Eco Racism (Essay Sample)

ECO RACISM
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Introduction
Eco racism or environmental racism is the discriminatory waste disposal where the rich have better waste management program while as the poor and people of color are left expose to hazardous waste. The environmental injustice of this nature is a major problem facing many communities in the world today. Poor communities lack the political or the economic muscle to protect their environment from any destruction either from with or from outside. They thus continue thriving in this polluted region that possess health effects of immense magnitude both to the adults as well as the children's. Different arguments are always raced on whom to blame for this environmental injustice with sharp disagreement occurring sometimes. This paper will give a general argument why most of the landfills are found in the poor residential areas.
The argument on Reasons for Landfills Construction Poor Areas.
Most people of color in the United States, as well as other countries, tend to be relatively poor compared to the white community. The financial muscle is associated with community privileges, and thus the whites are likely to be more privileged in the society more than other colored people. As a result, a new type of racism appears in the contemporary world which favors the rich and discriminate the poor. It is this racism that races some social injustice like the environmental racism where the rich are kept waste free while as black are left to thrive in extremely hazardous areas.
Privilege to Dominate Groups
State Politics
States are the one that are responsible for the determination of the possible waste disposal location in most of the United States. The political system in the governance of state is thus very crucial in the identification of all waste disposal system to be used. The state board that determines the possible location of waste plants is supposed to consider all the strict regulation and standards in selecting a potential waste location site. However, most of the political and board member in the states are compose of white people and thus they tend to give privilege to the white community in selecting a waste disposal site.
The politician thus favors the white infested residential areas and in the expense of the poor colored communities in the society. The poor colored people are poor or not represented in the state's political leadership, and thus they just have a little effect on the determination of where these sites should be located. As a result, environmental racism occurs where the landfills are located in the inferior region giving rise to environmental injustices. The white are thus protected from this landfills due to their higher dominance in the political field.
Financial Influence
The dominance whites are not only represented in the politics, but also in the economic sector. Most of the white community are rich and thus they have a high influence in most of the decision-making that influences the society. They are the owners of most of the disposal companies as well as research enterprises that are entitled to look for possible waste disposal locations. As a result of their tremendous financial influence, they have a lot of roles they play in the waste disposal management decision making.
Due to this influence, their dominance in the financial sector helps them to ensure the white are privileged in the society. They influence any possibility of having a landfill been constructed in the white residential areas by diverting all the attention to the possible effects that such action may result to in the surrounding community. They have a lot of money, and thus they can use any amount of funds to justify their opposition to the construction of such disposal areas that might influence their health. On the other hand, the colored communities are mostly poor in the society. They have less financial impact, and thus they may not have enough funds to prevent the construction of landfills in their regions compared to whites. Although they are the least producers of the waste, they are left with no option but to accept the decisions made by the influential member of the society.
Communal Involvement in Decision Making.
In all the democratic society, the need to consult the community before making any decision concerning them is always paramount. According to the federal regulations, all states board are supposed to consult the member of the society before moving ahead to locate a landfill in their neighborhood. The consultation involves selecting all the members of the society with equal representation across all races. However, the dominance community tends to be more represented as they are always high in percentage across all states in the United States.
The large number of whites present in these consultation meetings acts an advantage to them. They can give reasons why such site should not be built in their region and addition to that, they back such reason with majority voting. And just like any other democratic system, the majority always take the day. For this reason, the white populated regions tend to be free from any waste disposal plants like the landfill which might influence their health.
The colored people have no such privileges as they form the minority in the society. In the case of the consultation, their voting percentage is usually small to make any significant influence in the decision of waste management. Due to this reason, most of the landfills are located in their areas, where waste produced by the strong dominance white people is taken for disposal influence they health and the health of their children.
Prejudices of the Minority Races
The Inferiority Concept.
The perception that superior and inferior races started with the slavery of the black people in the United States. Since then, this concept has still stuck in the mind of many in the society, and thus in the contemporary world today, decisions are still made on the superior and inferior race concept. Most of the white still perceive themselves to be more superior to the blacks, and other colored people and hence they always make decisions that show a high level of prejudices.
When the committee members of state environmental issue meet to discuss the matters of the state disposal management system, most of them are men aged above forty years. The white percentage of these committee members is always high at 80% and above in most case. These individual were already born before the discrimination ended in the USA, and thus they have a great chance of holding negative perception against the colored people in the society. In that case, most of the decision that they male concerning harmful disposal system, are likely to influence the poor minority people that the white society.
The prejudice of the white majority decision makers thus explains why most of the landfills are constructed in the poor residential areas. A good example was the contested construction of landfill site in Warren County in the state of Carolina. The toxic landfill was constructed in a small community that was composed of the black majority with called Afton. The community contested the construction of this site even by having long week's nonviolence protest but did not yield any results. It was not about the community but who was superior to the other. At last, the state proved they high level of prejudice. Further result from professional in the area proved that the site was not even scientifically good, as the water table was just five to eight meters below the surfaces.
Decision Making and Involvement Prejudice.
The decision-making process and involvement also present a wide evidence of prejudice in determining the landfill site locations. According to several scholars, people of colored races who are mostly the poor in the society, are never involved in the decision-making process in the states waste management. The perception that people of other races are inferior and cannot make varied decisions is the main reasons that they are ignored when deciding the possible site for waste management site.
Due to this decision-making discrimination, most of the decision made tends to favor the whites at the expense of other races. If they are not involved in the decision-making process or been consulted on the way forward in the construction of the landfill, then it is obvious that such landfills will be constructed in their neighborhood. With the current scarcity of suitable areas to locate the sites, the beset option that remain is to infringe those members of the society who are inferior even to perceive the danger of such sites.
The example Warren County in the state of Carolina also prove how prejudice in the decision making and community involvement propagate for construction of more landfill in poor regions. The society in Afton was never involved in the decision-making process and were not even consulted on the issue of constructing the landfill. To make the matter worse, when they contested the construction of that site in a mass demonstration, they were arrested and prosecuted. The committee that made a decision on the development of that site could not reconsider they decision, as they saw the black community in that region to be inferior to make any impact on the policy of waste management.
Counter Arguments
Poor Establish They Homes around Land Fills
In this discussion of why most landfills are found in poor regions, some scholars have defended the policy makers by claiming that it is the poor community who move to the landfills to settle there. With the high population growth, the increase in economic expenses and scarcity of residential places, the cost of living have become very high. Most of the poor community, unfortunate the colored people in the US are ca...