Search

This article draws on the stories of formerly incarcerated people to examine the ways in which the physical and social infrastructures of carceral facilities increase incarcerated people's vulnerability to environmental hazards exacerbated by climate change. We present qualitative data from interviews and focus groups with people who have been incarcerated in prisons and/or jails in Colorado regarding their experiences with incarceration infrastructure, amplifying the voices of formerly incarcerated people to identify vulnerabilities which have been deliberately hidden by carceral social and institutional processes, and adding them to the academic dialogue around incarceration and climate change. By providing testimony on the ways in which incarceration infrastructure—how they are designed, built, and maintained—amplify environmental harm, we identify how incarceration infrastructures create environmental vulnerability along axes of temperature, air quality, and water supply even before incarcerated people are exposed to climate hazards. Then, we illustrate ways incarcerated people encounter limits to their agency to mitigate this vulnerability, suggesting the need for structural change. Finally, we provide evidence that climate-related extreme temperatures, wildfires, and flood events experienced by our participants exploited the axes of vulnerability laid out above, affecting the majority (65%) of our 35 study participants. Overall, we argue current carceral infrastructure creates material realities that regularly cross the threshold of cruel and unusual punishment, and our argument supports decarceration as a necessary public policy intervention for robust, just, and humane climate resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, protests have emerged to save Lake Orumiyeh, which has nearly vanished following decades of agricultural development, dam building, and drought. Lake Orumiyeh is located in Iranian Azerbaijan, which sits at the intersection of three former empires: Persian, Ottoman, and Russian. Iranian Azerbaijan is largely comprised of ethno‐linguistic minority communities that are unevenly impacted by environmental hazards stemming from the lake's desiccation, and protests to save the lake are generally characterised as environmental conflict resulting from climate change or as a reflection of ethno‐nationalist tensions in Iran. These readings, however, fail to account for how imperial pasts and colonial presents shape exposure to environmental violence. This article posits that environmental violence functions as a form of coloniality and, using Lake Orumiyeh as an entry point, aims to: (i) examine coloniality in a country that was never formally colonised yet impacted by different formations of empire; (ii) account for subjectivities shaped through non‐Western European forms of imperialism; and (iii) connect racialised difference in Iran to the reproduction of colonial and racial logics vis‐à‐vis European imperialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper undertakes the eco-spatial re-reading of two Malayalam movies, Kumbalangi Nights (2019) and Malik (2021), using the framework of solastalgia. Solastalgia is an environmental philosophy developed by Glenn Albrecht that refers to the feeling of abandonment and isolation in relation to a drastically transformed spatial circumstance. It is the paradoxical sense of homelessness while still being home. The paper argues that solastalgia is a heuristic framework to analyse unjust geographies and reimagine them as forums for creative resilience, collective strength, and political action. The movies explore the ramifications of lived space on the life of people living in it and its coalescing with other social, political, and economic categories of injustice. Kumbalangi tells the story of four brothers living on a stranded island in the neighbourhood of a city and how they creatively resist the solastalgic distress caused by the neoliberal social order. Malik, set in a densely populated coastal village, delineates how solastalgia is instrumental in excessive criminalisation and breakage of the social fabric. The discussion of the movies seeks to show how cultural narratives such as films can be seen as important tools to represent unjust geographies, and resist them through rebellious re-imagination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines five poems of different African American poets from 1900 to 1999. Its main objective is to explore how each poet tackles African Americans' – and sometimes other minorities'- marginalization and persecution in the US, highlighting the eco-injustice practices conducted by the white authority. It also traces the established bond between African Americans and nature in the twentieth century through an ecocritical analysis of the selected poems. The article includes an examination of the reaction of African American schools developing from racial romanticism to resistance. To achieve this, the article identifies the differences between two basic terms that are usually used interchangeably: ecojustice and environmental justice. Then it identifies and illustrates four types of ecopoetry: nature poetry, environmental poetry, ecological poetry, reclamation ecopoetics/ecojustice poetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex relationship between profit margins and environmental sustainability practices (ESPs) in Ghana’s manufacturing industry is examined in this study. Utilizing information gathered from six manufacturing firms, the study uses regression analysis to examine how different ESPs affect profit margins. The hypothetical statements were tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA). ANOVA was used to ascertain the variability between the dependent and independent variables. The result from the model summary showed a significant relationship between the MCs’ profit margins and their ESPs. The results show that although certain ESPs, like using conventional pollution protection techniques, may only slightly raise profit margins, others, like putting modern pollution control technology into practice, may drastically lower profitability. Furthermore, the study emphasizes how waste management and environmental regulations have a favorable impact on profit margins, indicating that businesses that have strong environmental strategies typically have better financial results. However, the study also reveals the possible downsides of programs like eco-awards and environmental socialization, which have expenses but little return on investment. Overall, the study highlights the intricate relationship between economic performance and environmental sustainability in Ghanaian manufacturing, providing useful information for industry stakeholders and policymakers who want to support sustainable development practices without sacrificing profitability. By providing empirical evidence of the connection between ESPs and profit margins, the study advances academic knowledge and improves corporate economics and environmental management knowledge. The design of incentive programs and regulatory frameworks to support sustainable behaviors can be informed by findings, that balance environmental responsibility and financial feasibility.

