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Environmental	
  Racism	
  and	
  Social	
  Policy:	
  Risk	
  and	
  the	
  Weight	
  of	
  History	
  in	
  
the	
  United	
  States,	
  South	
  Africa,	
  and	
  Brazil	
  
                   	
  
                   The	
  concept	
  of	
  ‘environmental	
  racism,’	
  and	
  its	
  connection	
  to	
  historical	
  
social	
  policies	
  in	
  various	
  countries,	
  has	
  moved	
  to	
  forefront	
  of	
  struggles	
  for	
  racial	
  
equality	
  over	
  the	
  last	
  30	
  years.	
  	
  This	
  paper,	
  by	
  utilizing	
  an	
  extended	
  framework	
  
comprising	
  the	
  typologies	
  of	
  Gøsta	
  Esping-­‐Andersen	
  and	
  Ian	
  Gough	
  and	
  Geoff	
  
Wood,	
  will	
  seek	
  to	
  analyse	
  the	
  social	
  policy	
  regimes	
  of	
  the	
  United	
  States,	
  South	
  
Africa,	
  and	
  Brazil,	
  in	
  relation	
  to	
  environmental	
  outcomes	
  through	
  the	
  lens	
  of	
  
race.	
  	
  Differences	
  and	
  similarities	
  will	
  be	
  located	
  both	
  within	
  the	
  outcomes	
  
experienced	
  by	
  different	
  racial	
  groups,	
  and	
  the	
  apportioning	
  of	
  risk	
  within	
  each	
  
social	
  policy	
  regime	
  on	
  the	
  basis	
  of	
  race.	
  
	
  
A	
  Note	
  on	
  the	
  Analysis	
  Framework	
  
	
  
                   It	
  is	
  beyond	
  the	
  purview	
  of	
  this	
  paper	
  to	
  undertake	
  a	
  detailed	
  analysis	
  of	
  
the	
  extended	
  theoretical	
  framework	
  that	
  it	
  will	
  utilize.1	
  	
  Nevertheless,	
  it	
  is	
  
important	
  to	
  note	
  from	
  the	
  outset	
  just	
  where	
  our	
  sample	
  countries	
  fit	
  within	
  the	
  
typology.	
  	
  Firstly,	
  the	
  United	
  States,	
  whose	
  social	
  policies	
  are	
  built	
  around	
  the	
  
primacy	
  of	
  the	
  market,	
  is	
  commonly	
  identified	
  as	
  a	
  liberal	
  welfare	
  state	
  regime	
  
within	
  Esping-­‐Anderson’s	
  framework.2	
  	
  Secondly,	
  due	
  to	
  the	
  continued	
  presence	
  
of	
  a	
  large	
  informal	
  sector,	
  which	
  is	
  not	
  covered	
  by	
  the	
  lion’s	
  share	
  of	
  state	
  social	
  
policy,	
  alongside	
  neoliberal	
  market	
  strategies	
  imposed	
  through	
  external	
  
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
1	
  For	
  an	
  in	
  depth	
  discussion	
  of	
  Esping-­‐Anderson’s	
  typology	
  see	
  Gøsta	
  Esping-­‐

Andersen,	
  The	
  Three	
  Worlds	
  of	
  Welfare	
  Capitalism,	
  Cambridge,	
  Polity	
  Press,	
  1990,	
  
pp.	
  26-­‐27.	
  	
  For	
  an	
  in	
  depth	
  discussion	
  of	
  Gough	
  and	
  Wood’s	
  extended	
  typology,	
  
see	
  Ian	
  Gough,	
  ‘Welfare	
  Regimes	
  in	
  Development	
  Contexts:	
  a	
  Global	
  and	
  Regional	
  
Analysis,’	
  in	
  I.	
  Gough	
  and	
  Geoff	
  Wood	
  et	
  al	
  (eds.),	
  Insecurity	
  and	
  Welfare	
  Regimes	
  
in	
  Asia,	
  Africa	
  and	
  Latin	
  America	
  :	
  Social	
  Policy	
  in	
  Development	
  Contexts,	
  
Cambridge,	
  Cambridge	
  University	
  Press,	
  2004,	
  pp.	
  28-­‐36	
  and	
  Armando	
  
Barrientos,	
  ‘Latin	
  America:	
  Towards	
  a	
  Liberal-­‐Informal	
  Welfare	
  Regime,’	
  in	
  Ian	
  
Gough	
  et	
  al.	
  (eds.),	
  Insecurity	
  and	
  Welfare	
  Regimes	
  in	
  Asia,	
  Africa	
  and	
  Latin	
  
America:	
  Social	
  Policy	
  in	
  Developmental	
  Contexts,	
  Cambridge,	
  Cambridge	
  
University	
  Press,	
  2004,	
  pp.	
  121-­‐126.	
  
2	
  Diana	
  DiNitto,	
  ‘An	
  Overview	
  of	
  American	
  Social	
  Policy,’	
  in	
  Michelle	
  Livermore	
  

and	
  James	
  Midgley	
  (eds.),	
  The	
  Handbook	
  of	
  Social	
  Policy,	
  Thousand	
  Oaks,	
  
California,	
  Sage	
  Publications,	
  2009,	
  pp.	
  21-­‐23.	
  


	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         1	
  
pressure,	
  Brazil	
  can	
  be	
  located	
  within	
  Gough	
  and	
  Wood’s	
  liberal	
  informal	
  welfare	
  
regimes.3	
  	
  Lastly,	
  burdened	
  by	
  the	
  legacy	
  of	
  colonialism,	
  underdevelopment,	
  
pervasive	
  inequality,	
  and	
  a	
  burgeoning	
  informal	
  sector,	
  South	
  Africa	
  displays	
  all	
  
the	
  hallmarks	
  of	
  Gough	
  and	
  Wood’s	
  insecurity	
  regimes.4	
  	
  Common	
  to	
  all	
  three	
  
regimes	
  types,	
  despite	
  divergent	
  historical	
  and	
  social	
  development	
  paths,	
  is	
  the	
  
absence	
  of	
  ongoing	
  state	
  involvement	
  in	
  risk	
  mitigation,	
  either	
  through	
  an	
  
unwillingness	
  related	
  to	
  ideology,	
  or	
  an	
  inability	
  related	
  to	
  historical	
  factors.	
  
	
  
The	
  Environment,	
  Social	
  Policy,	
  and	
  Race	
  
	
  
                   The	
  environment	
  is	
  more	
  than	
  just	
  the	
  space	
  surrounding	
  us;	
  it	
  is	
  the	
  
ecological	
  space	
  in	
  which	
  the	
  basic	
  necessities	
  of	
  life	
  are	
  provided	
  for.	
  	
  It	
  is	
  also	
  
the	
  space	
  in	
  which	
  we	
  are	
  employed,	
  obtain	
  education,	
  and	
  pursue	
  social	
  lives,	
  
and	
  our	
  ability	
  to	
  do	
  so	
  depends	
  heavily	
  on	
  the	
  maintenance	
  of	
  a	
  decent	
  level	
  of	
  
environmental	
  quality.5	
  	
  Understood	
  in	
  this	
  way	
  it	
  is	
  clear	
  that	
  environmental	
  
policy,	
  which	
  regulates	
  the	
  quality	
  of	
  ecological	
  spaces,	
  and	
  social	
  policy,	
  which	
  
regulates	
  the	
  provision	
  of	
  social	
  ‘goods’	
  within	
  those	
  spaces,	
  are	
  intimately	
  
linked.	
  	
  Further,	
  the	
  relationship	
  between	
  environmental	
  quality	
  and	
  social	
  
policy	
  is	
  reciprocal	
  –	
  environmental	
  destruction	
  may	
  cause	
  complex	
  social	
  
problems	
  (such	
  as	
  physical	
  and	
  psychological	
  illnesses,	
  and	
  the	
  collapse	
  of	
  
communities),	
  while	
  poorly	
  conceived	
  social	
  and	
  economic	
  policies	
  can	
  threaten	
  
an	
  already	
  fragile	
  ecological	
  balance.6	
  	
  
	
  



	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
3	
  Armando	
  Barrientos,	
  ‘Latin	
  America,’	
  p.	
  122.	
  
4	
  Jeremy	
  Seekings,	
  ‘Welfare	
  Regimes	
  and	
  Redistribution	
  in	
  the	
  South’	
  in	
  D.	
  

Donno,	
  I.	
  Shapiro	
  and	
  P.A.	
  Swenson	
  (eds.),	
  Divide	
  and	
  Deal:	
  The	
  Politics	
  of	
  
Distribution	
  in	
  Democracies,	
  New	
  York,	
  New	
  York	
  University	
  Press,	
  2008,	
  pp.	
  24-­‐
27.	
  
5	
  Melissa	
  Checker,	
  Polluted	
  Promises:	
  Environmental	
  Racism	
  and	
  the	
  Search	
  for	
  

Justice	
  in	
  a	
  Southern	
  Town,	
  New	
  York,	
  New	
  York	
  Unversity	
  Press,	
  2005,	
  p.	
  17.	
  
6	
  Marie	
  D.	
  Hoff	
  and	
  John	
  G.	
  McNutt,	
  ‘Social	
  Policy	
  and	
  the	
  Physical	
  Environment,’	
  

in	
  Michelle	
  Livermore	
  and	
  James	
  Midgley	
  (eds.),	
  The	
  Hanbook	
  of	
  Social	
  Policy,	
  
Thousand	
  Oaks,	
  California,	
  Sage	
  Pulications,	
  2009,	
  pp.	
  295-­‐297.	
  	
  For	
  an	
  in	
  depth	
  
discussion	
  of	
  health	
  and	
  social	
  effects	
  related	
  to	
  environmental	
  degradation	
  see	
  
ibid,	
  pp.	
  300-­‐303.	
  


	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            2	
  
Since	
  the	
  late	
  1970s	
  the	
  emergent	
  environmental	
  justice	
  movement	
  has	
  
attempted	
  to	
  confront	
  and	
  eradicate	
  inequities	
  in	
  environmental	
  quality	
  based	
  
upon	
  racist	
  social	
  policies.	
  	
  It	
  has	
  drawn	
  upon	
  studies	
  showing	
  that	
  patterns	
  of	
  
environmental	
  destruction,	
  and	
  the	
  social	
  issues	
  they	
  cause,	
  are	
  often	
  dependent	
  
upon	
  the	
  presence	
  of	
  poor	
  or	
  racially	
  defined	
  communities.	
  	
  In	
  a	
  number	
  of	
  
countries,	
  these	
  results	
  are	
  a	
  corollary	
  to	
  historical	
  social	
  policies	
  that	
  have	
  
embedded	
  racial	
  discrimination	
  within	
  social	
  and	
  political	
  structures.	
  	
