Environmental Justice in America

"In this excellent and balanced examination of the growth and future of the environmental justice movement, Rhodes (Indiana Univ. School of Public and Environmental Affairs) examines the background against which environmental justice issues are viewed. The roots of the environmental movement were in wilderness preservation, and even today, some environmental groups resist concerning themselves with what they regard as social policies and urban problems. Minorities had more pressing priorities. But now, a paradigm shift is occurring and the pivotal pioneering voices, such as Robert Bullard's, are being heard. Diversity in both membership and leadership of environmental groups is slowly increasing. Access to information about toxic waste facilities has improved, while the increase in pollution is now more visible. This book argues that the time has come when all the various factors have reached a critical mass. In the future, agencies must more explicitly address in their policies how actions and decisions about the environment will differentially affect increasingly segmented populations. The myth that minorities do not care about the environment is disappearing as communities become empowered by awareness and inclusion in decision-making processes. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels.July 2003"

~S. E. Wiegand, Saint Mary's College