Environmental Justice

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Environmental issues impact our lives from matters of personal health to global warming, and all points in between. While in an ecological sense it might be said that environmental issues know no borders, in social, historical, and political terms the compartmentalization of opportunities and impacts is more pronounced. How are environmental benefits and burdens distributed in society, both within and among nations, and what factors influence these patterns of distribution? In this course we will look at problems of justice as they intersect with environmental concerns, including food deserts and waste facilities to climate displacement and loss of arable lands. At the same time, we will explore various forms of environmental activism, from protests and community organizing to international networks and cutting-edge policy initiatives. The aim is to examine baseline ethical challenges of environmental justice through theoretical and applied lenses, which may include historical and contemporary case studies. This course will meet the Environmental Justice requirement in the BS-ES degree.