Welcome back! This week’s topic is on environmental racism towards indigenous communities. Before that, let’s watch a trailer for the Netflix documentary titled “There is something in the water”, that unveils the issue of environmental racism, specifically in Nova Scotia, where First Nations and Black Canadian communities are affected by unjust policies.
“Indigenous…are the ones that tend to be in hazardous sites” and “Is this another example of their disregard for our rights?” are some of the lines you may have heard in the trailer. So, what exactly is environmental racism? – It is when people of colour are unfairly affected by environmental and health hazards due to policies that make them reside in areas that are very close to toxic waste stations that emit harmful waste products or when they are deliberately not let to lead environmental movements.[1] This unequal spreading of burden exists as people with the financial means and power are able to ensure that their communities are not affected and when these “Not In My Backyard-ists” (NIMBYistst) succeed, the burden is shifted to those who lack the means to oppose the projects. [2]
Indigenous communities are often exposed to toxic chemicals and according to a government database, industries have contaminated the land and water of more than half of First Nations reserves lands in Canada. [3]
In Peru, Amazonian indigenous communities such as the Achuae, Kichwa and Wampis are facing oil contamination due to oil drilling. Greater than ninety percent of Achuar people in the Corrientes basin were found to have unsafe levels of toxic-heavy metal in their blood and a health specialist said that complications such as the birth of deformed babies and cognitive issues that have arisen in the community, is due to the oil pollution. [4]
Also, the Dakota access pipeline that runs from North Dakota to Illinois, has caused incendiary reactions as it is constructed beneath the Missouri river and is within proximity of the Standing Rock Sioux people’s land. The safety of the community’s drinking water might be severely threatened if a leak occurs [5] (it already has) [6]. We live in a really disturbing world, in which a nation’s growth takes precedence over the safety of people.
We are now battling the Covid-19 pandemic and indigenous people are disproportionately affected. The mortality rate of Amazonian indigenous people from the disease, is 150% greater than the nation’s average. Although this could be due to several factors, environmental racism might be part of the problem. We do know that the exposure to harmful pollutants might increase one’s susceptibility to the disease [7] and that people with pre-existing medical conditions are more vulnerable [8]. It is thus pivotal for us to understand that the impacts of such global issues are not equally experienced by all groups and that perhaps more resources needs to be shifted towards vulnerable groups. However, this is definitely not the case in Brazil, where Jair Bolsonaro had vetoed law provisions that ensured that the government distributed supplies such as disinfectants and water to indigenous people, in view of the Covid-19 outbreak. According to Bolsonaro’s office, such provisions were “against the public interest”. [9] Indigenous people are made to bear the brunt of development but are not protected when it comes to times of adversity. How fair is this?
That is all for this week.
Cheers,
Divina
References
- Beech, P., What is environmental racism? 2020.https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/what-is-environmental-racism-pollution-covid-systemic/
- Lumen, Reading: Environmental Racism. n.d.https://courses.lumenlearning.com/alamo-sociology/chapter/reading-environmental-racism/
- Adriano, L., Industrial pollution plagues more than half of all First Nation communities. 2017.https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/ca/news/environmental/industrial-pollution-plagues-more-than-half-of-all-first-nation-communities-78584.aspx
- Guardian, T., After years of toxic oil spills, indigenous Peruvians use tech to fight back. n.d.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/14/after-years-of-toxic-oil-spills-indigenous-peruvians-use-tech-to-fight-back
- Univeristy, I.S., Environmental justice and environmental racism. n.d.https://instr.iastate.libguides.com/enviro_jr/dakotapipeline
- Guardian, T., Dakota Access pipeline has first leak before it’s fully operational. n.d.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/10/dakota-access-pipeline-first-oil-leak
- LEMOS, T.D.C., Environmental racism and the differentiated harm of the pandemic. 2020.https://aida-americas.org/en/blog/environmental-racism-and-differentiated-harm-pandemi
- Atkinson, S., Coronavirus: Why are Australia’s remote Aboriginal communities at risk? 2020.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-51971891
- Aljazeera, Brazil’s President Bolsonaro vetoes COVID-19 aid for Indigenous. 2020https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/7/8/brazils-president-bolsonaro-vetoes-covid-19-aid-for-indigenous
Hey Divina!
Wow, this post really hit me hard, especially after this week’s class which covered environmental ethics & injustice. The line that stuck out to me most from the trailer (thank you for sharing that) was “We’re sick of being sick.”. That just really emphasized the disparity even within affluent nations where some, specifically the minorities, are disproportionately affected by environmental hazards. Perhaps more despicable is the retraction of laws which helped the indigenous people in Brazil. It is most definitely unfair to infringe upon their homelands to exploit their lands and resources for the sake of economic growth, yet abandon them when crisis strikes.
As much as the issue of environmental racism requires urgent attention, I can’t help but feel that it is a problem that requires a long time to tackle. Just some thoughts on the situation in Nova Scotia which you have shared, relocating industries & dump sites might take a long time, and may create their own sets of problems (e.g. other environmental issues like waste seeping into ecosystems); relocating the people might also create issues like overcrowding (which arguably is better than exposure to toxic compounds). Of course, these are just my speculations and I’m no policy-maker haha. In the end, the crux of the issue lies in changing societal perceptions, and the tension between economic growth vs environment & society, at least to me. I’m just curious, what are your thoughts on this (just some brief statements will do haha I know this is a super duper complex issue)?
Cheers!
Jeng Wei
Hey Jeng Wei! I am very sorry for the late reply to your comment.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about some of the issues I had talked about. I mean it; I really appreciate it!
I do agree with your thoughts on the Nova Scotia issue and how extremely tough it is to mitigate the impacts of whatever unrighteous decisions that had been made, due to the reasons you had stated. And yes, this conundrum regarding economic growth vs the effects on the environment (and all organisms-including us) keeps presenting itself even in all our ENV1101 discussions isn’t it?
I must say-thank you for this question as a lot of times I get too invested in finding out more about the problem and I tend to not really reflect on what we should do about it/the solution.
I guess it is important to ensure that any attempts to plant pollutant emitting industries or to dump waste near communities, are thwarted perhaps by activism and the setting up of more organizations that champion the rights of those affected by environmental racsism. I also found this interesting initiative to tackle environmental racism called “Clean Up, Green Up” that talks about setting up “Green zones” and an office that promotes adherence to environmental standards by companies, by presenting them with certain benefits. You might want to take a look at it: https://cleanupgreenup.wordpress.com/
We should also find ways to mitigate the existing impacts to these communities. Perhaps relocating communities like you mentioned, could be an option but something we should handle with great rigor would be, coming up with fair compensations!
Hi Divina!
No worries about the late reply, the past few weeks have been very busy haha. In any case, thanks for your reply, and I’m glad to have been able to present a different perspective! Indeed, the conflict between the pursuit of growth and the environment has presented itself many times throughout our classes this semester, and is perhaps the golden question to be answered. I definitely agree that organizations and movements to champion the rights of minorities are definitely important, as they help the voices of minorities to be heard by others, which can eventually translate to real, meaningful actions. I also agree that despite challenges, it is still to vital to at least attempt to mitigate existing impacts on marginalized communities, and every little bit helps in that regard. Also thanks for the link! It was definitely heartwarming to see initiatives like this to help those that have been unfairly affected by impacts of pollution.
Cheers!
Jeng Wei