Reflection on Environmental Justice – 2/13/11
Bob Fletcher
In 1982, a large number of citizens in Warren County, North Carolina protested against burial of 60,000 tons of PCB-contaminated soil in a landfill located in a township with a 69% minority population. This community had the third-lowest per capita income in the state. Thus, the concept of Environmental Justice was firmly established.
A basic tenet of Environmental Justice is that environmental risks and benefits should be distributed equitably.
I had a defining experience when I was 10 years old. This was when I attended a summer camp in the Northern California redwoods for several weeks. Later, when I was about 12, I wrote an article about conserving the big trees.
Understandably, outdoor recreation has been a big part of my life. As an adult I joined hiking and mountaineering organizations such as the Mountain Club of Maryland, the Union County (NJ) Hiking Club, and the Sierra Club. I became an outings leader for the Sierra Club’s Potomac and Chattahoochee Chapters. In 1992, my work schedule permitted me to become more actively involved in environmental advocacy, and I eagerly took this opportunity to “give back to Nature”.
This sometimes took me to the Georgia Legislature when it was in session. U. S. Congressman David Scott used to serve as a Georgia state senator. Once, Senator Scott received complaints from his constituents about proposed expansion of a landfill in his district. This community already had three other large landfills and Senator Scott firmly believed that Environmental Justice was not being served. Accordingly, he drafted state legislation that specifically limited expanding the number or size of landfills in any particular area that was already overloaded with them. I was very happy to advocate in favor of Senator Scott’s bill, which passed the Senate, and was enacted into law.
Another example: In 2001 I provided input to a joint state legislative committee charged to consider the adequacy and continuation of various fees in support of the state Hazardous Waste Trust Fund. This fund is the financial mechanism to get 550 or so contaminated sites in Georgia cleaned up. About 2/3 of the state’s counties have at least one contaminated site on the state’s list. Fulton County has the most of any county. Many of these sites are in minority communities. The joint committee did an admirable job in a bipartisan fashion. The fees were reauthorized and were also increased to account for inflation.
However, since 2003, Georgia’s governmental “budgeteers” have diverted roughly 60 million dollars from the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund. Accordingly, cleanup of seriously contaminated sites has been radically jeopardized.
You may have noticed that a state fee of $1 is added to your bill for each new tire that you buy for your car. This is supposed to go into another trust fund used to clean up dumps of old tires throughout the state. One dump in Upson County currently contains 3 million scrap tires. The West Atlanta Watershed Alliance advises that dumped tires are also a big problem in their community. The news is not good. The Tire Trust Fund has also been raided over the years, and the tire fee will disappear this year unless a reauthorizing bill is passed during the current state legislative session.
Environmental Justice also applies to the field of transportation. Federal law requires proposed transportation projects to also further air quality objectives. It is proven that children in minority communities have a significantly higher incidence of asthma and other respiratory problems. Environmental Justice was always on my mind when I carried out the responsibilities of Transportation Issue Leader and Clean Air Issue Leader for the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club.
What responsibilities do we, as Unitarian Universalists, have with respect to Environmental Justice? When we consider environmental issues, the Seventh Principle quickly comes to mind:
“ We … covenant to affirm and promote –
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”
However, three other UU Principles tie environmental consciousness to justice. These are: Principle 1: The inherent worth and dignity of every person.
Principle 2: Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations.
Principle 6: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.
I frequently reflect on the wisdom of James Luther Adams with respect to the level and type of UU outreach on social issues. Adams was a Unitarian minister, theologian, philosopher, and ethicist in the early and mid-20th Century. He emphasized the need for social action. Adams’ frame of reference was established when he studied abroad and witnessed the Nazi rise to power in Germany. He acknowledged Martin Luther’s principle of “the priesthood of all believers”, but significantly extended its scope to “the prophethood of all believers”. Adams wrote: “The prophetic liberal church is the church in which all members share the common responsibility to attempt to foresee the consequences of human behavior (both individual and institutional) with the intention of making history in place of merely being pushed around by it.”
You may be aware that Northwest has established several Environmental Justice projects in our Green Sanctuary program. One can be seen right outside this building where small hemlock trees are growing. The problem that we are addressing is that mature hemlocks in Georgia and throughout the southeast are being wiped out by a small non-native insect that is lethal to the species. The little trees that we are growing, and those being safeguarded in many other locations, will eventually be used to restore these wonderful trees to our forests.
Our partnership with the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance – WAWA – is another EJ project. So far, Northwest people have participated in a number of worthwhile, interesting, and enjoyable WAWA events. Opportunities for participation in future events are varied and will be widely available to members of the Northwest community.
So, please be on the lookout for future announcements, volunteer to attend and help, and thereby make a contribution in furtherance of Environmental Justice.
“Environmental problems are innately ethical. They require vision reaching simultaneously into the short and long reaches of time.”
Edward O. Wilson, biologist
The Diversity of Life
Amen.