The definition of environmental justice as stated in the video “no community should have to face environmental burdens than any other.” Shocking to hear about how unjust the system is as to those who don’t have a strong enough voice to be heard are forced to oblige with no say. The places with the greatest environmental degradation exist where there is poverty. Where coal extraction and power plants are leading causes to greenhouse gasses and public health burdens. Making the Bronx greener will have long and short term impact on the societies health and the planet. For example, poor communities with no primary care use emergency rooms for their health problems at the expense of taxpayers. This is no analogous benefits to either party involved. …show more content…
The documentary tells the story of globalization from personal perspectives Carmen and Lourdes and a dynamic group of Mexican maquiladora workers who work towards creating solutions to the complexities of life in a globalized and polluted city. Each having the opportunity to tell their story and representation. The implications of liberty and freedom say to have implicated neoliberal practices which are proven false through this documentary.
These practices encompass open markets, reducing politics interference, and individualism, all of which have been exercised in Mexico’s maquiladoras. Although neoliberalism comes with a productive ramification, neoliberalism is more destructive than it is productive. Whilst it gives jobs to women where they would otherwise have none; the circumstances that they are encounter are destructive. Women like Carmen and Lourdes were hired because they were single mothers who were willing to work in any conditions to provide for their
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Although “social responsibility” is a choice as CEO I believe it would be in the best interest of our publicly-traded U.S. electronics firm to practice. The Bronx, NY, and Tijuana, Mexico are deemed unfit location for our new production facility.
Bronx, NY would be an environmental injustice as they already suffer being a poor community they are unable to speak for themselves as they don’t know any better. Adding a new facility to an already malfunctioning facility would only cost the taxpayers higher rates. Humanity is key and to consider families being affected by pollution and undergo housing displacement would be cruel to the unprivileged. Tearing families apart and displacing hundreds of people is not a tradeoff this company should
Look down at your shoes, shirt, or pants; all these products you use everyday have a high chance they were produced in Maquiladoras located in Mexico. These Maquiladoras provide cheap labor for big name companies, which provides inexpensive products for the consumers. In consequence of the cheap labor, the workers and residents that live near these Maquiladoras are negatively impacted everyday. The film Maquilapolis is arguing that the practices of Maquiladoras are unethical and inhumane. The clip 0:26:00-0:29:00 of the film argues that the pollution and waste created from the Maquiladoras come with negative consequences for the workers and nearby residents. The film supports their argument through the use of expert testimony, juxtaposition
Naumann, Ann K. and Mireille Hutchinson, The Integration of Women into the Mexican Labor Force Since NAFTA THE AMERICAN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST, June/July 1997, 950-956.
Miguel Melendez’s book, “We Took the Streets” provides the reader with an insightful account into the activities of the Young Lords movement established in the latter years of the 1960s and remained active up until the early seventies. The book’s, which is essentially Melendez’s memoir, a recollection of the events, activities, and achievements of the Young Lords. The author effectively presents to the reader a fascinating account of the formation of the Young Lords which was a group of college students from Puerto Rico who came together in a bid to fight for some of the basic rights. As Melendez sums it up, “You either claim your history or lose authority over your future” (Melendez 23). The quote is in itself indicative of the book’s overall
In Jason Corburn’s book, Street Science: Community Knowledge and Environmental Health Justice, one of the examples used to explain his term street science is the West Harlem Environmental Action (WEACT). According to research compiled, the case of WEACT and its use of street science to address growing health concerns is one of the more famous examples demonstrating how street science can become empowering to the community. Furthermore, this case study exhibits broader implications that can arise from street science regarding policy changes. The area of West Harlem is adversely affected by environmental health justice concerns. The creation of WEACT was to establish an organization that would directly address community concerns, rather
Environmental justice has to happen all around the world, because Environmental justice is the justice of the environment that you live in, and these environments aren't in good conditions. This justice is so that everyone can live in an environment that isn't bad for one's health. This justice has to do with environmental racism because it isn't fair just too blame certain people.
The word “environment” was given then a contrasting connotation. Unlike the traditional environmental movement, which was condemned for ignoring the experience of black people and the lower class, the environment was restructured as a setting where people live. Supporters started to focus comprehensively on making the topic evenhanded. Advocates classified this equality into three expansive types: technical, geographic, and societal equities. Technical impartiality is apprehensive on unbiased manner or justice on the employment of central regulations, assessment criterion, and enforcement of environmental rules. Geographic fair play is concentrated on finding groups of people and their propinquity to green peril, ...
