Essay from school of social work
By: Ellie Weinberg
Date: 12/4/23
Environmental Justice
Many of us are unaware of the environmental justice problems occurring in some communities. Residents all over are stripped of their basic human needs. One community in particular is Flint, Michigan, and they are fighting for their lives, literally.
The Flint, Michigan, water crisis started in 2014 when the city switched its water supply from the Detroit supply to the Flint River, which once had loads of oil and trash. This community is home to 100,000 people, and a majority of the residents are African American. An article says that African Americans and Latinxs living below the poverty line were more than twice as likely to live within a mile of a hazardous chemical facility (Donley et al., 2022)". According to NDRC (Melissa Denchak, 2018), "Inadequate treatment and testing of the water resulted in a series of major water quality and health issues for Flint residents." Many complained about water discoloration and a foul smell coming from the pipes in their homes. The water supply was not only being infiltrated by lead, but when the city switched over, it caused many people to get diagnosed with lingionnaries disease, another form of pneumonia. The article also states that the condition "killed 12 and sickened at least 87 people between June 2014 and October 2015. The third-largest outbreak of Legionnaires' disease recorded in U.S. history (Denchak, 2018)". Eventually, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission stated that this incident was caused by poor government response and was a "result of systematic racism." It was also learned that this water caused high blood levels in children, with many in the hospital and at risk. In 2015, residents who failed united against federal agencies, urging them to improve. Groups gathered with NDRC to join the act on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but this failed and angered residents. Many residents sued the government, and their efforts payed off because they got people to go door to door hand delivering cases of water. Last but not least, Many older generations are concerned for generations ahead because if everyone is sick, who will care for the younger children?
Flint, Michigan's population is mainly African American, and about 45% of them live under the poverty line. Environmental justice was constantly evolving here in Flint, but it only increased during the water crisis because it led to many problems. Most of the homes in Flint have been abandoned, causing residents to find other places to live. Most houses will not sell because of the lead problem, so people still pay their rent. The government did nothing to stop this issue until people became very sick and ignored all of the health problems occurring. People who owned restaurant businesses probably had to sell their businesses because they could not work without running water. High lead levels in water are known to be one of the most significant risk factors in children, and in 18 months, 9,000 children were contaminated. In addition, Donely states that "Children are more susceptible to the effects of environmental toxins like pesticides because they are still in a developmental stage of life. With children of color more likely to be exposed to pesticides, they are not only more susceptible but more vulnerable to pesticide harm (Donley et al., 2022)". Families who already fall below the poverty line are in desperate need to pay for medicine and treatment for themselves and their children.
Almost every single person was impacted by this situation. People were forced to fill their homes with plastic water bottles and use gallons daily for cooking, showering, and cleaning. People became tired and depressed, barely wanting to move. This is what the government does. They wait until something is worse enough to deal with it instead of handling it after the first complaint. Officials were the ones to increase the risk of environmental racism against lower-income families, and now they are still struggling to get back on their feet. Many actions can be taken to help the people of this town. One, in particular, is bringing in social workers for free by the government to help assist locals and provide them with healthy skills to get them out of a depressive episode. People should also be helping to pass out water instead of making the residents spend all day doing this. For example, police officers can be distributing them, too. It is essential to support and provide resources to the community and raise awareness. In the meantime, neighboring cities can volunteer to start a fundraiser or come to Flint and help pass out water/supply it to homes.
In addition, Greenaction environmental justice principle number nine states that Environmental Justice protects the right of victims of environmental injustice to receive total compensation and reparations for damages as well as quality health care, and when I imagine people choosing this fundamental principle, I think about all the stories that have been told about towns and cities being destroyed due to numerous pesticides. I think about people dying from contamination and many at risk with long-term effects. Hurting communities may be motivated to choose this principle because of its protection and the resources it may provide. Imagine all the people in the world fighting for their fundamental rights, scavenging for basic necessities, and trying to repair damage to their broken lives. All of those people would do anything to rebuild a new and improved life for themselves and their children. In 2015, a survey was done in a few neighborhoods, and people were asked to identify any new behavioral health issues that weren't initially present. As stated earlier, in Flint, Michigan, many children became sick with high blood pressure. This was due to stress levels worsening during the crisis. As a result, one panelist described the situation as "an emergency, leading to toxic stress in the community (Cuthbertson et al.,2016)". We can use these statements as an example of why this principle would significantly impact someone. They would be able to receive adequate health care.
In the article by Donely and colleagues (2022), I was intrigued by how much injustice there is. I never thought about what could happen in the suburbs 40 minutes away from me. I grew up in the North suburbs of Chicago, and growing up; I never had a moment in time where I felt that my town needed help. The only memory I have of environmental injustice is from high school. All of our water fountains had a sign that either it was "bad" and contaminated with lead or it was "somewhat safe to drink," but they never removed them or made a big deal out of it. The more I think about this, the more I realize we could have been affected by the water. It is shocking how the school district didn't do anything to help, and kids still drank it when the water was terrible. Half of my high school was white, and the other was Hispanic. If we couldn't drink the water from the fountain, we would go all day without water or have to buy water from the cafeteria.
However, some of us were on scholarship money or came from lower-income households. We shouldn't be spending two dollars on a basic need. Also, In this article, action two is required to implement a system to monitor environmental crimes made to communities. The article mentioned that to stay responsible and aware, and the government needs to "educate clinicians on how to diagnose and report pesticide poisoning, explicitly requiring public schools and other federally-funded facilities that use pesticides to report incidents, and allowing for anonymous reporting from those who might fear retaliation (Donley et al., 2022)". Chemicals and pesticides play a role in my everyday life, whether I realize it or not. It could be something small like the smell of chemicals in a specific place or carbon monoxide poisoning in an apartment building. However, there comes a point where it is hazardous, and it is the company's job to do daily check-ins and investigations to ensure everything works correctly.
Lastly, Social workers provide support and resources to communities and people struggling in certain circumstances mentally and physically. People who struggle to have no control over an environment or the loss of something tend to be directly affected by mental health. They are essential people who disproportionate the impact of pesticides in BIPOC and lower-income communities. As a Social worker, I would implement many healthy and valuable skills to reduce environmental injustice within towns and cities whether that is hosting counseling, therapy groups, or more. One of the first steps I'd take is to educate and raise awareness of environmental injustice in wealthy towns that are unaware of communities below the poverty line that need our help. I would also be available to help people work through times of depression or any other mental disorder that has appeared due to injustice. Many people can go to therapy to work through and break down certain problems. Others, like children of Flint who have been highly affected by anxiety, can also work on their behavioral issues. It is also important that I provide communities with safe places to talk freely and be comforted by a group of people looking to assist families in finding adequate care for their loved ones affected by environmental issues.
References:
Scholarly: Cuthbertson, C. A., Newkirk, C., Ilardo, J., Loveridge, S., & Skidmore, M. (2016). Angry, scared, and unsure: Mental health consequences of contaminated water in Flint, Michigan. Journal of Urban Health, 93(6), 899–908. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-016-0089-y
Reputable: Denchak, M. (2018, November 8). Flint water crisis: Everything you need to know. Be a Force for the Future. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/flint-water-crisis-everything-you-need-know#summary
Donley, N., Bullard, R. D., Economos, J., Figueroa, I., Lee, J., Liebman, A. K., Martinez, D. N., & Shafiei, F. (2022). Pesticides and environmental injustice in the USA: Root causes, current regulatory reinforcement and a path forward. BMC Public Health, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13057-4