Synopses & Reviews
Environmental justice concerns form an important part of popular environmental movements in many countries. Activists, scholars, and policymakers in the developing world, for example, increasingly use the tools of environmental justice to link concerns over social justice and environmental well-being. Environmental Justice in Latin America investigates the emergence of a distinctively Latin American environmental justice movement, offering analyses and case studies that examine both the promise and the limits of environmental justice in Latin America and the Caribbean -- both as a rallying point for popular mobilization and as a set of principles for analysis and policymaking.
After considering such conceptual issues as the connection between environmental conditions and race, trade, and social justice, the book presents a series of case studies. These studies focus first on industrial development, examining such topics as social tension over "megadevelopment" projects in Argentina and the concentrated industrial waste hazards of the export assembly plants on the U.S.-Mexico border, and then on the power and politics involved in land and resource use. Other chapters explore ecotourism, inequitable land distribution in Brazil, the ongoing struggle for justice and accountability over the former U.S. Navy bombing range in Vieques, Puerto Rico, and water policy in Chile, Bolivia, and Mexico. Taken together, the analyses and case studies suggest that environmental justice -- which highlights both broader issues of global injustice and local concerns -- holds tremendous promise as a way to understand and address environmental inequities in Latin America and elsewhere.
ContributorsHenri Acselrad, David V. Carruthers, Jordi Díez, Katherine T. McCaffrey, Sarah A. Moore, Peter Newell, Tom Perreault, Carlos Reboratti, Reyes Rodríguez, Juanita Sundberg, Stefanie Wickstrom, Wendy Wolford, Michele Zebich-Knos.
Review
"This collection of essays stands to be a pioneering book for exploring the conceptual and empirical translation of environmental justice in Latin America and the developing world. The authors' original and compelling effort will be useful to policy scholars and environmental activists seeking to understand the root causes of environmental injustice and the most appropriate and equitable ways to remedy them." --Alexandra Puerto, Department of History, Occidental College --Alexandra Puerto
Review
"This book successfully lays out the opportunities and constraints that exist in the diverse countries and regions of Latin America--bringing a comprehensive and balanced examination to the application of environmental justice movements. A significant contribution to the scholarship on this subject." --Daniel Faber, Department of Sociology, Northeastern University --Daniel Faber
Review
Finally, a reader on environmental justice in Latin America! This volume brings together fascinating cases from across the region on a range of environmental issues, written by leading experts in the field. Best of all, the work thoughtfully documents and conceptualizes the long history of struggles and injustices in the region which were never called 'environmental justice.' Where the phrase is being adopted, the authors describe how it is also being adapted, transformed, and re-born. This will be required reading in my courses, and I believe it will be pivotal in advancing international discussion on the issue. The MIT Press
Review
andlt;Pandgt;"Finally, a reader on environmental justice in Latin America! This volume brings together fascinating cases from across the region on a range of environmental issues, written by leading experts in the field. Best of all, the work thoughtfully documents and conceptualizes the long history of struggles and injustices in the region which were never called 'environmental justice.' Where the phrase is being adopted, the authors describe how it is also being adapted, transformed, and re-born. This will be required reading in my courses, and I believe it will be pivotal in advancing international discussion on the issue."--J. Timmons Roberts, Professor of Sociology, and Interim Director, Environmental Science and Policy, The College of William and Maryandlt;/Pandgt; The MIT Press J. Timmons Roberts
Review
“A revealing snapshot of current local and global environmental justice issues in a variety of countries, a valuable contribution to what Gordon Walker called the ‘international traveling of the environmental justice frame.”
Synopsis
Environmental justice concerns form an important part of popular environmental movements in many countries. Activists, scholars, and policymakers in the developing world, for example, increasingly use the tools of environmental justice to link concerns over social justice and environmental well-being.
Synopsis
Scholars and activists investigate the emergence of a distinctively Latin American environmental justice movement, offering analysis and case studies that illustrate the connections between popular environmental mobilization and social justice in the region.
Synopsis
andlt;Pandgt;Scholars and activists investigate the emergence of a distinctively Latin American environmental justice movement, offering analysis and case studies that illustrate the connections between popular environmental mobilization and social justice in the region. andlt;/Pandgt;
Synopsis
This optimistic, accessible, and wide-ranging book examines environmental justicewhich focuses on inclusive processes of environmental decision-making for local communitiesin the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, South Korea, China, Bolivia, and Cuba. Karen Bell discusses environmental issues as they relate to a number of other topics, including race, class, industrialization, and politics, with a particular focus on the role of capitalism. Based on over one hundred interviews with politicians, experts, activists, and citizens of these countries, this compelling analysis will be invaluable to anyone engaged in addressing the most urgent environmental and social issues of our time.
About the Author
Karen Bell is a research associate at the Centre for the Study of Poverty and Social Justice at the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol.
Table of Contents
Introduction: fighting for humanity
The concept and measurement of environmental justice
The causes of environmental injustice
'Killing yourself is no way to make a living': environmental justice in the United States
'The world has been deceived': environmental justice in the Republic of Korea (South Korea)
'Regulation means bad': environmental justice in the United Kingdom
'We have always been close to nature': environmental justice in Sweden
'The rich consume and the poor suffer the pollution': environmental justice in the Peoples Republic of China
'Recuperating all that we have lost and forgotten': environmental justice in the Plurinational State of Bolivia
'Socialism creates a better opportunity': environmental justice in Cuba
Achieving environmental justice