  It	
  is	
  not	
  
surprising	
  therefore,	
  that	
  struggles	
  for	
  environmental	
  justice,	
  and	
  for	
  racial	
  
equality,	
  are	
  often	
  inseparable.7	
  	
  Three	
  examples	
  of	
  ‘environmental	
  racism’	
  that	
  
can	
  be	
  understood	
  within	
  this	
  paradigm	
  are	
  the	
  United	
  States,	
  South	
  Africa,	
  and	
  
Brazil,	
  and	
  it	
  is	
  to	
  these	
  that	
  we	
  now	
  turn.	
  
	
  
Three	
  Examples	
  of	
  Environmental	
  Racism	
  
	
  
(i)	
  The	
  United	
  States	
  
	
  
                   While	
  social	
  policy	
  in	
  the	
  United	
  States	
  no	
  longer	
  reproduces	
  racial	
  
inequality	
  as	
  directly	
  and	
  explicitly	
  as	
  it	
  did	
  in	
  the	
  past,	
  racial	
  conflict	
  is	
  
nevertheless	
  embedded	
  within	
  the	
  structure	
  of	
  American	
  society.	
  	
  The	
  Jim	
  Crow	
  
laws,	
  which	
  legislated	
  racial	
  segregation	
  in	
  areas	
  such	
  as	
  education,	
  housing,	
  and	
  
employment,	
  organized	
  society	
  around	
  the	
  conception	
  of	
  racial	
  difference	
  
between	
  the	
  end	
  of	
  the	
  American	
  Civil	
  War	
  and	
  the	
  Civil	
  Rights	
  era.	
  	
  But	
  although	
  
the	
  Civil	
  Rights	
  Act	
  (1964)	
  and	
  the	
  Fair	
  Housing	
  Act	
  (1968)	
  nominally	
  
dismantled	
  de	
  jure	
  racial	
  segregation,	
  de	
  facto	
  segregation	
  is	
  still	
  an	
  ambiguous	
  
force	
  in	
  contemporary	
  America.	
  	
  This	
  is	
  particularly	
  apparent	
  in	
  urban	
  areas,	
  
where	
  the	
  phenomenon	
  of	
  ‘white	
  flight’	
  to	
  wealthy	
  outer	
  suburbs,	
  as	
  well	
  as	
  
discriminatory	
  lending	
  and	
  housing	
  patterns,	
  led	
  to	
  the	
  formation	
  by	
  the	
  1970s	
  
of	
  central	
  ‘urban	
  ghettos,’	
  characterized	
  by	
  black	
  racial	
  concentration	
  and	
  



	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
7	
  For	
  an	
  overview	
  of	
  the	
  environmental	
  justice	
  movement	
  see	
  Glenn	
  S.	
  Johnson,	
  

‘Environmental	
  Justice:	
  a	
  Brief	
  History	
  and	
  Overview,’	
  in	
  Filomina	
  C.	
  STEADY	
  
(ed.),	
  Environmental	
  Justice	
  in	
  the	
  New	
  Millennium:	
  Global	
  Perspectives	
  on	
  Race,	
  
Ethnicity,	
  and	
  Human	
  Rights,	
  New	
  York,	
  Palgrave	
  Macmillan,	
  2009,	
  pp.	
  17-­‐38.	
  


	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 3	
  
declining	
  quality	
  of	
  life.8	
  	
  Social	
  policies	
  enacted	
  since	
  have	
  had	
  little	
  effect	
  upon	
  
these	
  so-­‐called	
  ‘racial	
  donuts’,	
  in	
  part	
  due	
  to	
  less	
  overt	
  forms	
  of	
  racism	
  
perpetuated	
  by	
  social	
  and	
  market	
  forces.9	
  
	
  
                   Given	
  the	
  persistence	
  of	
  racial	
  segregation	
  and	
  inequality,	
  it	
  is	
  not	
  
surprising	
  that	
  environmental	
  harms,	
  and	
  indeed	
  benefits,	
  are	
  unevenly	
  
distributed	
  in	
  the	
  United	
  States.10	
  	
  African	
  Americans,	
  for	
  example,	
  are	
  three	
  
times	
  more	
  likely	
  than	
  whites	
  to	
  live	
  in	
  communities	
  containing	
  at	
  least	
  one	
  
uncontrolled	
  toxic	
  waste	
  site,	
  leaving	
  them	
  more	
  vulnerable	
  to	
  health	
  risks	
  such	
  
as	
  asthma,	
  of	
  which	
  they	
  are	
  three	
  times	
  more	
  likely	
  to	
  die	
  from.11	
  	
  Further,	
  a	
  
2006	
  study	
  of	
  air	
  toxins	
  in	
  American	
  cities	
  found	
  a	
  ‘persistent	
  relationship	
  
between	
  increasing	
  levels	
  of	
  racial-­‐ethnic	
  segregation	
  and	
  increased	
  estimated	
  
cancer	
  risk.’	
  	
  At	
  the	
  same	
  time,	
  the	
  incidence	
  of	
  environmental	
  benefits,	
  such	
  as	
  
‘green	
  areas’,	
  also	
  vary	
  on	
  seemingly	
  racial	
  grounds.	
  	
  In	
  Los	
  Angeles,	
  for	
  example,	
  
there	
  are	
  1.7	
  acres	
  of	
  parkland	
  in	
  white	
  wealthy	
  areas,	
  compared	
  with	
  just	
  0.3	
  in	
  
more	
  racially	
  diverse	
  areas.12	
  	
  
	
  
                   These	
  more	
  recent	
  findings	
  echo	
  the	
  conclusions	
  of	
  a	
  study	
  conducted	
  in	
  
1987	
  under	
  the	
  title	
  Toxic	
  Wastes	
  and	
  Race	
  in	
  the	
  United	
  States.	
  	
  It	
  found	
  a	
  clear	
  
correlation	
  between	
  the	
  placement	
  of	
  hazardous	
  waste	
  and	
  the	
  presence	
  of	
  
minority	
  communities,	
  which	
  it	
  identified	
  as	
  ‘environmental	
  racism.’	
  	
  According	
  
to	
  the	
  Reverend	
  Dr.	
  Benjamin	
  F.	
  Chavis	
  Junior,	
  who	
  wrote	
  the	
  forward	
  to	
  the	
  
study,	
  environmental	
  racism	
  involves	
  ‘racial	
  discrimination	
  in	
  environmental	
  
policy-­‐making,	
  enforcement	
  of	
  regulations	
  and	
  laws,	
  the	
  deliberate	
  targeting	
  of	
  
communities	
  of	
  color	
  [sic]	
  for	
  toxic	
  waste	
  disposal,	
  and	
  the	
  siting	
  of	
  polluting	
  



	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
8	
  Jordan	
  Brown	
  et	
  al.,	
  ‘Race,	
  Politics,	
  and	
  Social	
  Policy,’	
  in	
  Michelle	
  Livermore	
  and	
  

James	
  Midgley	
  (eds.),	
  The	
  Handbook	
  of	
  Social	
  Policy,	
  Thousand	
  Oaks,	
  California,	
  
Sage	
  Publications,	
  2009,	
  pp.	
  271-­‐272.	
  
9	
  For	
  an	
  overview	
  of	
  these	
  forces	
  see	
  Robert	
  R.	
  M.	
  Verchick,	
  Facing	
  Catastrophe:	
  

Environmental	
  Action	
  for	
  a	
  post-­‐Katrina	
  World,	
  Cambridge	
  Mass,	
  Harvard	
  
University	
  Press,	
  2010,	
  p.	
  160.	
  
10	
  Ibid,	
  p.	
  117	
  
11	
  Melissa	
  Checker,	
  Polluted	
  Promises,	
  p.	
  13.	
  
12	
  Robert	
  R.	
  M.	
  Verchick,	
  Facing	
  Catastrophe,	
  pp.	
  118-­‐120.	
  




	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         4	
  
industries.’13	
  	
  Government	
  authorities	
  have	
  questioned	
  these	
  findings,	
  and	
  their	
  
racial	
  implications,	
  on	
  the	
  basis	
  that	
  economic	
  considerations	
  dictate	
  waste	
  
disposal,	
  and	
  black	
  communities	
  tend	
  to	
  be	
  situated	
  on	
  the	
  cheapest	
  land.14	
  	
  Yet,	
  
this	
  study,	
  as	
  well	
  as	
  a	
  follow	
  up	
  report	
  in	
  2007,	
  found	
  that	
  low-­‐income	
  white	
  
areas	
  also	
  have	
  drastically	
  lower	
  levels	
  of	
  contamination.15	
  	
  It	
  would	
  seem	
  then,	
  
that	
  the	
  risks	
  of	
  negative	
  health	
  affects	
  flowing	
  from	
  such	
  environmental	
  policies	
  
are	
  at	
  least	
  in	
  part	
  racially	
  determined.	
  
	
  
                   The	
  devastation	
  wrought	
  on	
  the	
  minority	
  communities	
  of	
  New	
  Orleans	
  by	
  
Hurricane	
  Katrina	
  and	
  its	
  aftermath	
  is	
  perhaps	
  the	
  most	
  blatant	
  example	
  of	
  
environmental	
  racism	
  in	
  the	
  United	
  States.	
  	
  Following	
  the	
  Civil	
  War,	
  segregated	
  
black	
  communities	
  were	
  located	
  in	
  areas	
  of	
  the	
  city	
  that	
  were	
  the	
  most	
  prone	
  to	
  
flooding	
  due	
  to	
  elevation	
  and	
  to	
  levee	
  configuration.	
  	
  Restrictive	
  land	
  use	
  laws,	
  
discriminatory	
  lending	
  patters,	
  and	
  intimidation	
  on	
  the	
  part	
  of	
  sections	
  of	
  the	
  
white	
  community,	
  have	
  since	
  perpetuated	
  this	
  exposure.16	
  	
  As	
  a	
  result,	
  the	
  areas	
  
damaged	
  following	
  the	
  storm	
  were	
  75	
  percent	
  African-­‐American,	
  who	
  in	
  part	
  
due	
  to	
  extreme	
  poverty	
  (of	
  the	
  28	
  percent	
  of	
  people	
  in	
  New	
  Orleans	
  living	
  in	
  
poverty,	
  84	
  percent	
  were	
  black)	
  were	
  unable	
  to	
  evacuate	
  at	
  the	
  rate	
  of	
  wealthy	
  
whites.	
  	
  The	
  despicably	
  slow	
  disaster	
  response,	
  moreover,	
  accentuated	
  the	
  
instance	
  of	
  death	
  and	
  disease,	
  and	
  has	
  been	
  widely	
  blamed	
  on	
  the	
  implicit	
  racial	
  
bias	
  of	
  the	
  Bush	
  administration.17	
  	
  Regardless	
  of	
  who	
  is	
  to	
  blame,	
  however,	
  it	
  is	
  
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
13	
  Produced	
  by	
  the	
  United	
  Church	
  of	
  Christ	
  Commission	
  on	
  Racial	
  Justice,	
  the	
  

extended	
  title	
  of	
  the	
  study	
  was	
  Toxic	
  Wastes	
  and	
  Race	
  in	
  the	
  United	
  States:	
  A	
  
National	
  Report	
  on	
  the	
  Racial	
  and	
  Social-­‐Economic	
  Characteristics	
  of	
  Communities	
  
with	
  Hazardous	
  Waste	
  Sites,	
  though	
  it	
  is	
  more	
  commonly	
  known	
  by	
  its	
  shorter	
  
title.	
  	