Exposure to lead remains a critical public health concern due to its toxic nature and widespread distribution in the environment. Limited research has investigated the risks of lead emissions to the environment by many operating industrial facilities. Using geospatial analysis and multiple regression methods, this article examines racial and class inequalities in proximity to industrial facilities and the concomitant lead exposure. We observe significant positive associations between the proportion of Black residents in census tracts and proximity to lead-emitting facilities and lead exposure after adjusting for other socioeconomic factors. Likewise, median household income was negatively associated with proximity to lead-emitting facilities. Moreover, Black residents and the below-poverty group had larger mean population-weighted lead exposures than white and the above-poverty group respectively. The findings of this study provided further evidence supporting the environmental injustice literature and can inform policies to reduce ambient lead releases from industrial facilities and eliminate health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many vulnerable people lose their health or lives each year as a result of unhealthy environmental conditions that perpetuate medical conditions within the scope of allergy and immunology specialists' expertise. While detrimental environmental factors impact all humans globally, the effect is disproportionately more profound in impoverished neighborhoods. Environmental injustice is the inequitable exposure of disadvantaged populations to environmental hazards. Professional medical organizations such as the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) are well positioned to engage and encourage community outreach volunteer programs to combat environmental justice. Here we discuss how environmental injustices and climate change impacts allergic diseases among vulnerable populations. We discuss pathways allergists/immunologists can use to contribute to addressing environmental determinants by providing volunteer clinical service, education, and advocacy. Furthermore, allergists/immunologists can play a role in building trust within these communities, partnering with other patient advocacy nonprofit stakeholders, and engaging with local, state, national, and international nongovernmental organizations, faith-based organizations, and governments. The AAAAI's Volunteerism Addressing Environmental Disparities in Allergy (VAEDIA) is the presidential task force aiming to promote volunteer initiatives by creating platforms for discussion and collaboration and by funding community-based projects to address environmental injustice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper problematizes the anthropocentrism that dominates critical responses to Yvonne Vera's Butterfly Burning (1998). It considers how Vera inscribes colonial issues within the landscape and emplaces nature in decolonial thought. Contrary to claims that most African writers have resisted the ecocritical paradigm, I argue that writers such as Vera exhibit an environmental consciousness. In my reading, I focalize the everyday experiences of ordinary people as they relate to nature in the wake of colonial modernity. While colonialism was dehumanizing to black people, Vera underscores the environmental injustice and capitalist phallocracy that undergirds it. The paper draws from and builds on the growing body of work on postcolonial ecocriticism, suggesting that postcolonial and ecocritical discourses can productively enrich each other in deconstructing toxic modernities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dogs can negatively affect the wellbeing of people and nature, but if this changes along a socioeconomic gradient, then social inequity might be at fault. Here, we identify environmental injustice at the city scale by modeling differences in the density of urban dog populations according to varying levels of socioeconomic development across municipalities of Chile's capital, Santiago. Our analysis demonstrates a strong relation between dog density and social inequity, specifically because dog density increases along with poverty, but decreases in municipalities with higher municipal income. We offer specific proposals to ameliorate and reverse this inequity. These results expose another aspect of the impacts people and nature are subjected to by dogs, adding a new social lens to address the dog problem worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ecología Política is the property of Fundacio ENT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Public green spaces (PGSs) play a positive role in urban social sustainability and solidarity, as all urban dwellers can access them without discrimination or restrictions, but urbanization usually leads to an extreme shortage of PGSs and thus it becomes an important spatial resource that is competed for by different groups, especially migrant populations. Taking the Macau Peninsula as an example, this study employed a hybrid analysis approach, including the spatial Gini coefficient, spatial share index and spatial quality assessment, to look at the PGS injustice in high-density post-colonial areas. The results showed that (1) there is a "spatial mismatch" in the Peninsula's PGS; (2) significant PGS service differences have been found between the colonial group (Portuguese) and immigrant group (Southeast Asian); and (3) a comparative analysis of the changes in the equity of PGSs over the past 40 years reveals that the PGS tends to be equitable overall, but the differences between groups have gradually increased. PGS injustice mainly depends on the spatial production mechanism during the colonial period of Macau and the spatial selection and limitation of groups due to differential social integration. Based on this, this work proposes recommendations for the planning and construction of PGS in terms of urban renewal and social sustainability, as well as new reclamation areas, in Macau. This study broadens the field and helps to improve the PGS inequality in high-density post-colonial areas, aiding regional sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change has resulted in a significant rise in extreme heat events, exerting considerable but unequal impacts on morbidity and mortality. Numerous studies have identified inequities in heat exposure across different groups, but social identities have often been viewed in isolation from each other. Children (5 and under) and older adults (65 and older) also face elevated risks of heat-related health impacts. We employ an intersectional cross-classificatory approach to analyze the distribution of heat exposure between sociodemographic categories split into age groups in the contiguous US. We utilize high-resolution daily air temperature data to establish three census tract-level heat metrics (i.e., average summer temperature, heat waves, and heat island days). We pair those metrics with American Community Survey estimates on racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and disability status by age to calculate population weighted mean exposures and absolute disparity metrics. Our findings indicate few substantive differences between age groups overall, but more substantial differences between sociodemographic categories within age groups, with children and older adults from socially marginalized backgrounds facing greater exposure than adults from similar backgrounds. When looking at sociodemographic differences by age, people of color of any age and older adults without health insurance emerge as the most exposed groups. This study identifies groups who are most exposed to extreme heat. Policy and program interventions aimed at reducing the impacts of heat should take these disparities in exposure into account to achieve health equity objectives.