In this book, globalization is defined as “an internationalization of contractual hiring, exploiting even cheaper migrant labor” (page 231). Globalization is a cultural phenomenon process in which a business or an organization begins to operate their production on an international scale. In his book, we see how globalization affected corn farmers in Mexico. Globalization open the door to the system a free market trade. In Illegal People, U.S corn farmers sold their corn to Mexico, causing Mexican corn farmers to severely lose profit since American farmers were selling their corn way cheaper. An example of how globalization is seen on Sleep Dealer is how an American company privatized water in Memo’s rancho. By privatizing the water, the company sold quantities of water at unreasonable prices, leading Memo’s dad to struggle to maintain his corm field. The American company who privatized the water could this through the usage of technology. Technology is one of the factors that led to the rise of
On the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, there is a shantytown called Villa Inflamable that is home to many people and a variety of large companies. This community and its relationships with its environment, local companies, and local governments are examined in the ethnography Flammable: Environmental Suffering in an Argentine Shantytown by Javier Auyero and Débora Alejandra Swistun. Auyero, an American professor of sociology, and Swistun, an anthropologist and native of Flammable, used two and a half years of field work to compile a comprehensive view of the historical and current, polluted state of the community. Throughout the book, the authors examine the effects of high levels of pollution on the inhabitants of Flammable and their ability to act on their own behalf. Auyero and Swistun view the neighborhood as a “potential site of collective mobilization against environmental suffering” because the area is clearly polluted and companies in the area may be to blame. In reality, however, the inhabitants of Flammable are dominated by the structures around them. Although they display certain methods of agency, the structural domination dictates how they act and how they view their own surroundings and community.
... in the maquiladoras of Mexico that in order to help these women who work in these conditions we must look closely at the impact and turmoil that has been created by the Global Industry and NAFTA.
...empowerment, the wish to be seen in the political world, gender fuelled economic inequalities and the fight against ‘machismo’. It appears that one common idea that appears consistently in these movements is the resilient importance of ‘motherhood’ that seems to cut above class and underline the irrelevance of political belonging or boundaries. On top of this, there appears to be another clear form of continuity between these movements – gender identity. Some argue that women are claiming rights and gaining a voice and are no longer passive observers of the political process but more so have greater autonomy and power to decide their own futures , but, a valid question, however, is: are these inequalities rooted too deep in Latin American societies or have the movements these women led and fought for transformed the traditional ideological stance of these nations?
We can’t ignore the importance of ethics in our society. Ethics are the moral principles necessary for providing equal treatment to minority groups and women; whether it’s in healthcare, a courtroom, or the environment. Environmental justice started when people began to recognize the poor tended to be exposed to a greater share of pollution, hazardous material, and environment degradation than richer people; and that, racial minorities are more likely to be exposed to hazards than whites. This is believed to be a direct result of institutionalized racism and inadequate government policies. Environmental justice involves the fair and equitable treatment of all people with respect to environmental policy and practice, regardless of their income,
Lisa Arkin, the Executive Director of Beyond Toxics, stated that environmental inequalities are not uncommon among people of color and/or the poor, and that it is not surprising that factories that contribute to pollution are often placed in areas with higher concentrations of the poor and/or people of color. This is true among areas in Eugene, such as the Bethel neighborhood, and Train Song. Although this is a reality for many poor and/or people of color, communities, and neighborhoods do not have to accept this as a permanent reality. Affected communities and neighborhoods can often find allies within local environmental agencies. As with Beyond Toxics, these agencies will work at local levels to address the environmental issues affecting an area. This is essential because a one-for-everything plan will not work in every situation, and local agencies are better equipped to understand the issues that need to be dealt with, environmental concerns, and what the people in the area need to have executed to achieve greater environmental justice. Local environmental agencies also have a much better ability to interact with local citizens, to learn what their concerns and needs are, because often those living in the area are the ones who best understand those environmental
There exists a pattern of historically disenfranchised groups in the United States, such as minorities and low-income communities, being exposed to a disproportionate level of environmental hazards such as toxic waste, pollution and urban decay. This relationship between social and environmental aspects has been termed environmental racism, and beginning in the mid to late 20th century the Environmental Justice Movement grew to combat the politically normalized existence of environmental racism (Cole). The Environmental Justice Movement began as a grassroots environmental movement that faced many obstacles stemming from deeply rooted social constructs regarding race, and social class. The social standing of the communities that caused corporations
When we think of environmental justice, we often focus on the ecosystem in which we as humans live, and the natural resources and non-human animals that live there. We tend to think about ethical uses of natural resources, and the effects it has on the non-human animals, such as animal rights, endangerment and extinction, loss of habitat, deforestation, erosion, and pollution. Environmental justice is another factor that is concerned with environmental protection and social justice, including humans into the mix of the complex ecosystem. Environmental justice considers the fair and equal distribution of cost and benefits between humans and the natural world. (1) Environmental justice is also defined as the fair treatment of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income and no particular group should have to bear more than their fair share of the burden of negative environmental consequences from industrial pollution or
Many companies are starting to realize just how much of an impact their decisions and operations make on society. Intel, an American corporation that designs and manufactures chips for computers and other various types of integrated technology, is at the forefront of the social responsibility movement within the technology business. Intel’s co-founder, Andy Grove, built the company based around the management views of Peter Druckers as written in his book, “The Practice of Management”. This book has an entire chapter dedicated to “The Responsibilities of Management”. Drucker’s book states that businesses and those running them have a responsibility to consider how their actions may affect society. The choices of one organization may affect many parts of the world. According to Drucker, when businesses are making management and operation decisions, they must “consider whether the action is likely to promote the public good, to advance the basic beliefs of our society, to contribute to its stability, strength and harmony”. This means that it is up to the upper management of an organization to make sure that any decisions a company makes coincide with the values of society and will have a positive impact on society (Wartzman, 2014).