent organic pollutants (DDT, DDD, hexachlorobenzene), soil erosion, loss of biodiversity (tropics), climate change (massive energy required, methane released), human health (obesity, heart disease, cancer, new pathogens), farm consolidation and decline of small rural towns
why is our food production system so flawed?
centralization (farm consolidation) increases profit
government policies - agricultural subsidies ($26.4 B), corn and soybeans ($7 B), “healthy” veggies ($0 but more jobs), energy policy (fossil fuels, biofuels), transportation infrastructure (highways, locks, and dams on major rivers, ports)
eutrophication
non-point source water pollution
fertilizers running into lakes and rivers cause algal blooms
sacrifice zones
places where multiple negative impacts converge, and people cannot adapt
may be created by: external costs of economic transactions, public policies, environmental injustice (including racism or discrimination)
Gulf Coast “Sacrifice Zone”
dead zone
canalization and land loss
climate change - sea level rise, stronger hurricanes (Katrina, 2005)
BP oil spill (2010)
Isle De Jean Charles, Louisiana
another “dead zone”
sea levels rising, flooding
According to the book Silent Spring, insecticide pollution in humans:
a) Is justifiable if it eliminates insect pests
b) Is nothing to worry about
c) Can be easily seen
d) Can be invisible
d) Can be invisible
In Silent Spring, Rachel Carson claimed that:
a) Fisherman have put toxic chemicals in the water to control undesirable species
b) Insecticides like DDD and DDT accumulate in fish and birds
c) Toxic chemicals can migrate underground and contaminate drinking water wells
d) After DDD was put into Clear Lake, it eventually disappeared from the water
e) All of the above
e) All of the above
how does the Clean Water Act addresses non-point source pollutants
it didn’t really do anything, they left it up to the States to decide how they wanted to address it
The agency responsible for implementing the Clean Water Act is the:
a) Department of the Interior
b) Environmental Protection Agency
c) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
d) Fish and Wildlife Service
b) Environmental Protection Agency
Nitrogen from agriculture leading to excessive growth of phytoplankton in the Gulf of Mexico is a problem because:
a) phytoplankton clogs the drills on oil rigs
b) the EPA cannot regulate agricultural runoff as a point source pollutant
c) no fish can eat phytoplankton
d) fish that eat the phytoplankton remove the oxygen from the water
b) the EPA cannot regulate agricultural runoff as a point source pollutant
A company building a factory that will discharge mercury into a river is required to:
a) remove all mercury before discharging water
b) apply for a point source permit to discharge the allowable amount of mercury
c) apply for a non-point source permit to discharge mercury
d) pay the EPA the estimated external cost of discharging all of the mercury
b) apply for a point source permit to discharge the allowable amount of mercury
Nitrogen from fertilizer that runs off a farmer’s field into the Mississippi River when it rains is considered:
a) beneficial to the fish in the river
b) beneficial to fish in the Gulf of Mexico
c) a point source pollutant
d) a nonpoint source pollutant
d) a nonpoint source pollutant
what environmental problem does Carson talk about
water pollution due to pesticides and things like DDD/DDT which was used to kill gnats but ended up killing lots of birds and fish as a byproduct (unintended consequence)
when did the pollution of large volumes of synthetic chemicals begin?
In the 1940s, after WWII
how does this pollution happen (Carson Silent Spring)?
Chemicals designed to control insects, rodents, and weeds that then end up in water, soil, groundwater, etc.
how did chemists explain the finding of 2,4-D in Colorado? What does this imply?
Weed killers in holding ponds mixed with water, sunlight, and air (no human intervention) formed by themselves and became very fatal and chemically damaging to plant life
What does the finding in 1960 that dead birds at Tule Lake and Lower Klamath, CA (both national wildlife refuges) demonstrate for us?
Even a little pesticide remains in the food chain long after usage is stopped and can cause the death of birds that eat the fish that contain the pesticide in them. Protected lands don’t mean that they are safe.
water must be thought of in terms of the chains of life that it supports
What two lessons can we take from the story of Clear Lake, CA?
