Society in the United States has definitely been dominated by the idea of consumption. Many of the goods that we are consuming today are thanks to the resources that we find in our environment. The majority of Americans understand the ecological consequences of hurting our own environment. They think of global warming, animals dying off, or landscapes being transformed. However, this same majority does not understand that destroying the environment causes an increase in personal health risks. This is a very grave problem because a lot of people do not see this association. Therefore, the majority of individuals continue to practice harmful activities to the environment, (despite the fact that it is hurting us too). The main issue is that
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It involves, “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies,” (U.S. EPA 2016). This is one of the most important discursive frames because environmental inequality is such a huge issue in this current age. For example, groups of people with higher incomes are more likely to do anything in their power to keep their cash flow coming in. Some of these things could involve dumping hazardous chemicals or building power plants, (which release toxic fumes), into an area of poverty. Of course, the fumes and the chemicals will never bother those who are rich. Everything is far away from them. However, many people who are living in those areas become fully exposed to these hazards. Seeing many people in these areas getting sick helped exposed the issue of environmental inequality. Developing the idea of environmental justice helped remove the veil from everyone’s eyes. It helped people realize that our own health risks are most definitely an environmental …show more content…
Speaking up and exposing issues are two of the most important acts that a person can do in order to solve a problem. Rachel Carson was an excellent example of this when she released her book, “Silent Spring.” Carson exposed a popular pesticide used in farms, (Bell and Ashwood 2016). This pesticide poisoned birds, which decreased their population. If this happened to the birds, then nobody wanted to imagine what it can do to our health. This is probably one of the most important points in history because people finally realized that there grave consequences within their actions. Just like environmental justice, environmental reform removed the veil from everyone’s eyes. After Carson, a handful of people also spoke up about these issues. It was obvious that people started to realize that health risks are definitely an environmental
It involves, “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies,” (U.S. EPA 2016). This is one of the most important discursive frames because environmental inequality is such a huge issue in this current age. For example, groups of people with higher incomes are more likely to do anything in their power to keep their cash flow coming in. Some of these things could involve dumping hazardous chemicals or building power plants, (which release toxic fumes), into an area of poverty. Of course, the fumes and the chemicals will never bother those who are rich. Everything is far away from them. However, many people who are living in those areas become fully exposed to these hazards. Seeing many people in these areas getting sick helped exposed the issue of environmental inequality. Developing the idea of environmental justice helped remove the veil from everyone’s eyes. It helped people realize that our own health risks are most definitely an environmental …show more content…
Speaking up and exposing issues are two of the most important acts that a person can do in order to solve a problem. Rachel Carson was an excellent example of this when she released her book, “Silent Spring.” Carson exposed a popular pesticide used in farms, (Bell and Ashwood 2016). This pesticide poisoned birds, which decreased their population. If this happened to the birds, then nobody wanted to imagine what it can do to our health. This is probably one of the most important points in history because people finally realized that there grave consequences within their actions. Just like environmental justice, environmental reform removed the veil from everyone’s eyes. After Carson, a handful of people also spoke up about these issues. It was obvious that people started to realize that health risks are definitely an environmental