  Melissa	
  Checker,	
  Polluted	
  Promises,	
  p.	
  14.	
  
14	
  A	
  prominent	
  example	
  is	
  the	
  1992	
  report,	
  produced	
  by	
  the	
  Environmental	
  

Protection	
  Agency,	
  Environmental	
  Equity:	
  Reducing	
  Risk	
  for	
  All	
  Communities.	
  	
  
Martin	
  V.	
  Melosi,	
  ‘Equity,	
  Eco-­‐racism,	
  and	
  Environmental	
  History,’	
  in	
  Char	
  Miller	
  
and	
  Hal	
  Rothman	
  (ed.),	
  Out	
  of	
  the	
  Woods:	
  Essays	
  in	
  Environmental	
  History,	
  
Pittsburgh,	
  Univeristy	
  of	
  Pittsburgh	
  Press,	
  1997,	
  pp.	
  201-­‐202.	
  
15	
  Melissa	
  Checker,	
  Polluted	
  Promises,	
  pp.	
  14-­‐15.	
  	
  Also	
  produced	
  by	
  the	
  United	
  

Church	
  of	
  Christ,	
  the	
  follow	
  up	
  study,	
  ‘Toxic	
  Wastes	
  and	
  Race	
  at	
  Twenty:	
  1987-­‐
2007’	
  found	
  that	
  in	
  spite	
  of	
  raised	
  levels	
  of	
  community	
  awareness,	
  little	
  had	
  
changed	
  in	
  the	
  interceding	
  years.	
  	
  Robert	
  R.	
  M.	
  Verchick,	
  Facing	
  Catastrophe,	
  p.	
  
119.	
  
16	
  Ibid,	
  p.	
  160.	
  
17	
  Ibid,	
  pp.	
  130-­‐136.	
  




	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          5	
  
clear	
  that	
  black	
  communities	
  had	
  been	
  shouldered	
  with	
  a	
  disproportionate	
  level	
  
of	
  environmental	
  and	
  social	
  risk	
  on	
  the	
  basis	
  of	
  race.	
  
	
  
(ii)	
  South	
  Africa	
  
	
  
                   Racial	
  conflict	
  is	
  embedded	
  within	
  the	
  structure	
  of	
  South	
  African	
  Society,	
  
much	
  as	
  in	
  the	
  case	
  of	
  the	
  United	
  States,	
  due	
  to	
  an	
  historical	
  social	
  policy.	
  	
  Known	
  
as	
  Apartheid	
  (literally	
  ‘apartness’)	
  and	
  established	
  in	
  1948,	
  it	
  sought	
  the	
  
separate	
  development	
  of	
  white	
  and	
  non-­‐white18	
  communities	
  until	
  its	
  
dismantling	
  in	
  1994,	
  and	
  led	
  to	
  the	
  forcible	
  relocation	
  of	
  individuals	
  comprising	
  
the	
  latter.	
  	
  Those	
  whose	
  labour	
  was	
  required	
  by	
  industries	
  located	
  in	
  or	
  around	
  
urban	
  centres	
  were	
  pushed	
  onto	
  nearby	
  unused	
  and	
  unwanted	
  land	
  
characterized	
  by	
  a	
  lack	
  of	
  services,	
  housing	
  shortages,	
  overcrowding	
  and	
  low	
  
environmental	
  quality.19	
  	
  Those	
  who	
  we	
  deemed	
  surplus	
  to	
  requirements	
  
(mostly	
  women,	
  children	
  and	
  the	
  elderly)	
  were	
  relocated	
  to	
  barren	
  rural	
  
‘homelands’	
  (supposedly	
  traditional	
  native	
  areas),	
  far	
  from	
  social	
  services	
  and	
  
employment	
  opportunities.20	
  	
  Both	
  of	
  these	
  areas	
  evolved	
  into	
  impoverished	
  and	
  
dehumanizing	
  ghettos,	
  while	
  at	
  the	
  same	
  time	
  a	
  small	
  wealthy	
  white	
  elite	
  
enjoyed	
  the	
  benefits	
  of	
  unfettered	
  access	
  to	
  the	
  countries	
  natural	
  resources.21	
  	
  	
  
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
18	
  Non-­‐whites	
  here	
  refers	
  to	
  the	
  majority	
  of	
  the	
  population,	
  which	
  includes	
  

Africans,	
  ‘Coloureds’	
  and	
  Indians.	
  	
  This	
  paper	
  will	
  focus	
  on	
  the	
  African	
  
community,	
  who	
  also	
  commonly	
  referred	
  to	
  as	
  ‘blacks’.	
  	
  Francie	
  Lund,	
  ‘South	
  
Africa:	
  Transition	
  Under	
  Pressure,’	
  in	
  P.	
  Alcock	
  and	
  G.	
  Craig	
  (eds.),	
  International	
  
Social	
  Policy:	
  Welfare	
  Regimes	
  in	
  the	
  Developed	
  World,	
  New	
  York,	
  Palgrave,	
  2001,	
  
p.	
  222.	
  
19	
  Thomas	
  Homer-­‐Dixon,	
  ‘Environmental	
  Scarcity	
  and	
  Violent	
  Conflict:	
  The	
  Case	
  

of	
  South	
  Africa,’	
  Journal	
  of	
  Peace	
  Research,	
  Vol.	
  35,	
  No.	
  3,	
  May	
  1998,	
  p.	
  289.	
  
20	
  The	
  legacy	
  of	
  racial	
  segregation	
  and	
  dispossession	
  upon	
  inequality	
  continues	
  

to	
  this	
  day.	
  	
  For	
  example	
  whites	
  who	
  comprise	
  just	
  9	
  percent	
  of	
  the	
  population	
  
own	
  80	
  percent	
  of	
  the	
  land,	
  while	
  blacks,	
  who	
  comprise	
  80	
  percent	
  of	
  the	
  
population	
  own	
  just	
  13	
  percent.	
  	
  Mashile	
  F.	
  Phalane	
  and	
  Filomina	
  C.	
  Steady,	
  
‘Nuclear	
  Energy,	
  Hazardous	
  Waste,	
  Health,	
  and	
  Environmental	
  Justice	
  in	
  South	
  
Africa:	
  The	
  Continuing	
  Legacy	
  of	
  Apartheid,’	
  in	
  Filomina	
  C.	
  STEADY	
  (ed.),	
  
Environmental	
  Justice	
  in	
  the	
  New	
  Millennium:	
  Global	
  Perspectives	
  on	
  Race,	
  
Ethnicity,	
  and	
  Human	
  Rights,	
  New	
  York,	
  Palgrave	
  Macmillan,	
  2009,	
  p.	
  189.	
  
21	
  Larry	
  A.	
  Swatuk,	
  ‘Environmental	
  Policy	
  Making	
  in	
  Southern	
  Africa:	
  Learning	
  

the	
  Hard	
  Way,’	
  in	
  Gordon	
  J.	
  MacDonald,	
  Daniel	
  L.	
  Nielson,	
  and	
  Marc	
  A.	
  Stern	
  
(eds.),	
  Latin	
  American	
  Environmental	
  Policy	
  in	
  International	
  Perspective,	
  Boulder,	
  
Colorado,	
  Westview	
  Press,	
  1997,	
  p.	
  188.	
  


	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          6	
  
 
                   The	
  environmental	
  effects	
  of	
  segregation	
  on	
  black	
  communities	
  in	
  
particular	
  have	
  been	
  severe.	
  	
  The	
  homelands	
  themselves	
  were	
  situated	
  in	
  fragile	
  
environments	
  whose	
  thin	
  topsoil	
  was	
  wholly	
  unsuitable	
  for	
  extensive	
  
agricultural	
  requirements.22	
  	
  The	
  resulting	
  legacy	
  of	
  devastating	
  soil	
  erosion	
  led	
  
one	
  recent	
  observer	
  to	
  describe	
  the	
  scene	
  in	
  the	
  homelands	
  as	
  ‘almost	
  lunar	
  in	
  
its	
  desolation.’23	
  	
  Meanwhile,	
  in	
  the	
  shantytowns	
  that	
  still	
  surround	
  South	
  
African	
  cities,	
  poor	
  blacks	
  live	
  in	
  hazardous	
  environmental	
  conditions,	
  including	
  
inadequate	
  access	
  to	
  sanitation	
  and	
  uncontaminated	
  water	
  supplies.24	
  	
  Due	
  to	
  a	
  
lack	
  of	
  alternatives,	
  moreover,	
  a	
  heavy	
  reliance	
  on	
  wood	
  fuel	
  for	
  energy	
  
consumption	
  in	
  both	
  rural	
  and	
  urban	
  areas	
  has	
  led	
  to	
  extensive	
  deforestation	
  
and	
  air	
  pollution,	
  putting	
  further	
  strain	
  on	
  both	
  the	
  environment	
  and	
  the	
  
communities	
  it	
  supports.25	
  	
  	
  
	
  
                   Despite	
  the	
  dismantling	
  of	
  Apartheid	
  by	
  the	
  new	
  African	
  National	
  
Congress	
  (ANC)	
  government	
  in	
  1994,	
  the	
  social	
  effects	
  of	
  environmental	
  racism	
  
have	
  proved	
  persistent.	
  	
  This	
  can	
  be	
  traced	
  to	
  two	
  considerable	
  impediments	
  to	
  
change,	
  the	
  first	
  related	
  to	
  perceptions.	
  	
  During	
  the	
  Apartheid	
  era,	
  and	
  indeed	
  
throughout	
  South	
  Africa’s	
  history	
  of	
  colonial	
  domination,	
  environmental	
  
management	
  and	
  conservation	
  supported	
  policies	
  of	
  racial	
  discrimination.	
  	
  The	
  
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
22	
  The	
  South	
  African	
  ecosystem	
  is	
  characterized	
  by	
  land	
  unsuitable	
  for	
  

agricultural	
  production,	
  low	
  rainfall,	
  and	
  soils	
  susceptible	
  to	
  erosion.	
  	
  Indeed,	
  
only	
  13.5	
  percent	
  of	
  South	
  Africa	
  is	
  considered	
  suitable	
  for	
  crop	
  production,	
  with	
  
only	
  3	
  percent	
  of	
  that	
  considered	
  high	
  yield.	
  	
  Thomas	
  Homer-­‐Dixon,	
  
‘Environmental	
  Scarcity	
  and	
  Violent	
  Conflict,’	
  p.	
  282.	
  	
  
23	
  It	
  is	
  estimated	
  that	
  during	
  the	
  20th	
  century,	
  25	
  percent	
  of	
  South	
  Africa’s	
  topsoil	
  

has	
  been	
  lost	
  to	
  soil	
  erosion,	
  while	
  55	
  percent	
  of	
  the	
  land	
  is	
  threatened	
  by	
  
desertification.	
  	