The site known as Lipnica is a segregated Roma settlement built on the edge of a municipal landfill in the district town of Turčany, central Slovakia (fictitious names have been used for the site and the town). The settlement emerged as a result of processes rooted in neoliberal economic restructuring, accompanied by a sharp rise in unemployment in the 1990s. The settlement was originally built to provide temporary housing for those who were in arrears for rent in municipal flats, and originally consisted of one apartment building and several modular cabins. In the following years it expanded, and today it is an ethnic quasi-ghetto for approximately 400 Roma inhabitants. From a theoretical perspective, an analysis of the Lipnica settlement is situated at the intersection of critical race theory and environmental justice theory. In this article, we describe the trajectory leading to the formation of the settlement and analyse how the impoverishment of the Roma, coupled with the construction of the community as 'maladjusted' anti-social others, facilitated their spatial exclusion. We conclude that the case demythologises culturising explanations for the emergence of Roma settlements, by using empirical data to show how Lipnica developed as a result of intentional discriminatory policies of the local ruling class used against an ethnic minority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The island cluster in the South Indian port city of Kochi has been the site of immense development activities since the 2000s. Thickly populated by shore communities and other caste-oppressed groups, the islanders struggled and mobilised themselves against development projects which threatened their livelihood and marine ecology. One such protest against the Liquefied Petroleum Gas terminal of the Indian Oil Corporation in Puthuvype, a scenic island off the Arabian sea, went on for over a decade. The protestors, including large numbers of women, sustained their struggle despite the state repression in various forms and thereby inserted the need for environmentally and locally conscious development as a necessary step towards social justice. An analysis of this protest signposts the need to acknowledge environmental injustice towards marginalised communities, including shore communities, to deliberate about locally nuanced and relevant development for sustainable eco-futures in South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allergic and immunologic conditions, including asthma, food allergy, atopic dermatitis, and allergic rhinitis, are among the most common chronic conditions in children and adolescents that often last into adulthood. Although rare, inborn errors of immunity are life-altering and potentially fatal if unrecognized or untreated. Thus, allergic and immunologic conditions are both medical and public health issues that are profoundly affected by socioeconomic factors. Recently, studies have highlighted societal issues to evaluate factors at multiple levels that contribute to health inequities and the potential steps toward closing those gaps. Socioeconomic disparities can influence all aspects of care, including health care access and quality, diagnosis, management, education, and disease prevalence and outcomes. Ongoing research, engagement, and deliberate investment of resources by relevant stakeholders and advocacy approaches are needed to identify and address the impact of socioeconomics on health care disparities and outcomes among patients with allergic and immunologic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionThe US deports more Mexicans to Tijuana than any other borderland city. Returning involuntarily as members of a stigmatized underclass, many find themselves homeless and de-facto stateless. Subject to routinized police victimization, many take refuge in the Tijuana River Canal (El Bordo). Previous reports suggest Tijuana River water may be contaminated but prior studies have not accessed the health effects or contamination of the water closest to the river residents.MethodsA binational, transdisciplinary team undertook a socio-environmental, mixed methods assessment to simultaneously characterize Tijuana River water quality with chemical testing, assess the frequency of El Bordo residents' water-related diseases, and trace water contacts with epidemiological survey methods (n = 85 adults, 18+) in 2019, and ethnographic methods in 2019-2021. Our analysis brings the structural violence framework into conversation with an environmental injustice perspective to documented how social forces drive poor health outcomes enacted through the environment.ResultsThe Tijuana River water most proximate to its human inhabitants fails numerous water-quality standards, posing acute health risks. Escherichia coli values were ∼40,000 times the Mexican regulatory standard for directly contacted water. Skin infections (47%), dehydration (40%) and diarrhea (28%) were commonly reported among El Bordo residents. Residents are aware the water is contaminated and strive to minimize harm to their health by differentially using local water sources. Their numerous survival constraints, however, are exacerbated by routine police violence which propels residents and other people who inject drugs into involuntary contact with contaminated water.DiscussionHuman rights to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene are routinely violated among El Bordo inhabitants. This is exacerbated by violent policing practices that force unhoused deportees to seek refuge in waterways, and drive water contacts. Furthermore, US-Mexico 'free-trade' agreements drive rapid growth in Tijuana, restrict Mexican environmental regulation enforcement, and drive underinvestment in sewage systems and infrastructure.

Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) through environmental exposure to chemicals including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) can lead to severe adverse health effects and increase the risk of breast cancer. This review considers several mechanisms which link the tumor promoting effects of environmental pollutants with the AhR signaling pathway, contributing to the development and progression of breast cancer. We explore AhR's function in shaping the tumor microenvironment, modifying immune tolerance, and regulating cancer stemness, driving breast cancer chemoresistance and metastasis. The complexity of AhR, with evidence for both oncogenic and tumor suppressor roles is discussed. We propose that AhR functions as a "molecular bridge", linking disproportionate toxin exposure and policies which underlie environmental injustice with tumor cell behaviors which drive poor patient outcomes.

In the United States, there has been a long history of environmental injustice that disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities and low-income communities due to racially targeted policies and widespread discrimination. Environmental racism can be revealed in housing discrimination that perpetuates inequities in exposure to environmental pollutants. Biased credit and mortgaging practices such as redlining have led to housing segregation of racial and ethnic minorities in the USA, permitting policymakers to diminish and disinvest in these communities. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified housing instability for families of color, including Black and Hispanic/Latinx communities, putting them at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure. There is a need to investigate how environmental injustice intensifies the COVID-19 pandemic, illuminates racial and ethnic inequities in exposure to environmental contaminants, and fuels disparities in COVID-19 outcomes. The aims of this paper are to analyze and discuss environmental injustice and racial and ethnic disparities related to COVID-19 and housing. We also propose recommendations to address this pervasive issue.

Abstract The article analyzed the sugarcane-derived socioenvironmental conflicts and injustice in the Acaú-Goiana Extractive Reserve, Pernambuco, Brazil. A descriptive case study was conducted with rural workers based on social cartography and documents, analyzed under the EJAtlas categories. The Global Atlas of Environmental Justice (EJAtlas) is a web inventory that gathers environmental conflicts and injustice, serving as a basis for reporting affected territories. Even with the creation of the Reserve to protect natural assets and ecosystem life, new conflicts emerged from the installation of enterprises that put pressure on the territory and added to centuries-old problems such as sugarcane cultivation. Other impacts include air pollution, contamination of soil and water resources, biodiversity loss, food and nutritional insecurity, increased violence, human rights violations, and mental health problems.

This study analyzes whether the low rate of universalizing water supply and sanitation services in Brazil is related to the low participation of private companies in the concession of these services in municipalities in the country. To this end, it discusses basic sanitation in Brazil and its current scenario, its problems from the point of view of environmental injustice, and the existing public/private conflicts. The empirical analysis conducted a data survey of eight municipalities defined in four population groups, comparing data from 13 operational, efficiency, quality, and cost indicators of the services provided. Each population group compared two municipalities providing water and sewerage services, one provided by a public company and the other by a private company. The compared data were from 2021, obtained through the Brazilian National Sanitation Information System (SNIS). As a result of the comparative analyses, it was shown that the performance of public companies was more positive for most indicators, compared to private companies. It is concluded that the main challenge to overcome the social and environmental injustice resulting from the deficit in basic sanitation coverage lies in the promotion of public management instruments that enable the articulation of public and private investments in the expansion of basic sanitation services, in the improvement of the quality of services with the inclusion of social control through popular participation.

