There appear to be many differing opinions on the roles that race and ethnicity play in shaping one's opinion of the environment. According to most of the Internet articles I have been able to find, minorities (specifically African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans) are not as concerned with environmental problems as they are with what are considered to be more pressing problems, including finding and holding jobs, and providing homes, educations, healthcare, and other necessities for their families. However, there were a handful of more recent articles that exposed a gradual shift, that minorities are becoming more concerned about the environment, its issues, and its policies. The main reason for this shift appears to be the fact that minorities are the ones suffering from the consequences of most of the environmental problems that are currently plaguing the planet, including smog, contaminated drinking water, and global warming. Minorities also currently have the most to gain by being concerned about the state of the environment. Not only will such concern help to reverse the effects of the environmental problems that are hitting them especially hard, the whole "going green" process has created and will continue to create "green" jobs, opening up countless financial opportunities. So, although African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American minorities may have not previously shown as much concern for the environment as the more or less "white" majority, recent developments have caused a shift in those sediments.
Because both Rowan University and the town of Glassboro can be considered reasonably "mixed" racially and ethnically, there's a decent chance that these factors will impact the overall success of our group project. I believe, however, that the university campus exists in a microcosm of its own. Through a variety of payment plans, the students are provided with food, housing, various facilities and, obviously, an education; most do not have families to provide for; most, in fact, do not even have jobs - in those senses, the Rowan University students are not necessarily put under the same pressures that minority groups are. Although I do not know the current state of each individual life, I think I can safely assume that most of the professors and administrators are not, either. So, unlike the nation's minorities, the Rowan University population does not have anything to lose by actively supporting environmental causes. That being said, I think the biggest problem that our group is going to have is not going to be to get people to care about our goals instead of another goal, but to get people to care about our goals at all.
Sources: The articles and links listed below
ü Articles on Race and Ethnicity in Environmental Studies ü
- Whittaker, Matthew, Gary M. Segura, and Shaun Bowler. "Racial/Ethnic Group Attitudes toward Environmental Protection in California: Is 'Environmentalism' Still a White Phenomenon?" Political Research Quarterly 58.3 (2005): 435-447. Sage Publications, Inc. Web. 8 Dev. 2011.
Article Summary: In their article, "Racial/Ethnic Group Attitudes toward Environment Protection in California: Is 'Environmentalism' Still a White Phenomenon?", Matthew Whittaker, Gary Segura, and Shaun Bowler echo the most recent development in the race-and-ethnicity-in-environmental-studies debate, that minorities are gradually beginning to care as much as, and even more than, their white counterparts. These three authors, however, focus specifically on Hispanic Americans, stating that, although Hispanic Americans are part of that trend, this minority tends to care more only about the environmental issues which are of "proximate concern", meaning the issues that affect them directly. "Abstract environmental principles", according to Whittaker's, Segura's, and Bowler's research, still remain low on the Hispanic minority's priority list.
- Greenberg, Michael R. "Concern about Environmental Pollution: How Much Difference Do Race and Ethnicity Make? A New Jersey Case Study." Environmental Health Perspectives 113.4 (2005): 369-374. Brogan & Partners. Web. 8 Dec. 2011.
- Pollock III, Philip H., and M. Elliot Vittas. "Who Bears The Burdens Of Environmental Pollution? Race, Ethnicity, And Environmental Equity In Florida." Social Science Quarterly (University Of Texas Press) 76.2 (1995): 294-310. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
ü Additional Information ü
The PDF version of the Yale Project on Climate Change's study of the roles of race and ethnicity in public support of climate change and energy policies.
The PDF version of Research Forester John Schelhas's research paper, Race, Ethnicity, and Natural Resources in the United States: A Review.
A Fordham University Urban Law Journal's issue on the problems of classification in environmental equity.
An Internet article by the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) about environmental justice for people of all races.
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/ej/resources/reports/annual-project-reports/reducing_risk_com_vol1.pdf
The PDF version of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) report, Environmental Equity: Reducing Risks for All Communities.
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