  Ibid,	
  p.	
  285.	
  
24	
  Mashile	
  F.	
  Phalane	
  and	
  Filomina	
  C.	
  Steady,	
  ‘Nuclear	
  Energy,	
  Hazardous	
  Waste,	
  

Health,	
  and	
  Environmental	
  Justice	
  in	
  South	
  Africa,’	
  p.	
  190.	
  	
  For	
  example,	
  in	
  South	
  
Africa,	
  between	
  12	
  and	
  16	
  million	
  people	
  lack	
  potable	
  water,	
  while	
  21	
  million,	
  or	
  
half	
  the	
  population,	
  lack	
  adequate	
  sanitation.	
  	
  70	
  percent	
  of	
  urban	
  blacks,	
  
moreover,	
  do	
  not	
  have	
  running	
  water	
  and	
  are	
  forced	
  to	
  rely	
  on	
  supplies	
  
contaminated	
  by	
  industrial	
  run-­‐off.	
  	
  Thomas	
  Homer-­‐Dixon,	
  ‘Environmental	
  
Scarcity	
  and	
  Violent	
  Conflict,’	
  p.	
  286.	
  
25	
  In	
  Kwa	
  Zula	
  Natal,	
  for	
  example,	
  it	
  has	
  been	
  estimated	
  that	
  in	
  the	
  fifty	
  years	
  

following	
  the	
  start	
  of	
  Apartheid,	
  the	
  regions	
  forests	
  have	
  been	
  reduced	
  from	
  250	
  
to	
  just	
  50.	
  	
  Approximately	
  40	
  percent	
  of	
  the	
  population,	
  or	
  17	
  million	
  people,	
  rely	
  
on	
  wood	
  fuel	
  for	
  cooking	
  and	
  heating.	
  	
  Ibid,	
  p.	
  285.	
  


	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         7	
  
same	
  colonial	
  rulers	
  whose	
  settler	
  population	
  had	
  once	
  relied	
  upon	
  subsistence	
  
activities	
  viewed	
  the	
  historical	
  crop	
  and	
  livestock	
  practices	
  of	
  black	
  communities	
  
as	
  unnatural	
  and	
  ecologically	
  destructive.	
  	
  Redefined	
  as	
  ‘poachers,’	
  black	
  
communities	
  were	
  forcefully	
  relocated	
  away	
  from	
  their	
  ancestral	
  lands	
  to	
  make	
  
way	
  for	
  game	
  and	
  nature	
  reserves.26	
  	
  The	
  resulting	
  marginalization	
  of	
  local	
  
communities	
  from	
  their	
  land	
  and	
  resources	
  has,	
  not	
  surprisingly,	
  negatively	
  
affected	
  their	
  environmental	
  perceptions,	
  leading	
  to	
  an	
  ‘anti-­‐conservation’	
  
ideology	
  that	
  has	
  proved	
  difficult	
  to	
  dislodge	
  in	
  the	
  post-­‐Apartheid	
  era.27	
  	
  	
  
	
  
                   The	
  second	
  impediment	
  to	
  radical	
  change	
  in	
  South	
  Africa	
  relates	
  to	
  
difficulties	
  associated	
  with	
  policy	
  implementation.	
  	
  While	
  the	
  new	
  South	
  African	
  
constitution	
  proclaims	
  a	
  universal	
  right	
  to	
  an	
  environment	
  that	
  is	
  not	
  harmful	
  to	
  
health	
  or	
  well-­‐being,28	
  its	
  application	
  has	
  been	
  burdened	
  by	
  a	
  history	
  of	
  collusion	
  
with	
  environmentally	
  unsound	
  industries	
  by	
  the	
  Apartheid	
  government,	
  coupled	
  
with	
  an	
  overall	
  lack	
  of	
  transparency.	
  	
  For	
  example,	
  the	
  shipping	
  of	
  hazardous	
  
mercury	
  waste	
  to	
  Kwa	
  Zulu	
  Natal	
  by	
  a	
  British	
  Company,	
  though	
  discovered	
  in	
  the	
  
late	
  1980s,	
  would	
  not	
  be	
  halted	
  until	
  1996.	
  	
  To	
  this	
  day,	
  10,000	
  barrels	
  of	
  the	
  
waste	
  remains	
  in	
  the	
  province,	
  unable	
  to	
  be	
  disposed	
  of	
  or	
  recycled	
  due	
  to	
  health	
  
and	
  economic	
  considerations.	
  	
  While	
  a	
  solution	
  is	
  being	
  found,	
  the	
  local	
  black	
  
communities	
  face	
  continued	
  exposure	
  to	
  health	
  risks,	
  a	
  consequence	
  of	
  
environmental	
  racism	
  that	
  is	
  to	
  be	
  found	
  across	
  the	
  country.29	
  
	
  
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
26	
  Larry	
  A.	
  Swatuk,	
  ‘Environmental	
  Policy	
  Making	
  in	
  Southern	
  Africa,’	
  pp.	
  196-­‐

197.	
  
27	
  Farieda	
  Khan,	
  ‘The	
  Roots	
  of	
  Environmental	
  Racism	
  and	
  Rise	
  of	
  Environmental	
  

Justice	
  in	
  the	
  1990s,’	
  in	
  David	
  A.	
  McDonald	
  (ed.),	
  Environmental	
  Justice	
  in	
  South	
  
Africa,	
  Cape	
  Town,	
  University	
  of	
  Cape	
  Town	
  Press,	
  2002,	
  p.	
  16.	
  	
  
28	
  Anthony	
  Butler,	
  Contemporary	
  South	
  Africa,	
  Hampshire,	
  Palgrave	
  Macmillan,	
  

2004,	
  p.	
  144.	
  
29	
  The	
  company,	
  Thor	
  Chemicals,	
  had	
  been	
  banned	
  from	
  operation	
  in	
  Britain	
  due	
  

to	
  casualties	
  from	
  mercury	
  poisoning	
  and	
  the	
  imposition	
  of	
  tougher	
  
environmental	
  laws.	
  	
  It	
  is	
  not	
  surprising,	
  therefore,	
  that	
  workers	
  at	
  the	
  South	
  
African	
  site	
  tested	
  positive	
  to	
  mercury	
  poisoning,	
  and	
  indeed	
  the	
  Mngeweni	
  
River,	
  which	
  flows	
  through	
  nearby	
  communities	
  was	
  found	
  to	
  have	
  mercury	
  
levels	
  1,500	
  times	
  higher	
  than	
  international	
  acceptable	
  levels.	
  	
  For	
  a	
  full	
  
description	
  of	
  the	
  saga,	
  see	
  Mashile	
  F.	
  Phalane	
  and	
  Filomina	
  C.	
  Steady,	
  ‘Nuclear	
  
Energy,	
  Hazardous	
  Waste,	
  Health,	
  and	
  Environmental	
  Justice	
  in	
  South	
  Africa,’	
  pp.	
  
195-­‐198.	
  


	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          8	
  
(iii)	
  Brazil	
  
	
  
                   The	
  history	
  of	
  racial	
  discrimination	
  in	
  Brazil	
  is,	
  at	
  least	
  outwardly,	
  quite	
  
different	
  to	
  that	
  of	
  the	
  United	
  States	
  and	
  South	
  Africa.	
  	
  Despite	
  a	
  similar	
  history	
  
of	
  colonial	
  domination,	
  marginalization	
  of	
  indigenous	
  populations,	
  and	
  slavery,	
  
the	
  issue	
  of	
  race	
  has	
  long	
  been	
  avoided	
  in	
  the	
  Brazilian	
  public	
  sphere.30	
  	
  Racism	
  
was	
  effectively	
  ‘swept	
  under	
  the	
  carpet,’	
  especially	
  during	
  the	
  military	
  
dictatorship	
  that	
  ran	
  from	
  1964	
  to	
  1985,	
  with	
  societal	
  hierarchy	
  being	
  explained	
  
by	
  cultural	
  and	
  class	
  differences	
  rather	
  than	
  race.31	
  Yet	
  since	
  the	
  establishment	
  
of	
  democracy	
  in	
  the	
  mid-­‐1980s	
  a	
  significant	
  level	
  of	
  prejudice	
  and	
  racism	
  
towards	
  Indians	
  and	
  those	
  with	
  African	
  heritage	
  has	
  bubbled	
  to	
  the	
  surface.32	
  	
  
This	
  phenomenon	
  is	
  what	
  anthropologist	
  João	
  Costa	
  Vargas	
  termed	
  the	
  
‘hyperconsciousness/negation	
  of	
  race	
  dialectic’,	
  or	
  the	
  ‘tension	
  between	
  a	
  
pervasive	
  belief	
  that	
  race	
  should	
  neither	
  be	
  talked	
  about	
  nor	
  addressed,’	
  and	
  the	
  
reality	
  of	
  persistent	
  racial	
  discrimination	
  throughout	
  Brazil.33	
  
	
  
                   In	
  contrast	
  to	
  the	
  issue	
  of	
  race,	
  the	
  Brazilian	
  environment,	
  and	
  specifically	
  
the	
  Amazon,	
  has	
  historically	
  been	
  at	
  the	
  forefront	
  of	
  the	
  nation’s	
  consciousness.	
  	
  
For	
  Brazilians	
  from	
  the	
  poor	
  to	
  the	
  affluent,	
  the	
  Amazon	
  is	
  an	
  imaginary	
  
landscape	
  of	
  wealth	
  waiting	
  to	
  be	
  exploited,	
  a	
  ‘land	
  without	
  people	
  for	
  people	
  
without	
  land’	
  as	
  the	
  military	
  regime	
  aptly	
  put	
  it.34	
  	
  Indigenous	
  populations,	
  and	
  
other	
  communities	
  who	
  had	
  moved	
  there	
  centuries	
  earlier,	
  are	
  therefore	
  largely	
  
ignored,	
  and	
  deforestation	
  for	
  the	
  purposes	
  of	
  large-­‐scale	
  grazing,	
  mineral	
  
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
30	
  Luiz	
  C.	
  Barbosa,	
  The	
  Brazilian	
  Amazon	
  Rainforest:	
  Global	
  Ecopolitics,	
  

Development,	
  and	
  Democracy,	
  Lanham,	
  MD,	
  University	
  Press	
  of	
  America,	
  2000,	
  p.	
  
102.	
  
31	
  George	
  M.	
  Fredrickson,	
  ‘Race	
  and	
  Racism	
  in	
  Historical	
  Perspective:	
  Comparing	
  

the	
  United	
  States,	
  South	
  Africa,	
  and	
  Brazil,’	
  in	
  Charles	
  V.	
  Hamilton	
  et	
  al.	
  (eds.),	
  
Beyond	
  Racism:	
  Race	
  and	
  Inequality	
  in	
  Brazil,	
  South	
  Africa,	
  and	
  the	
  United	
  States,	
  
Boulder,	
  Colorado,	
  Lynne	
  Rienner	
  Publishers,	
  2001,	
  pp.	
  1-­‐2.	
  
