LibGuides: One Book 2023-2024: Environmental Justice &amp; No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies: A Lyric Essay: Intersectionality and Environmental Justice

The Intersections of Environmentalism & Social Justice

"To accept that we live under the same sky is to reject the dominant U.S. approach to environmental risk, which has been to shunt off the pollution by-products of industry into what's known as 'sacrifice zones.' For nearly fifty years, grassroots activists living in these 'sacrifice zones' - Richmond, California; Ocala, Florida; South Bronx, New York; Youngstown, Ohio, and many more - have been proving how racism shapes environmental policy."

- McGhee, from The Sum of Us, p. 203
(cited below)

Featured Resources by Source Type: Environmental Justice

Understanding the Complexities of Environmental Injustice

Featured Organizations & Online Resources

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
"The Environmental Protection Agency is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters."
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Pacific Northwest
Includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and 271 native tribes.
The White House: Environmental Justice
Find articles about the environmental Justice Interagency council, Advisory Council, justice initiates, as well as news and updates on this section of the White House website
The Center for Diversity & the Environment
"The Center for Diversity & the Environment harnesses the power of racial and ethnic diversity to transform the U.S. environmental movement by developing leaders, catalyzing change within institutions & building alliances."
Sierra Club
"Since 1892, the Sierra Club has been working to protect communities, wild places, and the planet itself. We are the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States."
Sierra Club: Washington State
Climate Justice Alliance
"An alliance of 70+ urban and rural frontline communities, organizations and supporting networks in the climate justice movement located in Berkely, CA. Focus is on the social, racial, economic and environmental justice issues of climate change."
Earth Justice: Healthy Communities
A public interest non-profit environmental law firm
Project Drawdown
"Founded in 2014, Project Drawdown® is a nonprofit organization that seeks to help the world reach 'Drawdown'— the future point in time when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline."
Environmental Defense Fund
"The Environmental Defense Fund brings together scientists, lawyers, and other experts to work on solving environmental challenges"
Environmental Defense Fund
"The Environmental Defense Fund brings together scientists, lawyers, and other experts to work on solving environmental challenges"
United Nations: International Environmental Issues
Global Greengrants Fund
"Global Greengrants Fund is mobilizing resources for communities worldwide to protect our shared planet and work toward a more equitable world. The nonprofit puts environmental justice in the hands of those most affected by empowering frontline communities to take charge and resist the development of fossil fuels."
The Sum of Us by Heather McGee

Featured Articles

Use the links below to find articles from different publication types.

Reference Articles

These background or overview articles are useful for defining and understanding the history and key concepts of a topic. They come from subject-specific books and reports and aim to help you understand the basics. Find more articles like these in the databases Gale Ebooks, Opposing Viewpoints, or CQ Researcher.

Environmental Justice/Environmental Racism An entry from the 2020 book "Toxic Chemicals in America: Controversies in Human and Environmental Health"
Poverty and Climate Change A 2012 article from the Encyclopedia of Global Warming & Climate Change
Environmental Justice A 2021 article from "Inequality in America: Causes and Consequences From: Inequality in America: Causes and Consequences"
American Environmentalism's Racist Roots Have Shaped Global Thinking About Conservation A 2021 article from Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection
Who Is Liable for Ruining a Culture? The Inuit Sue the United States of America 2020 from Encyclopedia of Environmental Racism in the United States and Canada: Seeking Justice and Sustainability

Scholarly Articles

Scholarly journal articles are written by scholars/experts/researchers for others in their field with the aim of sharing, reviewing, and building new information. These publications can give us insight into the ways that environmental justice topics are being studied at a research-based, academic levels. Find more articles like these in ProQuest Combined, Agricola, OR Global Issues in Context.

Situating the Scientist: Creating Inclusive Science Communication Through Equity Framing and Environmental Justice
A 2020 article from the journal "Frontiers in Communication"
The Critical Intersection of Environmental and Social Justice: A Commentary
A 2021 article from the journal "Globalization and Health"
Politically Unhealthy: Flint’s Fight Against Poverty, Environmental Racism, and Dirty Water
A 2018 article from the Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research
Heading Upstream: Strategies to Shift Environmental Justice Research From Disparities to Equity American Journal of Public Health, Jan 2022 Environmental racism is historically rooted in planned resource inequalities and restricted access to nature for Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). Present-day and historical manifestations of systems of oppression inform each aspect of environmental inequalities. This constellation of factors determines who is exposed to environmental harms, who has the resources to adapt to harms, who develops conditions making them more susceptible to harm, and, ultimately, who lives and dies.... EJ is a grassroots struggle, yet too frequently BIPOC are excluded from or marginalized in mainstream environmental organizations and research. Lessons learned from the struggles for justice have led to increasing tion that and multiscalar approaches to EJ are necessary.7,8 As researchers in this field, we aim to identify existing and emerging trends in how scientists and communities recognize, frame, and conduct EJ research. Our goal is to create more accurately informed science and practice aimed at creating inclusive, responsive, and respectful research resulting in environmental health equity.
Global Warming has Increased Global Economic Inequality Study conclusion: Although there is uncertainty in whether historicalwarming has benefited some temperate, rich countries, for most poor countries there is >90% likelihood that per capita GDP is lower today than if global warming had not occurred. Thus, our results show that, in addition to not sharing equally in the direct benefits of fossil fuel use, many poor countries have been significantly harmed by the warming arising from wealthy countries’ energy consumption.

Featured Videos

There are some DVDs you can check out from the library on environmental topics as well. The links here, however, are largely for online videos as there are so many great organizations with content. Streaming education films can also be searched in the database Films on Demand, linked in the "Digging Deeper in Your Research" tab of this guide, or from the library's homepage.

"Pollution is Segregated" Says the Father of Environmental Justice A 2020 video from Amanpour and Company
Environmental Justice, Explained A short 2016 video by Grist
TED Talks: Climate Justice Can't Happen Without Racial Justice A 2020 talk by David Lammy
TED Talks: Racism and Climate Change Are About You A 2017 talk with Dr. Atyia Martin at TEDxDirigo
What's Racism Got to Do With Environmental Destruction? A 2022 video from Greenpeace UK
Jane Goodall: to Fix the Environment, Fix Poverty A short 2021 video from "The Bottom Line" from Al Jazeera English
What is Climate Justice? A 2022 video from Global Landscapes Forum - GLF
What is Environmental Racism? A short, 2021 video from Greenpeace International
Why All Americans Should Care About 'Environmental Racism’ A short video from "NowThis"
Why Climate Change is Anti-Justice A short, 2018 video from Hot Mess "a show about how climate change impacts all of us"

Featured Podcasts

Killer Combination: Climate, Health and Poverty
podcast from Climate One
On The Run: Voluntary and Forced Climate Migration
podcast from Climate One
Environmental Racism and the Struggle for Climate Justice
podcast from Brookings Institute

Sources used on this page:

McGhee, H. C. (2021). The sum of us: What racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together. Random House Publishing Group. (also linked in the box above)