In the early 1970, millions of people in the United States began to fill the streets, parks, and cities to celebrate the nation’s first Earth Day. This, as well as passage of the Clean Air act and the Clean Water act had kick started the nation, and the western’s world new movement towards conservation and planet protecting. The start of the movement yielded many excellent laws such as the Marine Mammal Protection act, a law that protected marine mammals. It seemed like there was no end to what the environmental movement can do! They are right in a way. It is 2015 now and the movement, the global movement, has come a long way. The world holds several organizations that aim to protect the world’s lands, seas, life, and resources. The effectiveness
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Interestingly enough, someone’s culture and race can affect their socioeconomic status and in turn, can effect how they interact with the environment. Let us take environmental racism as an example. Dorceta E. Taylor defines environmental racism as advantages that some races face in their environment, that is, white European cultures find that their environments are cleaner and their resources are more plentiful than, say, African, Asian, and Native cultures. Why do white cultures have better environmental conditions? It all has to do with legislation. One famous example of environmental racism (and activism against it) occurred in the 1980s where Latino activists were rallying for legislation that would ban harmful pesticides from being sprayed into foods. Native American activists were also rallying against the placement of nuclear energy sites in their reservations and African Americans were protesting the use of lead paint in inner city neighborhoods (Taylor, n.d). Many of these issues affect mostly people of color because companies and politicians find it easier to pawn off their waste to people who do not have as much of a voice in society. They try to sweep under the rug. Because of environmental racism, some environmental activism focuses on one specific race or ethnic minority. Other times, when activism focuses on the more well off Caucasian citizens, the movement fails to achieve their
Interestingly enough, someone’s culture and race can affect their socioeconomic status and in turn, can effect how they interact with the environment. Let us take environmental racism as an example. Dorceta E. Taylor defines environmental racism as advantages that some races face in their environment, that is, white European cultures find that their environments are cleaner and their resources are more plentiful than, say, African, Asian, and Native cultures. Why do white cultures have better environmental conditions? It all has to do with legislation. One famous example of environmental racism (and activism against it) occurred in the 1980s where Latino activists were rallying for legislation that would ban harmful pesticides from being sprayed into foods. Native American activists were also rallying against the placement of nuclear energy sites in their reservations and African Americans were protesting the use of lead paint in inner city neighborhoods (Taylor, n.d). Many of these issues affect mostly people of color because companies and politicians find it easier to pawn off their waste to people who do not have as much of a voice in society. They try to sweep under the rug. Because of environmental racism, some environmental activism focuses on one specific race or ethnic minority. Other times, when activism focuses on the more well off Caucasian citizens, the movement fails to achieve their