32	
  Kathryn	
  Hochstetler	
  and	
  Margaret	
  E.	
  Keck,	
  Greeng	
  Brazil:	
  Environmental	
  

Activism	
  in	
  State	
  and	
  Society,	
  Durham,	
  Duke	
  University	
  Press,	
  2007,	
  pp.	
  183-­‐184.	
  
33	
  Christen	
  A.	
  Smith,	
  ‘Strategies	
  of	
  Confinement:	
  Environmental	
  Injustice	
  and	
  

Police	
  Violence	
  in	
  Brazil,’	
  in	
  Filomina	
  C.	
  Steady	
  (ed.),	
  Environmental	
  Justice	
  in	
  the	
  
New	
  Millennium:	
  Global	
  Perspectives	
  on	
  Race,	
  Ethnicity,	
  and	
  Human	
  Rights,	
  New	
  
York,	
  Palgrave	
  Macmillan,	
  2009,	
  p.	
  93.	
  
34	
  The	
  Amazon	
  covers	
  60	
  percent	
  of	
  Brazil’s	
  total	
  area.	
  	
  Ibid,	
  p.	
  142.	
  




	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          9	
  
exploration,	
  and	
  agricultural	
  production,	
  has	
  proceeded	
  at	
  an	
  alarming	
  rate.35	
  	
  
Resistance	
  movements,	
  supported	
  by	
  external	
  pressure	
  for	
  environmental	
  
justice	
  from	
  NGOs	
  and	
  international	
  organizations,	
  have	
  progressively	
  secured	
  
portions	
  of	
  the	
  Amazon	
  as	
  Indian	
  reserves	
  since	
  the	
  mid-­‐1980s.36	
  	
  More	
  often,	
  
however,	
  the	
  establishment	
  of	
  nature	
  conservation	
  areas,	
  and	
  the	
  redefinition	
  of	
  
Indian	
  subsistence	
  activities	
  as	
  ‘poaching’,	
  have	
  led	
  to	
  the	
  forceful	
  removal	
  of	
  
communities	
  and	
  racial	
  hostility.37	
  	
  For	
  ordinary	
  Brazilians,	
  moreover,	
  who	
  rely	
  
for	
  their	
  survival	
  on	
  agriculture,	
  lumber,	
  commerce,	
  and	
  mining	
  in	
  the	
  Amazon,	
  it	
  
is	
  difficult	
  to	
  understand	
  programs	
  aimed	
  at	
  the	
  protection	
  of	
  small	
  communities	
  
‘hidden’	
  in	
  the	
  forest.38	
  	
  	
  
	
  
                   There	
  has	
  been,	
  due	
  to	
  the	
  significance	
  of	
  the	
  Amazon	
  to	
  global	
  
environmental	
  health,	
  sustained	
  international	
  pressure	
  over	
  the	
  last	
  thirty	
  years	
  
for	
  greater	
  protection	
  in	
  the	
  region.	
  	
  Often	
  viewed	
  as	
  an	
  attempt	
  at	
  
environmental	
  imperialism,	
  however,	
  the	
  results	
  have	
  been	
  mixed.39	
  	
  The	
  state,	
  
burdened	
  with	
  considerable	
  foreign	
  debt	
  and	
  economic	
  instability	
  has	
  
repeatedly	
  resorted	
  to	
  resource	
  extraction	
  to	
  the	
  detriment	
  of	
  indigenous	
  
populations.40	
  	
  In	
  any	
  case,	
  it	
  would	
  be	
  mistake	
  to	
  assume	
  that	
  the	
  state	
  can	
  
simply	
  legislate	
  problems	
  in	
  the	
  Amazon	
  away.	
  	
  The	
  strong	
  federalist	
  system	
  put	
  
in	
  place	
  by	
  the	
  1988	
  constitution	
  has	
  resulted	
  in	
  a	
  dearth	
  of	
  central	
  planning	
  and	
  
policy	
  formulation	
  –	
  the	
  state	
  is	
  effectively	
  absent	
  in	
  the	
  region.41	
  	
  The	
  economic	
  
value	
  to	
  be	
  gained	
  from	
  land	
  grabbing	
  and	
  resource	
  exploitation,	
  moreover,	
  has	
  
made	
  the	
  area	
  ripe	
  for	
  criminality.	
  	
  In	
  a	
  video	
  released	
  by	
  the	
  Indigenous	
  Council	
  
for	
  Roraima	
  in	
  June	
  1998,	
  for	
  example,	
  gunman	
  hired	
  by	
  commercial	
  farmers	
  

	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
35	
  Though	
  the	
  rate	
  of	
  deforestation	
  is	
  heavily	
  contested,	
  ranging	
  from	
  a	
  total	
  loss	
  

of	
  8	
  percent	
  to	
  25	
  percent,	
  it	
  is	
  generally	
  accepted	
  that	
  the	
  rate	
  is	
  increasing	
  year	
  
by	
  year.	
  	
  	
  J.	
  Timmons	
  Roberts	
  and	
  Nikki	
  Demetria	
  Thanos,	
  Troube	
  in	
  Paradise:	
  
Globalization	
  and	
  Environmental	
  Crises	
  in	
  Latin	
  America,	
  New	
  York,	
  Routledge,	
  
2003,	
  pp.	
  139-­‐142.	
  
36	
  Luiz	
  C.	
  Barbosa,	
  The	
  Brazilian	
  Amazon	
  Rainforest,	
  p.	
  99.	
  
37	
  J.	
  Timmons	
  Roberts	
  and	
  Nikki	
  Demetria	
  Thanos,	
  Troube	
  in	
  Paradise,	
  p.	
  79.	
  
38	
  Kathryn	
  Hochsettler	
  and	
  Margaret	
  E.	
  Keck,	
  Greening	
  Brazil,	
  pp.	
  140-­‐142.	
  
39	
  Luiz	
  C.	
  Barbosa,	
  The	
  Brazilian	
  Amazon	
  Rainforest,	
  p.	
  83.	
  
40	
  J.	
  Timmons	
  Roberts	
  and	
  Nikki	
  Demetria	
  Thanos,	
  Troube	
  in	
  Paradise,	
  pp.	
  168-­‐

169.	
  
41	
  Kathryn	
  Hochsettler	
  and	
  Margaret	
  E.	
  Keck,	
  Greening	
  Brazil,	
  p.	
  147.	
  




	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      10	
  
were	
  seen	
  to	
  be	
  firing	
  upon	
  an	
  indigenous	
  community	
  in	
  an	
  effort	
  to	
  force	
  them	
  
out	
  of	
  a	
  state	
  designated	
  reserve	
  area.	
  	
  Charged	
  with	
  protection	
  of	
  these	
  
communities,	
  local	
  authorities	
  are	
  either	
  unwilling	
  or	
  unable	
  to	
  do	
  so.42	
  	
  As	
  one	
  
Brazilian	
  journalist	
  described,	
  ‘[c]riminality	
  has	
  turned	
  Amazonia	
  into	
  an	
  
enormous	
  green	
  Sicily.’43	
  	
  Thus	
  despite	
  concerted	
  efforts,	
  some	
  marginally	
  
successful,	
  the	
  deforestation	
  of	
  the	
  Amazon,	
  and	
  the	
  risk	
  to	
  the	
  survival	
  of	
  Indian	
  
communities,	
  has	
  continued	
  apace.44	
  	
  	
  
	
  
Environmental	
  Racism,	
  Risk,	
  and	
  the	
  Weight	
  of	
  History	
  
	
  
                   What	
  can	
  be	
  drawn	
  out	
  from	
  the	
  above	
  examples	
  is	
  the	
  effect	
  that	
  
historical	
  social	
  policies	
  can	
  have	
  upon	
  the	
  distribution	
  of	
  environmental	
  risks.	
  	
  
The	
  regulations	
  that	
  govern	
  risk	
  distribution	
  are	
  ultimately	
  the	
  responsibility	
  of	
  
states,	
  and	
  are	
  determined	
  by	
  their	
  particular	
  social,	
  economic,	
  and	
  
environmental	
  policies.45	
  	
  This	
  is	
  what	
  Ulrich	
  Beck	
  identified	
  as	
  the	
  ‘risk	
  society’	
  
–	
  one	
  in	
  which	
  the	
  risks	
  of	
  environmental	
  hazards,	
  which	
  have	
  been	
  introduced	
  
through	
  modern	
  production	
  and	
  consumption	
  patterns,	
  are	
  systematically	
  
apportioned	
  by	
  central	
  authorities.46	
  	
  Despite	
  the	
  abstract	
  nature	
  of	
  
environmental	
  risk,	
  however,	
  it	
  often	
  manifests	
  itself	
  as	
  real	
  harm	
  to	
  real	
  
people.47	
  	
  As	
  we	
  have	
  seen,	
  these	
  harms	
  and	
  the	
  risk	
  of	
  them,	
  are	
  not	
  evenly	
  
distributed	
  in	
  the	
  United	
  States,	
  Brazil,	
  and	
  South	
  Africa,	
  and	
  fall	
  
disproportionately	
  on	
  racial	
  groups	
  within	
  those	
  countries.	
  	
  This	
  ‘environmental	
  
racism’	
  is	
  a	
  result	
  of	
  the	
  historical	
  development	
  of	
  their	
  social	
  policy	
  regimes.	
  
	
  
                   Certainly,	
  as	
  our	
  framework	
  suggests,	
  the	
  fundamental	
  nature	
  of	
  these	
  
regimes	
  can	
  be	
  differentiated	
  on	
  the	
  basis	
  of	
  their	
  particular	
  historical	
  
development.	
  	
  Yet	
  regardless	
  of	
  historical	
  specificity,	
  all	
  three	
  have	
  these	
  two	
  
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
42	
  Ibid,	
  pp.	
  143-­‐144.	
  
43	
  Lúcio	
  Flávio	
  quoted	
  in	
  ibid,	
  p.	
  151.	
  
44	
  Ibid,	
  p.	
  141.	
  
45	
  Roger	
  C.	
  Field,	
  ‘Risk	
  and	
  Justice:	
  Capitalist	
  Production	
  and	
  the	
  Environment,’	
  in	
  

Daniel	
  Faber	
  (ed.),	
  New	
  York,	
  Guilford	
  Press,	
  1998,	
  p.	
  86.	
  
46	
  Ulrich	
  Beck,	
  Ecological	
  Enlightenment:	
  Essays	
  on	
  the	
  Politics	
  of	
  the	
  Risk	
  Society,	
  

Atlantic	
  Highlands,	
  NJ,	
  Humanities	
  Press,	
  1995,	
  pp.	
  2-­‐4.	
  
47	
  Roger	
  C.	
  Field,	
  ‘Risk	
  and	
  Justice,’	
  p.	
  81.	
  




	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      11	
  
mutually	
  reinforcing	
  issues	
  in	
  common	
  –	
  racial	
  discrimination,	
  and	
  the	
  uneven	
  
distribution	
  of	
  environmental	
  risk.	
  	
