Environmental Justice One Sheet

Document Type

Poster Presentation

Publication Date

4-17-2026

Keywords

fsc2026

Abstract

nvironmental Justice argues that environmental issues are unevenly experienced and are connected to social structures that shape people's access to necessities of life, such as clean air, safe water, and healthy living conditions. It emphasizes that systems of oppression, like race and class, interact and increase vulnerability to environmental harm. Marginalized groups have been more likely to live near polluting areas where they are exposed to environmental hazards and waste sites because corporations will dump or pollute in low-income communities rather than in white, middle-class communities. This action tends to lead to fewer trees, parks, open spaces, and playgrounds, and to less access to healthy, nutritious food that would otherwise be available in these low-income areas. This creates long-term health disparities that affect future generations. The concept of environmental justice critiques the traditional cost-benefit analysis approach to decision-making, instead focusing on historically overlooked communities. Historical racism has created these hazardous spaces and forced communities of color to be exposed to more environmental harm than good.  Environmental justice argues for fair treatment: no group should bear a disproportionate share of negative environmental consequences. Marginalized communities are deliberately excluded from environmental decision-making; environmental justice advocates a more inclusive framework that incorporates marginalized voices into environmental policy.

Comments

Poster presented at the 2026 Fisher Showcase, St. John Fisher University, April 17, 2026.

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