There are many uses and definitions of the words, environment and environmental justice.

In our final class project we examined the activities and purposes of:

~Sirius Community, a prefigurative intentional community
~Jean Grossholtz, a longtime activist and feminist
~the surviving residents of the towns flooded by the Quabbin Reservoir
~Girls Inc.'s commitment to safe and healthy environments for girls and their families
~The Liberty Cabbage Theater Revival, a puppetry performance troupe seeking social change through art
~Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition's call for focusing on, and putting money toward, the work of identifying and illuminating the causes of, and particularly the environmental links to, cancer

Environment

In this context, and for the purposes of this website, we consider that the environment is the infinitely intricate interconnected web of all existence. It includes all living beings, human and non-human, as well as every inanimate thing.

The words of Daniel Greenberg, Ph.D. of the Sirius Community are fitting. In Bilen Berhanu's interview with him, he told her, "It is everything. We are part of the environment as much as it is a part of us. This is a departure from the mainstream culture, where there is no connection between people and the environment."

We promote the idea, and encourage everyone to adopt it, that there is no hierarchy of existence. Humans are not, in Shakespeare's words "the paragon of animals."

Environmental Justice

In this context, and for the purposes of this website, what we mean by environmental justice is articulated in some of the words from the Principles of Environmental Justice from the Proceedings to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, October 1991, Washington, D.C.

Environmental Justice affirms the sacredness of Mother Earth, ecological unity and the interdependence of all species, and the right to be free from ecological destruction. It demands that public policy be based on mutual respect and justice for all peoples . . . and mandates the right to ethical, balanced and responsible uses of land and renewable resources in the interest of a sustainable planet for humans and other living things.

Environmental Justice affirms the fundamental right to political, economic, cultural and environmental self-determination of all peoples, and protects the right of victims of environmental injustice to receive full compensation and reparations for damages as well as quality health care. It considers governmental acts of environmental injustice a violation of international law, the Universal Declaration On Human Rights, and the UN Convention on Genocide.

Environmental Justice calls for the education of present and future generations which emphasizes social and environmental issues, based on our experience and an appreciation of our diverse cultural perspectives. It requires that we, as individuals, make personal and consumer choices to consume as little of Mother Earth's resources and to produce as little waste as possible; and make the conscious decision to challenge and reprioritize our lifestyles to insure the health of the natural world for present and future generations.

(Taken from http://saepej.igc.org/Principles.html, 12/17/02)

The following links offer some definitions of environmental justice:

Environmental Justice Resource Center

What is Environmental Justice?

Economic Development, Health Risks and Concern for Environmental Justice