Latin America is as heterogeneous as its cities. To understand Latin American cities, it is necessary to have a clear vision of how they are organized, not only physically but according to their social, cultural, and economic contexts (which are associated). Historically, it has suffered a lot in terms of politics and the security of its cities. Insecurity reflects a structural problem; economic and social inequality are the main actors of spatial segregation, motivating violence and, consequently, the insecurity of urban space. Fortaleza is one of the largest Brazilian cities, and it is possible to fit it into this reality. Many public actions may benefit only one sector of society, showing biased investments and, again, confirming the tremendous economic and social differences in Latin American cities. In this study, questionnaires related to attendance, feelings, maintenance, and safety were made to some of Fortaleza's residents regarding an urban park called Parque do Cocó, one of the biggest in Latin America. Due to its large area, it is located in different city neighborhoods, allowing for us to see the differences in treatments throughout its extension. This article aims to understand how the public opinions and mentality of a portion of the population are characterized concerning safety in green public spaces in the city. In addition, the insecurity of public green spaces can also be inserted into a problem of environmental injustice in the urban context. This study of Fortaleza's Cocó Park highlights significant disparities in safety perceptions and maintenance across socioeconomic regions. Findings indicate that areas with higher human development index (HDI) scores experience better park conditions. The research underscores the necessity for comprehensive urban policies that address socioeconomic inequalities, as evidenced by the correlation between crime rates and HDI. Cocó Park emerges as a key factor in sustainable urban development, aligning with Fortaleza's urban planning goals. The study emphasizes the critical role of urban green spaces in enhancing the quality of life and fostering social cohesion in urban landscapes. Moreover, with the data collected, it will be possible to stress further how urban adequacy relates to social situations in Latin American cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigeria has the largest oil reserve in Africa and the 10th largest in the world from which the extraction of fossil fuels takes place on about 50 million hectares of public land. Hydrocarbon extraction has intensified environmental injustice by destroying aquatic resources, impairing livelihoods, violating human rights, and posing threats to public health arising from the disproportionate distribution of toxic substances and other environmental burdens associated with oil industry operations. The environmental impact assessment system constitutes the primary framework for environmental justice in the petroleum industry. Using the analytical model as methodology, and case law and relevant literature as sources of data, this study examines the weaknesses of Nigeria’s environmental impact assessment system as a modality of environmental protection. Based on the identified shortcomings in the impact assessment regime which accentuate environmental injustice, the study recommends, among others, a review of the impact assessment instrument to accord with contemporary realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex relationship between profit margins and environmental sustainability practices (ESPs) in Ghana's manufacturing industry is examined in this study. Utilizing information gathered from six manufacturing firms, the study uses regression analysis to examine how different ESPs affect profit margins. The hypothetical statements were tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA). ANOVA was used to ascertain the variability between the dependent and independent variables. The result from the model summary showed a significant relationship between the MCs' profit margins and their ESPs. The results show that although certain ESPs, like using conventional pollution protection techniques, may only slightly raise profit margins, others, like putting modern pollution control technology into practice, may drastically lower profitability. Furthermore, the study emphasizes how waste management and environmental regulations have a favorable impact on profit margins, indicating that businesses that have strong environmental strategies typically have better financial results. However, the study also reveals the possible downsides of programs like eco-awards and environmental socialization, which have expenses but little return on investment. Overall, the study highlights the intricate relationship between economic performance and environmental sustainability in Ghanaian manufacturing, providing useful information for industry stakeholders and policymakers who want to support sustainable development practices without sacrificing profitability. By providing empirical evidence of the connection between ESPs and profit margins, the study advances academic knowledge and improves corporate economics and environmental management knowledge. The design of incentive programs and regulatory frameworks to support sustainable behaviors can be informed by findings, that balance environmental responsibility and financial feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, there has been a long history of environmental injustice that disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities and low-income communities due to racially targeted policies and widespread discrimination. Environmental racism can be revealed in housing discrimination that perpetuates inequities in exposure to environmental pollutants. Biased credit and mortgaging practices such as redlining have led to housing segregation of racial and ethnic minorities in the USA, permitting policymakers to diminish and disinvest in these communities. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified housing instability for families of color, including Black and Hispanic/Latinx communities, putting them at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure. There is a need to investigate how environmental injustice intensifies the COVID-19 pandemic, illuminates racial and ethnic inequities in exposure to environmental contaminants, and fuels disparities in COVID-19 outcomes. The aims of this paper are to analyze and discuss environmental injustice and racial and ethnic disparities related to COVID-19 and housing. We also propose recommendations to address this pervasive issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overlapping claims on land use between coal mining and other land-based activities have led to legal uncertainties, with negative social, economic, and environmental impacts. This study examines overlapping claims on land use arising from inconsistencies with the regulation of Indonesia's land and resource licensing system and the consequent legal, social, and environmental impacts. This study investigates the overarching issues with the implementation of policies and regulations concerning coal mining licensing in Indonesia. Results indicate that the prevailing legal framework in Indonesia favors coal mining activities over other land uses (including smallholder production of food). The coal mining industry is given preferential treatment regarding land use and licensing compared to other land-based users, resulting in significant social and environmental injustice. Other land-based activities outside the mining sector experience greater legal uncertainty in obtaining equal access to land. This creates difficulty in maintaining continuity in their operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the relationship between decolonization, climate change, and environmental injustice as represented in the writings of Abdulrazak Gurnah. Gurnah’s work is considered an example of decolonial literature. Decolonial literature has focused on issues beyond the nature of the colonial subject, highlighting the relationship between the capitalist world economy and the formation of modern decolonial subjectivities, namely the exposure of those subjectivities to environmental injustice. The paper intends to answer the following research question: how does Abdulrazak Gurnah address the articulation between decolonization, climate change, and environmental injustice? The paper argues that Gurnah addresses such an articulation by discussing knowledge production about the colonial subject and the postcolonial self and instituting an association between environmental/climate precarity and biopolitical precarity. Building from two of Gurnah’s novels—By the Sea and Afterlives – the paper debates how Gurnah’s characters are afflicted by the racialization of social and economic relations and biopolitical and climate precarity. Questioning knowledge production about the colonial subject and the postcolonial self is significant because it underscores the importance of transforming how knowledge about climate change is produced. Instituting an association between environmental/climate precarity and biopolitical precarity permits debating how colonial and capitalist power structures are responsible for disseminating environmental injustice, foregrounding the epistemic importance of indigenous climate change studies. The work of Gurnah is critically analyzed, bearing in mind the need to discuss the relevance of addressing climate change and environmental injustice from the perspective of global south literature.

