ENVR 1302 - Macy

Environmental Justice Environmental Justice is the unbiased treatment and inclusion of people of all races, ethnicity, and nationalities in every aspect of environmental policy-making and enforcement to equally share all burdens and benefits. This also means that all communities are safe, sustainable, and productive and people can flourish without interference from environmental racism. It aims to protect each person's right to environmental equity.   EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan in Warren County Saturday officially establishes the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. Photo: EPA Environmental Racism Environmental racism is the disproportionate effect of environmental issues and consequences on people of color. This is due to institutional racism and government and corporate policies, practices, and decisions that, intentionally or unintentionally, target people and communities of color. For example low income communities of color are often unfairly effec

Introduction to the tragedy of the commons Tragedy of the commons , a phrase first coined in 1833 by William Forster Lloyd, refers to our overconsumption of common resources for personal gain, therefore harming the larger community, including ourselves, in the long run (Amendolare, 2017). While commons, or resources equally shared by a community, can be very sustainable, as population grows, they can reach a point where there simply isn’t enough to support the whole community. One solid example of this is overfishing. Each member of the community sharing a common fishing area will be inclined to maximize their own profit by catching more fish than they require. While this may temporarily benefit the individual, the effect is that inevitably, with each member of the community having this same mindset, the fish population will decline so that it can no longer support the community or repopulate. Tragedy of the commons problem in the real world One real world example of this is overfishin