Environmental Justice:
"Racial discrimination in environmental policy making and the enforcement of regulations and laws, the deliberate targeting of people of color communities for toxic waste facilities, the official sanctioning of the life threatening presence of poisons and pollutants in our communities, and the history of excluding people of color from the leadership of environmental movement."
- Dr. Reverend Benjamin Chavis
Principles:
- Environmental justice affirms the sacredness of Mother Earth, ecological unity and interdependence of all species, and the right to be free from ecological destruction.
- Environmental justice demands that public policy be based on mutual respect and justice for all peoples, free from any form of discrimination or bias.
- Environmental justice calls for universal protection from nuclear testing and the extraction, production and disposal of toxic hazardous wastes and poisons that threaten the fundamental right to clean air, land, water, and food.
- Environmental justice demands the right to participate as equal partners at every level of decision-making including needs assessment, planning, implementation, enforcement and evaluation.
- Environmental justice calls for the education of present and future generations which emphasizes social and environmental issues, based on our experience and appreciation of our diverse cultural perspectives.
- Environmental justice requires that we, as individuals, make personal and consumer choices to consume as little of Mother Earth's resources and to produce as little waste as possible, and make the conscious decision to challenge and reprioritize our lifestyles to insure the health of the natural world for present and future generations.