Environmental Justice Key Events
1979
Bean v. Southwestern Waste Management Corporation
+info
1982
Warren County
+info
1992
KARI-OCA
+info
2014
Flint Water Crisis
+info
2016
Dakota Access Pipeline protests
+info
1982
Warren County
Warren County has been credited as the birthplace of the environmental justice movement. The community protested for over six weeks because of they were against a landfill for soil contaminated with oil laced with polychlorinated biphenyls. During their six-week protest, many were arrested, and their actions drew national attention. This is when the term "environmental racism" was coined by Ben Chavis. Sadly the lawsuit filed against PCB failed to stop it, but this birthed a whole new movement of environmental justice, brought awareness to environmental racism, and helped influence policy and legislation.
2014
Flint Water Crisis
In the spring of 2014, Flint switched its drinking water supply from Detroit’s system to the Flint River to save more money. The city failed to test the water supply, resulting in extreme water quality issues. Flint’s water supply was plagued with lead and caused an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. Amariyanna Copeny, an eight-year-old living in Flint, decided to do something when no one else would, and she raised awareness/funding for her community. This helped Flint garner national attention. One of her efforts, sending a letter to the president, and his visit to Flint prompted federal action to be taken in Flint.
1992
KARI-OCA
A landmark declaration that helped establish a foundation for Indigenous environmental advocacy. This group demanded that the UN abandon false solutions to climate change and choose better alternatives like more traditional systems of resource management, which were used before colonization. They also demanded that indigenous people be included in climate change conversations and decision-making because they are most impacted by the negative impacts of the lack of resources.
1979
Bean V. Southwestern Waste Management, Inc.
Residents of Northwood Manor in East Houston took action after realizing the decison to place a garbage dump in their neighborhood was racially motivated and violated the Civil Rights Act.The residemts were unable to provide detailed factual information on the siting decision and the plant was bulit. However this started a movement of using the courts as a tool to fight environmental injustice.
2016
Dakota Access Pipeline protests
In 2016 the Dakota Access Pipeline, a 1,172-mile-long underground pipeline, received its permit for construction. Soon after, grassroots protests spread the word that the pipeline was threatening the water supply of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota. While the protest did garner national attention and support, the pipeline was still built and is still active to this day. This movement, however, did influence how indigenous rights and environmental review are considered in future projects.
Environmental Justice Key Events
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Transcript
Environmental Justice Key Events
1979
Bean v. Southwestern Waste Management Corporation
+info
1982
Warren County
+info
1992
KARI-OCA
+info
2014
Flint Water Crisis
+info
2016
Dakota Access Pipeline protests
+info
1982
Warren County
Warren County has been credited as the birthplace of the environmental justice movement. The community protested for over six weeks because of they were against a landfill for soil contaminated with oil laced with polychlorinated biphenyls. During their six-week protest, many were arrested, and their actions drew national attention. This is when the term "environmental racism" was coined by Ben Chavis. Sadly the lawsuit filed against PCB failed to stop it, but this birthed a whole new movement of environmental justice, brought awareness to environmental racism, and helped influence policy and legislation.
2014
Flint Water Crisis
In the spring of 2014, Flint switched its drinking water supply from Detroit’s system to the Flint River to save more money. The city failed to test the water supply, resulting in extreme water quality issues. Flint’s water supply was plagued with lead and caused an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. Amariyanna Copeny, an eight-year-old living in Flint, decided to do something when no one else would, and she raised awareness/funding for her community. This helped Flint garner national attention. One of her efforts, sending a letter to the president, and his visit to Flint prompted federal action to be taken in Flint.
1992
KARI-OCA
A landmark declaration that helped establish a foundation for Indigenous environmental advocacy. This group demanded that the UN abandon false solutions to climate change and choose better alternatives like more traditional systems of resource management, which were used before colonization. They also demanded that indigenous people be included in climate change conversations and decision-making because they are most impacted by the negative impacts of the lack of resources.
1979
Bean V. Southwestern Waste Management, Inc.
Residents of Northwood Manor in East Houston took action after realizing the decison to place a garbage dump in their neighborhood was racially motivated and violated the Civil Rights Act.The residemts were unable to provide detailed factual information on the siting decision and the plant was bulit. However this started a movement of using the courts as a tool to fight environmental injustice.
2016
Dakota Access Pipeline protests
In 2016 the Dakota Access Pipeline, a 1,172-mile-long underground pipeline, received its permit for construction. Soon after, grassroots protests spread the word that the pipeline was threatening the water supply of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota. While the protest did garner national attention and support, the pipeline was still built and is still active to this day. This movement, however, did influence how indigenous rights and environmental review are considered in future projects.