Barrio Logan is a Mexican American community in San Diego in which industrial companies and residences share a space enclosed by a bay and an interstate. Ever since WWII, the Barrio Logan community has faced environmental injustice. There is a gap in Barrio Logan’s ability to self-monitor, so business models were developed to bring forth citizen science projects based on data collected from government environmental studies, the nurse’s office at Barrio Logan’s Perkins K-8 School, and interviews with Perkins K-8 School’s principal and the director and staff at the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center. It was found that children in Barrio Logan are experiencing a health crisis. Homelessness, single-parent households, unemployment, gentrification, low-wage jobs, continuous diesel particulate matter exposure, and high levels of asthma can be found in Barrio Logan. There is a lack of easily accessible, community-wide health programs that address ACEs and a lack of air pollution monitoring.

This document is an editorial from the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, discussing the topic of water and sanitation privatization and its implications for environmental injustice. The editorial highlights the challenges and complexities of water and sanitation issues, including urbanization, lack of public investment, and climate change. It emphasizes the need for reflection and debate on this topic and presents several articles that explore different perspectives and case studies related to water and sanitation privatization. The overall goal is to contribute to the understanding of these issues and inform decision-making processes. [Extracted from the article]

ABSTRACTEnvironmental problems have become so profound that they require a concerted effort to fix them, but many manufacturing companies have failed to go green. This paper explores the challenges manufacturing companies (MCs) face in their efforts to have and maintain the best environmental sustainability practices (ESPs) in urban Ghana. The study involved 600 respondents selected from six manufacturing companies using a cross-sectional survey design with a two-stage sampling technique. The result showed that the challenges to environmental sustainability practices negatively relate to the socio-economic performance of manufacturing companies. These findings add to the literature on challenges to achieving environmental sustainability and contribute a social science perspective to the ongoing discussion on ESPs of MCs. This research is unique in the sense that studies on environmental sustainability and MCs have concentrated on the chemicals or pollutants but not on the polluter-behavior dynamics.

The aim of this study is to territorially link the distribution of mining tailings and multi-dimensional poverty at a local level. For this purpose, a database was constructed with governmental information regarding municipalities that present tailings, and subsequently, identified their levels of multidimensional poverty. The results show: (i) the presence of tailings throughout the national territory, although their greater concentration is found in the country's center-north; (ii) that the majority of tailings at the national level is located in socially and economically disadvantaged municipalities; and (iii) that only 4 municipalities concentrate 321 of the 757 tailings, which represent 42,4% of the national total. This information allows us to conclude that the task of surveying and remediating mining tailings is a national governance challenge and that in order to address it, the context and the social injustice it causes must be considered.