  Dealing	
  with	
  racism	
  first,	
  we	
  can	
  note	
  that	
  all	
  
three	
  countries	
  have	
  a	
  history	
  of	
  racial	
  discrimination	
  that	
  includes	
  colonisation,	
  
marginalization	
  of	
  indigenous	
  communities,	
  and	
  slavery,	
  and	
  which	
  manifested	
  
itself	
  within	
  the	
  very	
  structures	
  of	
  their	
  societies.	
  	
  The	
  issues	
  of	
  environmental	
  
justice	
  discussed	
  in	
  this	
  paper	
  are	
  all	
  tied	
  to	
  these	
  structural	
  inequities,	
  and	
  
while	
  they	
  are	
  not	
  maintained	
  by	
  the	
  state,	
  forms	
  of	
  physical,	
  symbolic,	
  or	
  
structural	
  violence	
  serve	
  to	
  keep	
  them	
  in	
  place.48	
  	
  In	
  this	
  way,	
  racist	
  social	
  
policies	
  have	
  influenced	
  contemporary	
  social	
  forces,	
  which	
  in	
  turn	
  have	
  
produced	
  racist	
  environmental	
  outcomes.	
  
	
  
                    While	
  there	
  can	
  be	
  no	
  doubt	
  that	
  racism	
  is	
  a	
  factor	
  in	
  the	
  distribution	
  of	
  
environmental	
  risk,	
  another	
  common	
  factor,	
  present	
  in	
  each	
  country’s	
  social	
  
policy	
  regime,	
  is	
  just	
  as	
  influential.	
  	
  The	
  United	
  States,	
  as	
  a	
  liberal	
  welfare	
  state,	
  
leaves	
  the	
  distribution	
  of	
  ‘goods’,	
  environmental	
  risk	
  among	
  them,	
  to	
  market	
  
forces.	
  	
  Brazil,	
  as	
  a	
  liberal	
  informal	
  welfare	
  regime,	
  has	
  been	
  pressured	
  by	
  
external	
  forces	
  to	
  instigate	
  a	
  similar	
  system,	
  albeit	
  only	
  covering	
  the	
  formal	
  
sector.	
  	
  Those	
  outside	
  this	
  sector	
  are	
  arguably	
  at	
  the	
  mercy	
  of	
  market	
  forces	
  to	
  
an	
  even	
  greater	
  degree.	
  	
  Lastly,	
  in	
  South	
  Africa,	
  the	
  legacy	
  of	
  Apartheid	
  has	
  left	
  
the	
  new	
  insecurity	
  regime	
  with	
  little	
  choice	
  but	
  to	
  follow	
  suit.	
  	
  Thus,	
  market	
  
forces,	
  heavily	
  influenced	
  by	
  the	
  weight	
  of	
  racist	
  histories,	
  distribute	
  
environmental	
  risk	
  in	
  a	
  discriminatory	
  manner.	
  
	
  
Conclusions	
  
	
  
	
                  Using	
  an	
  extended	
  analytical	
  framework	
  the	
  environmental	
  policies	
  of	
  the	
  
United	
  States,	
  South	
  Africa,	
  and	
  Brazil,	
  have	
  been	
  analysed	
  in	
  terms	
  of	
  their	
  racial	
  
dimensions.	
  	
  I	
  have	
  identified	
  race,	
  and	
  its	
  effect	
  on	
  the	
  distribution	
  of	
  
environmental	
  risk,	
  as	
  a	
  determining	
  factor	
  in	
  environmental	
  outcomes	
  within	
  
the	
  social	
  policy	
  regimes	
  of	
  these	
  countries.	
  	
  This	
  result	
  is	
  based	
  upon	
  similar	
  
racial	
  histories	
  within	
  each	
  country,	
  and	
  irrespective	
  of	
  particularities	
  in	
  the	
  
development	
  of	
  their	
  social	
  policy	
  regimes.	
  	
  
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
48	
  George	
  M.	
  Fredrickson,	
  ‘Race	
  and	
  Racism	
  in	
  Historical	
  Perspective,’	
  p.	
  24.	
  




	
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 12	
  
 
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  Palgrave	
  Macmillan,	
  
          2004.	
  
	
  
Checker,	
  Melissa,	
  Polluted	
  Promises:	
  Environmental	
  Racism	
  and	
  the	
  Search	
  for	
  
          Justice	
  in	
  a	
  Southern	
  Town,	
  New	
  York,	
  New	
  York	
  Unversity	
  Press,	
  2005.	
  
	
  
DiNitto,	
  Diana	
  M.,	
  ‘An	
  Overview	
  of	
  American	
  Social	
  Policy,’	
  in	
  Michelle	
  Livermore	
  
          and	
  James	
  Midgley	
  (eds.),	
  The	
  Handbook	
  of	
  Social	
  Policy,	
  Thousand	
  Oaks,	
  
          California,	
  Sage	
  Publications,	
  2009,	
  pp.	
  21-­‐37.	
  
	
  
Durham,	
  William	
  H.,	
  ‘Political	
  Ecology	
  and	
  Environmental	
  Destruction	
  in	
  Latin	
  
          America,’	
  in	
  William	
  H.	
  Durham	
  and	
  Michael	
  Painter	
  (eds.),	
  The	
  Social	
  
          Causes	
  of	
  Environmental	
  Destruction	
  in	
  Latin	
  America,	
  Ann	
  Arbor,	
  	
  
          University	
  of	
  Michigan	
  Press,	
  1995,	
  pp.	
  249-­‐264.	
  
	
  
Esping-­‐Andersen,	
  Gøsta,	
  The	
  Three	
  Worlds	
  of	
  Welfare	
  Capitalism,	
  Cambridge,	
  
          Polity	
  Press,	
  1990.	
  
	
  




	
                                                                                                                        13	
  
Field,	
  Rodger	
  C.,	
  ‘Risk	
  and	
  Justice:	
  Capitalist	
  Production	
  and	
  the	
  Environment,’	
  in	
  
           Daniel	
  Faber	
  (ed.),	
  New	
  York,	
  Guilford	
  Press,	
  1998,	
  pp.	
  81-­‐103.	
  
	
  
Fredrickson,	
  George	
  M.,	
  ‘Race	
  and	
  Racism	
  in	
  Historical	
  Perspective:	
  Comparing	
  
           the	
  United	
  States,	
  South	
  Africa,	
  and	
  Brazil,’	
  in	
  Charles	
  V.	
  Hamilton	
  et	
  al.	
  
           (eds.),	
  Beyond	
  Racism:	
  Race	
  and	
  Inequality	
  in	
  Brazil,	
  South	
  Africa,	
  and	
  the	
  
           United	
  States,	
  Boulder,	
  Colorado,	
  Lynne	
  Rienner	
  Publishers,	
  2001,	
  1-­‐27.	
  
	
  
Goodland,	
  R.J.A.,	
  ‘South	
  Africa:	
  Environmental	
  Sustainability	
  needs	
  
           Empowerment	
  of	
  Women,’	
  in	
  Laura	
  Westra	
  and	
  Peter	
  S.	
  Wenz	
  (eds.),	
  
           Faces	
  of	
  Environmental	
  Racism:	
  Confronting	
  Issues	
  of	
  Global	
  Justice,	
  
           Lanham,	
  MD,	
  Rowman	
  &	
  Littlefield,	
  1995,	
  pp.	
  207-­‐225.	
  
	
  
Gough,	
  Ian,	
  ‘Welfare	
  Regimes	
  in	
  Developmental	
  Contexts:	
  a	
  Global	
  and	
  Regional	
  
           Analysis,’	
  in	
  Ian	
  Gough	
  et	
  al.	
  (eds.),	
  Insecurity	
  and	
  Welfare	
  Regimes	
  in	
  Asia,	
  
           Africa	
  and	
  Latin	
  America:	
  Social	
  Policy	
  in	
  Developmental	
  Contexts,	
  
           Cambridge,	
  Cambridge	
  University	
  Press,	
  2004,	
  pp.	
  15-­‐48.	
  
	
  
Hochstetler,	
  Kathryn,	
  and	
  Margaret	
  E.	
  Keck,	
  Greeng	
  Brazil:	
  Environmental	
  
           Activism	
  in	
  State	
  and	
  Society,	
  Durham,	
  Duke	
  University	
  Press,	
  2007.	
  
	
  
Hoff,	
  Marie	
  D.,	
  and	
  John	
  G.	
  McNutt,	
  ‘Social	
  Policy	
  and	
  the	
  Physical	
  Environment,’	
  
           in	
  Michelle	
  Livermore	
  and	
  James	
  Midgley	
  (eds.),	
  The	
  Hanbook	
  of	
  Social	
  
           Policy,	
  Thousand	
  Oaks,	
  California,	
  Sage	
  Pulications,	
  2009,	
  pp.	
  295-­‐311.	
  
	
  
Homer-­‐Dixon,	
  Thomas,	
  ‘Environmental	
  Scarcity	
  and	
  Violent	
  Conflict:	
  The	
  Case	
  of	
  
           South	
  Africa,’	
  Journal	
  of	
  Peace	
  Research,	
  Vol.	
  35,	
  No.	
  3,	
  May	
  1998,	
  pp.	
  279-­‐
           298.	
  
	
  
Johnson,	
  Glenn	
  S.,	
  ‘Environmental	
  Justice:	
  a	
  Brief	
  History	
  and	
  Overview,’	
  in	
  
           Filomina	
  C.	
  STEADY	
  (ed.),	
  Environmental	
  Justice	
  in	
  the	
  New	
  Millennium:	
  
           Global	
  Perspectives	
  on	
  Race,	
  Ethnicity,	
  and	
  Human	
  Rights,	
  New	
  York,	
  
           Palgrave	
  Macmillan,	
  2009,	
  pp.	
  17-­‐42.	
  
	
  
Khan,	
  Farieda,	
  ‘The	
  Roots	
  of	
  Environmental	
  Racism	
  and	
  Rise	
  of	
  Environmental	
  
           Justice	
  in	
  the	
  1990s,’	
  in	
  David	
  A.	
  McDonald	
  (ed.),	
  Environmental	
  Justice	
  in	
  
           South	
  Africa,	
  Cape	
  Town,	
  University	
  of	
  Cape	
  Town	
  Press,	
  2002,	
  pp.	
  15-­‐48.	
  
	
  
Kolk,	
  Ans,	
  Forests	
  in	
  International	
  Environmental	
  Politics:	
  International	
  
           Organisations,	
  NGOs	
  and	
  the	
  Brazilian	
  Amazon,	
  Utrecht,	
  International	
  
           Books,	
  1996.	
  
	
  
Law,	
  Ian,	
  Racism,	
  Ethnicity,	
  and	
  Social	
  Policy,	
  New	
  York,	
  Prentice	
  Hall,	
  1996.	
  
