ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE: An Introduction

At this time of year it is customary to think of other less fortunate than we are. Christmas, with its gifts, food and drink and the company of our family and friends, has probably made us aware of how lucky we are compared with some. Still, there are some things that are free to everyone, arn't there: beautiful scenery, starlit nights, walks by the seaside?

In the next few articles, I will be dealing with Environmental Injustice. Some of you may not have heard of this term so let me explain.

What you get out of life depends, to a large extent, on who you are. On the positive side this might depend on your character. If you are a good, decent and friendly person you should be able to gain more friends. If you are trustworthy, people will be more likely to confide in you. If you are hardworking you may earn more than someone who is lazy.

Now let us look at the negative side of this. The sort of environment you have to live with will depend on: how much you earn, your ethnicity, your sexual orientation, whether your husband has left you, your health, your religion and a number of other factors. It will also depend, greatly, on whether you were born in a developed or a developing nation.

Even environmental factors - those things we think of as "free for everyone" - are unfairly divided.

Beautiful Scenery: Rich people live nearest to open land and parks in general. Poorer people may live in more urban, crowded and industial areas. People in developing countries may find that their natural areas are being harvested for use by First World Countries.

Starlit nights: Stars are very clear at night in country areas far away from towns. Yes, poor people do live in the country too, but many of them live in the more polluted parts of towns. Not only are stars harder to see, but often the air is harder to breath. I have heard from people in developing countries who don't go near their capital cities because they are so polluted.

Walks by the Seaside: Houses in good locations by decent beaches are expensive. Poor people often live a good way from the best beaches and work long hours which often prevents leisurely strolling. Indeed some of the best beaches are privately owned.

Over the next two weeks I will be looking at more specific instances of environmental injustice both in the developing world and in various communities within developed countries.

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