Concept information
Preferred term
RIEH
Definition
- Project Overview: The preponderance of empirical evidence, thus far, suggest that racial minorities (Blacks, Hispanics, Latinos, etc.) and low-income groups are subjected to disproportionately large amounts of pollution and environmental risks in their neighborhoods. Minorities and the poor are known to be adversely affected by unregulated growth, ineffective regulation of industrial and hazardous waste facilities, and local land use policies that favor those communities with political and economic clout (Bullard, 1994a). Environmental justice, defined as the provision of fair, equitable treatment of people of all races, cultures and income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of laws, regulations and policies, has become an issue of top priority in the United States. However, despite the strong regional and national interest in environmental justice, our ability to determine the disproportionate distribution of environmental risks within minority and low-income populations is still lacking. In general terms, it is well understood that racial minorities and the poor shoulder a disproportionate share of environmental hazards, but the computer-based tools needed to effectively redress existing and future environmental justice concerns are yet to be developed, especially for Iowa. In order to achieve a full understanding of the process and casual mechanisms of involved in environmental justice, an integrated and spatially explicit modeling approach is needed. Project Goal: The work proposed here will develop a GIS-based tool and prototype system that will allow us to investigate issues of environmental justice involving hazardous waste facilities, underground storage tanks, and large hog farms in Iowa. The study will integrate a wide range of existing environmental, socioeconomic, and demographic databases with ArcView GIS and S-Plus statistical analysis software to test the overarching hypothesis that higher levels of environmental degradation in Iowa are associated with race, ethnicity and income. A detailed geographic analysis will be conducted to weigh the relative strength of the association of race and income with the distribution of environmental hazards identified above. The target audiences for the study are environmental citizen groups, state resource agencies, racial minority groups, and federal government agencies charged with environmental and public health mission. This study will address three environmental statutes: the Safe Drinking Water Act, through analysis of large hog farms and waste lagoons; Toxic Substances Control Act, through analysis of hazardous waste facilities in the EPA?s Toxic Release Inventory; and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (through analysis of underground storage tanks). Furthermore, since the study will use a GIS-based approach to enhance understanding of environmental inequity problems and will involve workshops and information exchange, it meets the first and third program goals identified in the Office of Environmental Justice Small Grant Program. This study has the potential to make significant fundamental contributions to our understanding of environmental justice concerns in Iowa and to provide the basis for targeting and/or prioritizing enforcement, pollution prevention, education, and outreach programs required in the implementation of environmental justice. Also the project will provide the tool needed by resource agencies to develop comprehensive regional and statewide strategy for responding to environmental justice concerns. Project Contact: U. Sunday Tim 215 Davidson Hall IOWA State University Ames, IA 50011-3080 USA Office Phone: 515-294-0466 Fax: 515-294-2552 tim@iastate.edu Project Homepage "http://www.public.iastate.edu/~acramesh/Environ.htm" [Summary provided by IOWA State University] (en)
Broader concept
- P - R (en)
URI
https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/kms/concept/4f5e58f7-3912-463e-9cf3-76f56a05452f
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