Ethical obligations to the environment are usually closely connected to ethical obligations toward people, particularly poor people and minority groups. Environmental justice is about ensuring that no group is made to bear a disproportionate burden of environmental harm. Environmental justice is also about ensuring that governments develop and enforce regulations fairly across different segments of society. The environmental justice movement has forced environmentalists to recognize that you cannot think about protecting nature without also thinking about people.
As you move around your community this week, identify the areas that appear to have the worst environmental quality. Find out the general description of the people who live and work closest to these areas. Do you think there are any environmental injustices in your community? Why or why not?
