David V.S. Gioliath

            Imagine you walk four miles from your house and find a toxic waste dump you have never seen or heard about. Imagine you find that this site has been running for years without your knowledge or input. Imagine that this dump is in the process of creating an incinerator that will produce massive amounts of pollution. Now imagine that your effort to learn about the process and request to be involved with voting on the project is met with indifference. This is the story of the citizens of Kettleman City, California in the early eighties.

            This agricultural community was faced with this reality in the early eighties after finding out about the waste facility in a story run in a local newspaper, highlighting the maleficence of Chem Waste and the huge number of fines they have been paying for their irresponsible practices. They were upset to learn about this plant but, being largely Hispanic, thought they had no way of changing anything. Then in 1988, a member of Greenpeace called a friend in Kettleman City to find out if they were attending a meeting to discuss building a toxic waste incinerator on the property. The answer: “I had no idea there was a meeting or plans to build this facility.”

            Why were the residents kept in the dark about this process? They were mostly poor, religious, Latino people and that is exactly what Chem Waste was looking for. In 1984, a report that was paid for by California taxpayers was released. This report, known as the Cerrell Report, encouraged companies who were looking to open these kind of facilities look at communities that were full of poor, uneducated people with a small population that worked primarily resource intensive jobs, such as agriculture. The residents began to look at trends and found that the other two Class I incinerators in California were in Buttonwillow and Westmorland. These communities fit the mold of Kettleman City to a T. They dug further and found that other sites around the country included Emelle, Alabama, the south side of Chicago, Port Arthur, Texas and Sauget, Illinois. What do these places have in common: The residents were primarily black and Latino.

            What can low educated, non-English speaking people do about this outrage? The citizens of Kettleman City decided to attend the meeting and voice their concerns about the proposed incinerator and object to it being built. They drove forty miles to the meeting, only to be met with an all-white board, who, when asked to provide translators, directed the group of 200 to the back of the room, and sit in twenty five chairs with a single translator for them. They also received an abridged version of and Environmental Impact Statement; five pages in length rather than the 300 pages given to English speaking residents of the county. This is very similar to the civil rights violations African Americans endured in this country. The residents voiced their opinions, petitioned to reject Chem Waste’s proposal, but the council approved the measure anyway.

            Left with no choice, these citizens filed a lawsuit that found that the EIS did not thoroughly analyze the potential harm from the plant and that the citizens of Kettleman City were not given the chance to meaningfully weigh in on the process. Finally in 1993, Chem Waste decided to withdraw their plan, citing changing economic conditions for their decision, but I think it is obvious that the plant would be here today had it not been for the strong people of Kettleman City and their constant struggle to keep their community clean and their voice heard.

Written and researched by Bill Rosenberg

           

Chester PA

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND SUSTAINABILITY: SAME AGENDA OR DIFFERENT GOALS?

            If you look for the date where the Environmental Justice movement began, you will not find an event or organization that marks the start of this issue, nor will you find a linear, organized narrative that tells the same story. Revolts occurred during feudal times as serfs defied their masters for better living conditions, Jews fled Egypt with nothing rather than remain enslaved to the Pharaoh, the civil rights movement in the United States during the 50s and 60s, Cesar Chavez and farm workers movement; the list goes on and on. The idea of social sustainability and justice has been around as long as people have been on the Earth, and people have been fighting for this cause from the beginning of time.

            What is social justice and how does the definition change from group to group, from issue to issue, from one race to another? Some may say it is the power to control decisions that affect life. Others define it as fair and proper application of laws and policies that impacts particular groups of people. There is no real definition for social justice as it means different things to different people. Combine these ideas with environmental issues and you have created a hotbed of issues that are difficult to sort through.

            Another obstacle that hinders progress is shifting social paradigms, whether it be racial, economical or historical. One can look at Chester, PA, located in Delaware County, where there is a group of African Americans in an area that is primary white. Unemployment is higher than the rest of the county, the poverty rate is 25% higher and health problems are more severe that the rest of the county. They also have all the waste from the county treated in this area. People who visit this area are overwhelmed by the stench and many residents cannot leave their house in the summer. In 1994, President Clinton issued the executive order for Environmental Justice; the EPA tested residents in this area and found disturbing results. There were unacceptable cancer and noncancerous risks, 60% of children had levels of lead in their blood higher than maximum limits and other health problems linked to the pollution levels in the area.    

            From a social justice view, the residents in this town seem to be targeted by corrupt politicians, business leaders and community leaders. For years, residents have protested the waste incinerators, most of the time getting blown off by officials or told lies regarding practices and regulation. Courts either refused to help or would employ stopgap restrictions while these people continued to be subjected to unhealthy conditions. Groups such as CRCQL, work tirelessly to create reform, using the legal system in hopes to invoke change. Other than a few minor victories, the fight has been a losing one. Even as these problems began to be seen on a national level, permits were still awarding to existing plants and new plants were built. More and more trash was imported into the community to be incarcerated, and residents continued to fight. This battle is still being waged today.

            This is just one example concerning the injustices faced by a group of people who only have themselves to rely on. Federal, state and local government has not taken necessary steps to ensure the well-being of Chester residents; instead, they have ignored the problems in this community. However, these brave people have continued to fight for their rights and well-being.

            Please feel free to weigh in on this or any other example and let me know how you feel. I have included a link on the bottom of the post which will lead to some great information. You can also read about Chester in Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster’s book, “From the Ground Up”.

http://www.ejnet.org/chester/

Welcome

This will follow the research, thoughts, comments and narrative regarding social sustainability and justice. Please follow along and feel free to comment and post your own information as we strive to create an intelligent, comprehensive discussion regarding this exciting subject. Please be respectful of others and use common sense when posting. Looking forward to learning and creating a great blog!