35
Environmental
Rights and Justice
Every person in every community has the right to health, and to a safe and
healthy environment. Unfortunately, these rights are often not respected.
Many people suffer from serious health problems caused by a scarcity of basic
necessities and an excess of harmful substances. The most vulnerable people
are those who have low status because of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, class,
caste, poverty, or for other reasons. They usually suffer first, and worst.
The struggle to live in a healthy, safe, productive, and enjoyable environment
by communities whose rights are not well respected by people in power is
sometimes called the struggle for environmental justice.
There are many stories from around the world of communities suffering
unjustly from environmental health disasters, just as many stories can be told of
people organizing to protect and defend their right to health and environmental
justice in the wake of these disasters. This chapter tells such a story.