Copyright of Sustainability in Debate / Sustentabilidade em Debate is the property of University of Brasilia, Center for Sustainable Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recent studies have identified inequality in the distribution of air pollution attributable health impacts, but to our knowledge this has not been examined in Canadian cities. We evaluated the extent and sources of inequality in air pollution attributable mortality at the census tract (CT) level in seven of Canada's largest cities. We first regressed fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) attributable mortality against the neighborhood (CT) level prevalence of age 65 and older, low income, low educational attainment, and identification as an Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) or Black person, accounting for spatial autocorrelation. We next examined the distribution of baseline mortality rates, PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations, and attributable mortality by neighborhood (CT) level prevalence of these characteristics, calculating the concentration index, Atkinson index, and Gini coefficient. Finally, we conducted a counterfactual analysis of the impact of reducing baseline mortality rates and air pollution concentrations on inequality in air pollution attributable mortality. Regression results indicated that CTs with a higher prevalence of low income and Indigenous identity had significantly higher air pollution attributable mortality. Concentration index, Atkinson index, and Gini coefficient values revealed different degrees of inequality among the cities. Counterfactual analysis indicated that inequality in air pollution attributable mortality tended to be driven more by baseline mortality inequalities than exposure inequalities. Reducing inequality in air pollution attributable mortality requires reducing disparities in both baseline mortality and air pollution exposure. Plain Language Summary: Is air pollution attributable mortality equally distributed within cities? What population characteristics drive inequalities? Does the degree of inequality differ between cities? To what extent are inequalities in air pollution attributable mortality driven by exposure inequalities versus baseline mortality inequalities? In this study of seven Canadian cities, we found that neighborhoods with a higher prevalence of low income and Indigenous identity had significantly higher air pollution attributable mortality. However, there were different degrees of inequality among the cities. Inequality in air pollution attributable mortality tended to be driven more by baseline mortality inequalities than exposure inequalities. Key Points: Census tracts with a higher prevalence of low income and Indigenous identity had significantly higher air pollution attributable mortalityThe magnitude of inequality differed among seven Canadian citiesInequality in air pollution attributable mortality tended to be driven more by baseline mortality inequalities than exposure inequalities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the late 1990s, the predominantly white community of Morningside, North Carolina, prevented annexation into the larger majority-minority city of Greensboro, citing their desire to "preserve their way of life." This case demonstrates how a white, affluent town incorporated, resisting annexation, and with it, centralized water service connections. More than twenty years later, many residents in Morningside continue to reject centralized water and sewerage, fearing it will facilitate in-migration and erode the town's "community character." These decades-long dynamics maintain the high degree of racial residential segregation between Morningside and neighboring Greensboro. Morningside stands in stark contrast to many Black communities in North Carolina, which are underbounded and excluded from municipal water and sanitation. This case contributes to environmental injustice and water security scholarship in three ways. First, we enrich the meaning ascribed to water infrastructure and the purposes that it serves—as a connection (an improvement) and as an intrusion. Second, by situating these current contests within a larger historical context, we highlight the social constructedness of water. In this dialectical relationship, water is both the outward mechanism to marginalize, hiding the actors behind the process, and the object of corruption for people who are marginalized. Third, we demonstrate how water infrastructure advances exclusionary futures that rely on erasure and discursive coding. Overall, we caution how the depoliticization of centralized water infrastructure can enable the persistence of racial residential segregation in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Attributes defining the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) are associated with disproportionate exposures to environmental hazards and differential health outcomes among communities. The dynamics between SDoH, disproportionate environmental exposures, and differential health outcomes are often specific to micro-geographic areas. Methods This study focused on children less than 20 years of age who lived in Douglas County, Nebraska, during 2016–2019. To assess the role of SDoH in differential exposures, we evaluated the association between SDoH metrics and criteria pollutant concentrations and the association between SDoH and pediatric asthma exacerbations to quantify the role of SDoH in differential pediatric asthma outcomes. The Bayesian Poisson regression model with spatial random effects was used to evaluate associations. Results We identified significant positive associations between the annual mean concentration of criteria pollutants (carbon monoxide, particulate matter2.5, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide) with race (Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic/Latino), financial stability, and literacy. Additionally, there were significant positive associations between higher rates of pediatric asthma emergency department visits and neighborhoods with more Non-Hispanic Black children, children without health insurance coverage, and households without access to a vehicle. Conclusions Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic/Latino children living in Douglas County, NE experience disproportionately higher exposure to criteria pollutant concentrations. Additionally, higher rates of asthma exacerbations among Non-Hispanic Black children could be due to reduced access to respiratory care that is potentially the result of financial instability and vehicle access. These results could inform city planners and health care providers to mitigate respiratory risks among these higher at-risk populations.