	
  
Lund,	
  Francie,	
  ‘South	
  Africa:	
  Transition	
  Under	
  Pressure,’	
  in	
  P.	
  Alcock	
  and	
  G.	
  Craig	
  
           (eds.),	
  International	
  Social	
  Policy:	
  Welfare	
  Regimes	
  in	
  the	
  Developed	
  World,	
  
           New	
  York,	
  Palgrave,	
  2001	
  
	
  



	
                                                                                                                          14	
  
MacDonald,	
  Gordon	
  J.,	
  and	
  Marc	
  A.	
  Stern,	
  ‘Environmental	
  Politics	
  and	
  Policy	
  in	
  
           Latin	
  America,’	
  in	
  Gordon	
  J.	
  MacDonald,	
  Daniel	
  L.	
  Nelson,	
  and	
  Marc	
  A.	
  
           Stern	
  (eds.),	
  Latin	
  American	
  Environmental	
  Policy	
  in	
  International	
  
           Perspective,	
  Boulder,	
  Colorado,	
  Westview	
  Press,	
  1997,	
  pp.	
  1-­‐11.	
  
	
  
Melosi,	
  Martin	
  V.,	
  ‘Equity,	
  Eco-­‐racism,	
  and	
  Environmental	
  History,’	
  in	
  Char	
  Miller	
  
           and	
  Hal	
  Rothman	
  (ed.),	
  Out	
  of	
  the	
  Woods:	
  Essays	
  in	
  Environmental	
  History,	
  
           Pittsburgh,	
  Univeristy	
  of	
  Pittsburgh	
  Press,	
  1997,	
  pp.	
  194-­‐211.	
  
	
  
Phalane,	
  Mashile	
  F.	
  and	
  Filomina	
  C.	
  Steady,	
  ‘Nuclear	
  Energy,	
  Hazardous	
  Waste,	
  
           Health,	
  and	
  Environmental	
  Justice	
  in	
  South	
  Africa:	
  The	
  Continuing	
  Legacy	
  
           of	
  Apartheid,’	
  in	
  Filomina	
  C.	
  STEADY	
  (ed.),	
  Environmental	
  Justice	
  in	
  the	
  
           New	
  Millennium:	
  Global	
  Perspectives	
  on	
  Race,	
  Ethnicity,	
  and	
  Human	
  Rights,	
  
           New	
  York,	
  Palgrave	
  Macmillan,	
  2009,	
  pp.	
  189-­‐202.	
  
	
  
Roberts,	
  J.	
  Timmons,	
  and	
  Nikki	
  Demetria	
  Thanos,	
  Troube	
  in	
  Paradise:	
  
           Globalization	
  and	
  Environmental	
  Crises	
  in	
  Latin	
  America,	
  New	
  York,	
  
           Routledge,	
  2003.	
  
	
  
Shrader-­‐Frechette,	
  Kristin	
  S.,	
  Environmental	
  Justice:	
  Creating	
  Equality,	
  Reclaiming	
  
           Democracy,	
  New	
  York,	
  Oxford	
  University	
  Press,	
  2002.	
  
	
  
Smith,	
  Christen	
  A.,	
  ‘Strategies	
  of	
  Confinement:	
  Environmental	
  Injustice	
  and	
  
           Police	
  Violence	
  in	
  Brazil,’	
  in	
  Filomina	
  C.	
  Steady	
  (ed.),	
  Environmental	
  
           Justice	
  in	
  the	
  New	
  Millennium:	
  Global	
  Perspectives	
  on	
  Race,	
  Ethnicity,	
  and	
  
           Human	
  Rights,	
  New	
  York,	
  Palgrave	
  Macmillan,	
  2009,	
  pp.	
  93-­‐114.	
  
	
  
Swatuk,	
  Larry	
  A.,	
  ‘Environmental	
  Policy	
  Making	
  in	
  Southern	
  Africa:	
  Learning	
  the	
  
           Hard	
  Way,’	
  in	
  Gordon	
  J.	
  MacDonald,	
  Daniel	
  L.	
  Nielson,	
  and	
  Marc	
  A.	
  Stern	
  
           (eds.),	
  Latin	
  American	
  Environmental	
  Policy	
  in	
  International	
  Perspective,	
  
           Boulder,	
  Colorado,	
  Westview	
  Press,	
  1997,	
  pp.	
  185-­‐210.	
  
	
  
Seekings,	
  Jeremy,	
  ‘Welfare	
  Regimes	
  and	
  Redistribution	
  in	
  the	
  South’	
  in	
  D.	
  Donno,	
  
           I.	
  Shapiro	
  and	
  P.A.	
  Swenson	
  (eds.),	
  Divide	
  and	
  Deal:	
  The	
  Politics	
  of	
  
           Distribution	
  in	
  Democracies,	
  New	
  York,	
  New	
  York	
  University	
  Press,	
  2008,	
  
           pp.	
  19-­‐42.	
  
	
  
Verchick,	
  Robert	
  R.	
  M.,	
  Facing	
  Catastrophe:	
  Environmental	
  Action	
  for	
  a	
  post-­‐
           Katrina	
  World,	
  Cambridge	
  Mass,	
  Harvard	
  University	
  Press,	
  2010.	
                      	
  
	
  
Viola,	
  Eduardo	
  J.,	
  ‘The	
  Environmental	
  Movement	
  in	
  Brazil:	
  Institutionalization,	
  
           Sustainable	
  Development,	
  and	
  Crisis	
  of	
  Governance	
  Since	
  1987,’	
  in	
  
           Gordon	
  J.	
  MacDonald,	
  Daniel	
  L.	
  Nielson,	
  Marc	
  A.	
  Stern	
  (eds.),	
  Latin	
  
           American	
  Environmental	
  Policy	
  in	
  International	
  Perspective,	
  Boulder,	
  
           Colorado,	
  Westview	
  Press,	
  1997,	
  pp.	
  88-­‐110.	
  
	
  




	
                                                                                                                   15	
  

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Environmental Racism and Social Policy: Risk and Weight of History in the United States, South Africa, and Brazil

