The Quest for Environmental Justice: Human Rights and the Politics of Pollution

Bullard, et al. have good intentions in that they want to correct environmental injustice and racism. However, sometimes they are too quick to call racism or get bogged down in statistics. My favorite chapter was the one on the Vieques people of Puerto Rico. If anything, I learned a lot about world politics.

"The Quest for Environmental Justice" by Robert D. Bullard (editor) is an excellent primer about the environmental justice ('E.J.') movement. Blending U.S. environmental and social justice activists together in the late 1970s, the E.J. movement has grown to become a significant multinational political force. The numerous authors who have contributed to this volume explore the movement's rich history and chronicle many of the noteworthy struggles that have improved the lives of many people and can provide inspiration and hope to us all. The introductory chapters include a Foreword by Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who played an important role in a campaign that successfully relocated the largely African-American community of Norco, LA away from a highly polluting oil refinery; a Preface by Peggy Morrow Shepard, who believes that the E.J. movement is key to reinvigorating the mainstream environmental organizations; and an Introduction by Mr. Bullard, who recounts how some of the core principles of the E.J. movement were institutionalized at the EPA during the Clinton adminsitration. The book is divided into four sections. The first section, "A Legacy of Injustice" discusses the history of the E.J. movement. "Environmental Justice in ther Twenty-first Century" by Mr. Bullard compares and contrasts the Summit I and Summit II meetings to discuss both the growth of the movement and how its organizational tactics and principles have developed over time. "Neighborhoods 'Zoned' for Garbage" by Mr. Bullard drills into the author's personal experiences fighting zoning decisions in Houston, TX that first brought the fledgling E.J. movement to prominence. "Women Warriers of Color on the Front Line" by Mr. Bullard and Damu Smith offers a series of vignettes written by seven exceptional women who have led community-based campaigns to victory, often against formidable and well-financed corporate opponents. The second section is about "The Assault on Fence-Line Communities". Beverly Wright's "Living and Dying in Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley'" connects the legacy of slavery and racism with environmental exploitation and relates the successes of historic African-American towns such as Convent, LA in achieving a small measure of justice for its citizens against a large Japanese multinational corporation. Manuel Pastor, Jr. et al's "Environmental Inequity in Metropolitan Los Angeles" documents the myriad ill health effects that are produced by the disproportionate siting of hazardous sites in minority neighborhoods. Olga Pomar's "Toxic Racism on a New Jersey Waterfront" discusses the legacy of industrial pollution in Camden, NJ and the importance of developing legal tools that communities might use to more effectively petition government to secure their rights. The third section is on the topic of "Land Rights and Sustainable Development". "Anatomy of the Urban Parks Movement" by Robert Garcia and Erica Flores explores the unequal distribution of parkland in