Brazilian cities feature quite unequal neighborhoods. Middle-class neighborhoods have better infrastructure than those inhabited by low-income families. These inequalities are not limited to social and economic scopes; they also reach the environmental one. Tree cover in these neighborhoods is often correlated to residents' socioeconomic status. Injustice in access to trees deprives Brazilians of their ecosystem services. Furthermore, the scarcity of tree cover in the poorest neighborhoods means less support for biodiversity. Thus, backyards can be planned to form vegetation patches capable of providing urban populations with access to green areas, as well as working as wildlife habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Espaço Jurídico: Journal of Law is the property of Espaco Juridico: Journal of Law and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines the Nominal Group in the ecopoetry of Ebi Yeibo and G'ebinyo Ogbowei. Both poets are of the Niger Delta literary tradition of protest literature. This literature is a reaction to the brazen exploitation of petroleum resources in the Niger Delta without compensation and environmental impact assessment by the Nigerian government and the international oil companies. Three representative poems are selected from different collections of the two poets. They are analysed using Systemic Functional Grammar as theoretical framework. The systemic functional analysis of the Nominal Group brings out the eco-critical features of the poems. An analysis of the MHQ structures throws up the vexed issue of environmental injustice and brings to the fore the struggle of the Niger Delta people for resource control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente is the property of Universidade Federal do Parana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper takes the United States as a case study on the gendered implications of hyper-incarceration in the age of climate emergency. Prisons here are often located on toxic sites and constitute sources of contamination; climate change and global warming exacerbate these conditions. Incarcerated women and their communities are particularly affected. The female incarceration rate has skyrocketed, and women come to the carceral complex with unique histories of abuse, and higher rates of physical and mental illness. Researchers and policymakers need to address, analyse, and include incarcerated women's experiences of climate stress in global policy mechanisms such as the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders ("Bangkok Rules"). Abolition feminism and the voices of incarcerated women should meaningfully help connect the dots in the larger framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pacha: Revista de Estudios Contemporáneos del Sur Global is the property of PACHA REVISTA DE ESTUDIOS CONTEMPORANEOS DEL SUR GLOBAL and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract Recent studies have identified inequality in the distribution of air pollution attributable health impacts, but to our knowledge this has not been examined in Canadian cities. We evaluated the extent and sources of inequality in air pollution attributable mortality at the census tract (CT) level in seven of Canada's largest cities. We first regressed fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) attributable mortality against the neighborhood (CT) level prevalence of age 65 and older, low income, low educational attainment, and identification as an Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) or Black person, accounting for spatial autocorrelation. We next examined the distribution of baseline mortality rates, PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations, and attributable mortality by neighborhood (CT) level prevalence of these characteristics, calculating the concentration index, Atkinson index, and Gini coefficient. Finally, we conducted a counterfactual analysis of the impact of reducing baseline mortality rates and air pollution concentrations on inequality in air pollution attributable mortality. Regression results indicated that CTs with a higher prevalence of low income and Indigenous identity had significantly higher air pollution attributable mortality. Concentration index, Atkinson index, and Gini coefficient values revealed different degrees of inequality among the cities. Counterfactual analysis indicated that inequality in air pollution attributable mortality tended to be driven more by baseline mortality inequalities than exposure inequalities. Reducing inequality in air pollution attributable mortality requires reducing disparities in both baseline mortality and air pollution exposure.

Environmental degradation, climate crises, and ecological catastrophes effect the countries of the tropics distinctly from those of the Global North, reflecting the ramifications of colonial capitalist epistemes and practices that sanction extraction, commodification, and control of tropical lands and peoples. Imbolo Mbue’s How Beautiful We Were (2021), set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, bears witness to the history and presence of ecological disaster in the African tropics through issues related to extractivism, environmental injustices, and structural racism that are ongoing under the mask of capitalist progress and development. Mbue, a Cameroonian-American novelist, recounts Kosawa’s decades-long struggle against the American oil company Pexton. This article focuses on the critical aspect that Mbue’s discourse reveals—that there is a need to map environmental injustices with other forms of structural injustices and the prevalence of neocolonialism and its manifestations through racial, economic, and epistemic practices. The article further explicates how the ordinary people of Kosawa become subjected to “slow violence” and “testimonial injustice” and foregrounds the necessity of “epistemic disobedience” demonstrated in the novel through the madman’s intervention and Thula’s sustained resistance to the exploitative agendas.