Even if poisons are introduced in small amounts in water and even if that water can test negative for pollutants, the animals and plant life that depend on this can have increasing concentrations of these chemicals in them, as we move up the food chain
Clean Water Act
restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters
sets standards for water quality and pollutants from industry and municipal sewage
requires permits to discharge point source pollution
permit violations are subject to EPA fines of up to $25,000 per day
Section 404 requires permits for disposal of dredge or fill material in the nation’s waters, including wetlands
provides funding to states and communities for sewage systems and enforcement
later amended to encourage states to address non-point source pollutants
Clean Water Act Success & Shortcomings
successes - reduced pollutants discharge from factories and municipal water systems, raw sewage removed from most (not all) rivers, many wetlands preserved
shortcomings - largely fails on non-point source pollution, cannot mitigate wetland loss from climate change
biodiversity
encompasses the diversity of all living things, from human beings to micro-organisms, the diversity of all the habitats in which they live and the genetic diversity of individuals within a species
refers to the variety of life on Earth at all its levels, from genes to ecosystems, and can encompass the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural processes that sustain life
why do we need biodiversity?
supports food security (rice, wheat, maize, etc.)
medicines - plant species and non-plant species (ziconotide - venom of cone snails)
industrial materials (building materials, fibers, dyes, resins, oil, etc.)
ecological services / maintaining functioning ecosystems
leisure, cultural and aesthetic value
utilitarian argument for protecting biodiversity
because it has utility for humans
what is the ethical argument for protecting biodiversity
other species have the right to exist regardless of whether nature has any utility for humans or not
extinction
the end of a species
part of the process of evolution
the pruning of species allowing space for others to develop
speciation
the creation of new species
extinction background rate
natural rate of extinction
estimates typically agree that it’s 100 to 10,000 times background rates
mass extinction
a short period of geological time in which a high percentage of biodiversity, or distinct species – bacteria, fungi, plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates – die out
today, scientists say we are witnessing the sixth mass extinction in our planet’s history
mass extinctions
- End Ordovician (444 mya) - 86% of species lost
- Late Devonian (360 mya) - 75% of species lost
- End Permian (250 mya) - 96% of species lost
- End Triassic (200 mya) - 80% of species lost
- End Cretaceous (66 mya) - 75% of species lost
threats to biodiversity
habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive alien species, pollution, climate change, over exploitation
are current extinction rates normal?
Absolutely not! Extinction rates are occurring faster than they have been in the past
The Endangered Species Act has been used to:
a. stop a wind energy project
b. save the California Condor
c. help bald eagle populations recover
d. all of the above
d. all of the above
Taking species out of their natural habitat to save them from extinction is:
a. anthropocentric
b. allowable under the ESA if developing the natural habitat will create jobs
c. illegal under the Endangered Species Act
d. ex-situ conservation
d. ex-situ conservation
Arguments against the Endangered Species Act (ESA) include:
a. species extinction is a natural process and the ESA violates the laws of nature
b. it interferes with other pro-environmental projects like wind energy
c. it has failed to protect species
d. it has led to a proliferation of lawsuits
e. all of the above
c. it has failed to protect species
what are some threats to biodiversity
water pollution, habitat destruction, ocean acidification, glacier melting, global warming, etc
utilitarian argument for protecting biodiversity
we need to save the environment because it has use to humans
ethical argument for protecting biodiversity
everything deserves the right to live
ESA (Endangered Species Act)
targets species that are endangered or diminishing in numbers and tries to protect their homes to allow the species to recover in numbers
passed in Dec 28, 1973
overseen by Fish and Wildlife Services and the National Marine Fisheries Services
how does the ESA define endangered or threatened species?
assessment of their risk of extinction and how much of their natural habitat is left
who is responsible for listing endangered species?
Secretary of Interior
What is uplisting and downlisting?
up-listing: when a species goes from threatened to endangered
down-listing: when a species goes from endangered to threatened, to stable
what is a critical habitat?
an area where a species lives or would be most suited to live
distinct from a park or reserve
important because the ESA can more listed species to these protected areas to help their population
controversies of the ESA
economic value of species and habitats
supported mostly by urban and suburban populations
job loss
has the ESA been effective?
yes and no
they have only stabilized few species and many have gone extinct
however, those few that were stabilized is a sign of small success
why does deforestation matter?
impacts ecosystems, climate (trees absorb carbon dioxide), infectious diseases, biodiversity, indigenous people (EJ), soil erosion
biome
area of the planet which can be classified according to the plant and animal life in it
3 types of biomes
temperate, tropical, boreal
temperate biome
NA and Eurasia
temperatures vary with seasons
abundant precipitation
supports diverse flora and fauna
tropical biome
near equator in SE Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Central America
temperatures vary between 68-88 degrees F
abundant biodiversity