Just Garbage

up decisions in­ politics. Institu­ tional discrimination e . ts in every social arena, in­ cluding environmental de . . on making. Burdens and benefits are not randomly d ·buted. Reliance solely on "objectiVe" science for e 'ronmental decision making-in a world shaped larg by power politics and special interests-often mas . titurtonal rac­ ism. For example, the assignment of" ptable" risk and use of "averages" often results from Ue judg­ ments that serve to legitimate existing ineq . . A national environmental justice framework that corp orates the five principles presented above is needed to begin addreSSing environmental inequiti that result from procedural, geographic, and tal imbalances, The antidiscrimination and enforce t measures caned for here are not more regress' than the initia­ tives undertaken to eliminate s ery and segregation in the United States. Opp nts argued at the time that such actions would the slaves by creating un­ employment and des 'ng black institutions, such as busine~s and sc . Similar arguments were made in oppositio sanctions against the racist system of apartheid in South Africa. But people of color who live in environmental "sacrifice zones"-from migrant farm workers who are exposed to deadly pesticides to the parents of inner-city children threatened by lead CHAPTER 13 • Environmental Justice