  • 1. Environmental  Racism  and  Social  Policy:  Risk  and  the  Weight  of  History  in   the  United  States,  South  Africa,  and  Brazil     The  concept  of  ‘environmental  racism,’  and  its  connection  to  historical   social  policies  in  various  countries,  has  moved  to  forefront  of  struggles  for  racial   equality  over  the  last  30  years.    This  paper,  by  utilizing  an  extended  framework   comprising  the  typologies  of  Gøsta  Esping-­‐Andersen  and  Ian  Gough  and  Geoff   Wood,  will  seek  to  analyse  the  social  policy  regimes  of  the  United  States,  South   Africa,  and  Brazil,  in  relation  to  environmental  outcomes  through  the  lens  of   race.    Differences  and  similarities  will  be  located  both  within  the  outcomes   experienced  by  different  racial  groups,  and  the  apportioning  of  risk  within  each   social  policy  regime  on  the  basis  of  race.     A  Note  on  the  Analysis  Framework     It  is  beyond  the  purview  of  this  paper  to  undertake  a  detailed  analysis  of   the  extended  theoretical  framework  that  it  will  utilize.1    Nevertheless,  it  is   important  to  note  from  the  outset  just  where  our  sample  countries  fit  within  the   typology.    Firstly,  the  United  States,  whose  social  policies  are  built  around  the   primacy  of  the  market,  is  commonly  identified  as  a  liberal  welfare  state  regime   within  Esping-­‐Anderson’s  framework.2    Secondly,  due  to  the  continued  presence   of  a  large  informal  sector,  which  is  not  covered  by  the  lion’s  share  of  state  social   policy,  alongside  neoliberal  market  strategies  imposed  through  external                                                                                                                   1  For  an  in  depth  discussion  of  Esping-­‐Anderson’s  typology  see  Gøsta  Esping-­‐ Andersen,  The  Three  Worlds  of  Welfare  Capitalism,  Cambridge,  Polity  Press,  1990,   pp.  26-­‐27.    For  an  in  depth  discussion  of  Gough  and  Wood’s  extended  typology,   see  Ian  Gough,  ‘Welfare  Regimes  in  Development  Contexts:  a  Global  and  Regional   Analysis,’  in  I.  Gough  and  Geoff  Wood  et  al  (eds.),  Insecurity  and  Welfare  Regimes   in  Asia,  Africa  and  Latin  America  :  Social  Policy  in  Development  Contexts,   Cambridge,  Cambridge  University  Press,  2004,  pp.  28-­‐36  and  Armando   Barrientos,  ‘Latin  America:  Towards  a  Liberal-­‐Informal  Welfare  Regime,’  in  Ian   Gough  et  al.  (eds.),  Insecurity  and  Welfare  Regimes  in  Asia,  Africa  and  Latin   America:  Social  Policy  in  Developmental  Contexts,  Cambridge,  Cambridge   University  Press,  2004,  pp.  121-­‐126.   2  Diana  DiNitto,  ‘An  Overview  of  American  Social  Policy,’  in  Michelle  Livermore   and  James  Midgley  (eds.),  The  Handbook  of  Social  Policy,  Thousand  Oaks,   California,  Sage  Publications,  2009,  pp.  21-­‐23.     1  
  • 2. pressure,  Brazil  can  be  located  within  Gough  and  Wood’s  liberal  informal  welfare   regimes.3    Lastly,  burdened  by  the  legacy  of  colonialism,  underdevelopment,   pervasive  inequality,  and  a  burgeoning  informal  sector,  South  Africa  displays  all   the  hallmarks  of  Gough  and  Wood’s  insecurity  regimes.4    Common  to  all  three   regimes  types,  despite  divergent  historical  and  social  development  paths,  is  the   absence  of  ongoing  state  involvement  in  risk  mitigation,  either  through  an   unwillingness  related  to  ideology,  or  an  inability  related  to  historical  factors.     The  Environment,  Social  Policy,  and  Race     The  environment  is  more  than  just  the  space  surrounding  us;  it  is  the   ecological  space  in  which  the  basic  necessities  of  life  are  provided  for.    It  is  also   the  space  in  which  we  are  employed,  obtain  education,  and  pursue  social  lives,   and  our  ability  to  do  so  depends  heavily  on  the  maintenance  of  a  decent  level  of   environmental  quality.5    Understood  in  this  way  it  is  clear  that  environmental   policy,  which  regulates  the  quality  of  ecological  spaces,  and  social  policy,  which   regulates  the  provision  of  social  ‘goods’  within  those  spaces,  are  intimately   linked.    Further,  the  relationship  between  environmental  quality  and  social   policy  is  reciprocal  –  environmental  destruction  may  cause  complex  social   problems  (such  as  physical  and  psychological  illnesses,  and  the  collapse  of   communities),  while  poorly  conceived  social  and  economic  policies  can  threaten   an  already  fragile  ecological  balance.6                                                                                                                       3  Armando  Barrientos,  ‘Latin  America,’  p.  122.   4  Jeremy  Seekings,  ‘Welfare  Regimes  and  Redistribution  in  the  South’  in  D.   Donno,  I.  Shapiro  and  P.A.  Swenson  (eds.),  Divide  and  Deal:  The  Politics  of   Distribution  in  Democracies,  New  York,  New  York  University  Press,  2008,  pp.  24-­‐ 27.   5  Melissa  Checker,  Polluted  Promises:  Environmental  Racism  and  the  Search  for   Justice  in  a  Southern  Town,  New  York,  New  York  Unversity  Press,  2005,  p.  17.   6  Marie  D.  Hoff  and  John  G.  McNutt,  ‘Social  Policy  and  the  Physical  Environment,’   in  Michelle  Livermore  and  James  Midgley  (eds.),  The  Hanbook  of  Social  Policy,   Thousand  Oaks,  California,  Sage  Pulications,  2009,  pp.  295-­‐297.    For  an  in  depth   discussion  of  health  and  social  effects  related  to  environmental  degradation  see   ibid,  pp.  300-­‐303.     2  
  • 3. Since  the  late  1970s  the  emergent  environmental  justice  movement  has   attempted  to  confront  and  eradicate  inequities  in  environmental  quality  based   upon  racist  social  policies.    It  has  drawn  upon  studies  showing  that  patterns  of   environmental  destruction,  and  the  social  issues  they  cause,  are  often  dependent   upon  the  presence  of  poor  or  racially  defined  communities.    In  a  number  of   countries,  these  results  are  a  corollary  to  historical  social  policies  that  have   embedded  racial  discrimination  within  social  and  political  structures.    It  is  not   surprising  therefore,  that  struggles  for  environmental  justice,  and  for  racial   equality,  are  often  inseparable.7    Three  examples  of  ‘environmental  racism’  that   can  be  understood  within  this  paradigm  are  the  United  States,  South  Africa,  and   Brazil,  and  it  is  to  these  that  we  now  turn.     Three  Examples  of  Environmental  Racism     (i)  The  United  States     While  social  policy  in  the  United  States  no  longer  reproduces  racial   inequality  as  directly  and  explicitly  as  it  did  in  the  past,  racial  conflict  is   nevertheless  embedded  within  the  structure  of  American  society.    The  Jim  Crow   laws,  which  legislated  racial  segregation  in  areas  such  as  education,  housing,  and   employment,  organized  society  around  the  conception  of  racial  difference   between  the  end  of  the  American  Civil  War  and  the  Civil  Rights  era.    But  although   the  Civil  Rights  Act  (1964)  and  the  Fair  Housing  Act  (1968)  nominally   dismantled  de  jure  racial  segregation,  de  facto  segregation  is  still  an  ambiguous   force  in  contemporary  America.    This  is  particularly  apparent  in  urban  areas,   where  the  phenomenon  of  ‘white  flight’  to  wealthy  outer  suburbs,  as  well  as   discriminatory  lending  and  housing  patterns,  led  to  the  formation  by  the  1970s   of  central  ‘urban  ghettos,’  characterized  by  black  racial  concentration  and                                                                                                                   7  For  an  overview  of  the  environmental  justice  movement  see  Glenn  S.  Johnson,   ‘Environmental  Justice:  a  Brief  History  and  Overview,’  in  Filomina  C.  STEADY   (ed.),  Environmental  Justice  in  the  New  Millennium:  Global  Perspectives  on  Race,   Ethnicity,  and  Human  Rights,  New  York,  Palgrave  Macmillan,  2009,  pp.  17-­‐38.     3  
  • 4. declining  quality  of  life.8    Social  policies  enacted  since  have  had  little  effect  upon   these  so-­‐called  ‘racial  donuts’,  in  part  due  to  less  overt  forms  of  racism   perpetuated  by  social  and  market  forces.9     Given  the  persistence  of  racial  segregation  and  inequality,  it  is  not   surprising  that  environmental  harms,  and  indeed  benefits,  are  unevenly   distributed  in  the  United  States.10    African  Americans,  for  example,  are  three   times  more  likely  than  whites  to  live  in  communities  containing  at  least  one   uncontrolled  toxic  waste  site,  leaving  them  more  vulnerable  to  health  risks  such   as  asthma,  of  which  they  are  three  times  more  likely  to  die  from.11    Further,  a   2006  study  of  air  toxins  in  American  cities  found  a  ‘persistent  relationship   between  increasing  levels  of  racial-­‐ethnic  segregation  and  increased  estimated   cancer  risk.’    At  the  same  time,  the  incidence  of  environmental  benefits,  such  as   ‘green  areas’,  also  vary  on  seemingly  racial  grounds.    In  Los  Angeles,  for  example,   there  are  1.7  acres  of  parkland  in  white  wealthy  areas,  compared  with  just  0.3  in   more  racially  diverse  areas.12       These  more  recent  findings  echo  the  conclusions  of  a  study  conducted  in   1987  under  the  title  Toxic  Wastes  and  Race  in  the  United  States.    It  found  a  clear   correlation  between  the  placement  of  hazardous  waste  and  the  presence  of   minority  communities,  which  it  identified  as  ‘environmental  racism.’    According   to  the  Reverend  Dr.  Benjamin  F.  Chavis  Junior,  who  wrote  the  forward  to  the   study,  environmental  racism  involves  ‘racial  discrimination  in  environmental   policy-­‐making,  enforcement  of  regulations  and  laws,  the  deliberate  targeting  of   communities  of  color  [sic]  for  toxic  waste  disposal,  and  the  siting  of  polluting                                                                                                                   8  Jordan  Brown  et  al.,  ‘Race,  Politics,  and  Social  Policy,’  in  Michelle  Livermore  and   James  Midgley  (eds.),  The  Handbook  of  Social  Policy,  Thousand  Oaks,  California,   Sage  Publications,  2009,  pp.  271-­‐272.   9  For  an  overview  of  these  forces  see  Robert  R.  M.  Verchick,  Facing  Catastrophe:   Environmental  Action  for  a  post-­‐Katrina  World,  Cambridge  Mass,  Harvard   University  Press,  2010,  p.  160.   10  Ibid,  p.  117   11  Melissa  Checker,  Polluted  Promises,  p.  13.   12  Robert  R.  M.  Verchick,  Facing  Catastrophe,  pp.  118-­‐120.     4  
  • 5. industries.’13    Government  authorities  have  questioned  these  findings,  and  their   racial  implications,  on  the  basis  that  economic  considerations  dictate  waste   disposal,  and  black  communities  tend  to  be  situated  on  the  cheapest  land.14    Yet,   this  study,  as  well  as  a  follow  up  report  in  2007,  found  that  low-­‐income  white   areas  also  have  drastically  lower  levels  of  contamination.15    It  would  seem  then,   that  the  risks  of  negative  health  affects  flowing  from  such  environmental  policies   are  at  least  in  part  racially  determined.     The  devastation  wrought  on  the  minority  communities  of  New  Orleans  by   Hurricane  Katrina  and  its  aftermath  is  perhaps  the  most  blatant  example  of   environmental  racism  in  the  United  States.    Following  the  Civil  War,  segregated   black  communities  were  located  in  areas  of  the  city  that  were  the  most  prone  to   flooding  due  to  elevation  and  to  levee  configuration.    Restrictive  land  use  laws,   discriminatory  lending  patters,  and  intimidation  on  the  part  of  sections  of  the   white  community,  have  since  perpetuated  this  exposure.16    As  a  result,  the  areas   damaged  following  the  storm  were  75  percent  African-­‐American,  who  in  part   due  to  extreme  poverty  (of  the  28  percent  of  people  in  New  Orleans  living  in   poverty,  84  percent  were  black)  were  unable  to  evacuate  at  the  rate  of  wealthy   whites.    The  despicably  slow  disaster  response,  moreover,  accentuated  the   instance  of  death  and  disease,  and  has  been  widely  blamed  on  the  implicit  racial   bias  of  the  Bush  administration.17    Regardless  of  who  is  to  blame,  however,  it  is                                                                                                                   13  Produced  by  the  United  Church  of  Christ  Commission  on  Racial  Justice,  the   extended  title  of  the  study  was  Toxic  Wastes  and  Race  in  the  United  States:  A   National  Report  on  the  Racial  and  Social-­‐Economic  Characteristics  of  Communities   with  Hazardous  Waste  Sites,  though  it  is  more  commonly  known  by  its  shorter   title.    Melissa  Checker,  Polluted  Promises,  p.  14.   14  A  prominent  example  is  the  1992  report,  produced  by  the  Environmental   Protection  Agency,  Environmental  Equity:  Reducing  Risk  for  All  Communities.     Martin  V.  Melosi,  ‘Equity,  Eco-­‐racism,  and  Environmental  History,’  in  Char  Miller   and  Hal  Rothman  (ed.),  Out  of  the  Woods:  Essays  in  Environmental  History,   Pittsburgh,  Univeristy  of  Pittsburgh  Press,  1997,  pp.  201-­‐202.   15  Melissa  Checker,  Polluted  Promises,  pp.  14-­‐15.    Also  produced  by  the  United   Church  of  Christ,  the  follow  up  study,  ‘Toxic  Wastes  and  Race  at  Twenty:  1987-­‐ 2007’  found  that  in  spite  of  raised  levels  of  community  awareness,  little  had   changed  in  the  interceding  years.    Robert  R.  M.  Verchick,  Facing  Catastrophe,  p.   119.   16  Ibid,  p.  160.   17  Ibid,  pp.  130-­‐136.     5  
  • 6. clear  that  black  communities  had  been  shouldered  with  a  disproportionate  level   of  environmental  and  social  risk  on  the  basis  of  race.     (ii)  South  Africa     Racial  conflict  is  embedded  within  the  structure  of  South  African  Society,   much  as  in  the  case  of  the  United  States,  due  to  an  historical  social  policy.    Known   as  Apartheid  (literally  ‘apartness’)  and  established  in  1948,  it  sought  the   separate  development  of  white  and  non-­‐white18  communities  until  its   dismantling  in  1994,  and  led  to  the  forcible  relocation  of  individuals  comprising   the  latter.    Those  whose  labour  was  required  by  industries  located  in  or  around   urban  centres  were  pushed  onto  nearby  unused  and  unwanted  land   characterized  by  a  lack  of  services,  housing  shortages,  overcrowding  and  low   environmental  quality.19    Those  who  we  deemed  surplus  to  requirements   (mostly  women,  children  and  the  elderly)  were  relocated  to  barren  rural   ‘homelands’  (supposedly  traditional  native  areas),  far  from  social  services  and   employment  opportunities.20    Both  of  these  areas  evolved  into  impoverished  and   dehumanizing  ghettos,  while  at  the  same  time  a  small  wealthy  white  elite   enjoyed  the  benefits  of  unfettered  access  to  the  countries  natural  resources.21                                                                                                                       18  Non-­‐whites  here  refers  to  the  majority  of  the  population,  which  includes   Africans,  ‘Coloureds’  and  Indians.    This  paper  will  focus  on  the  African   community,  who  also  commonly  referred  to  as  ‘blacks’.    Francie  Lund,  ‘South   Africa:  Transition  Under  Pressure,’  in  P.  Alcock  and  G.  Craig  (eds.),  International   Social  Policy:  Welfare  Regimes  in  the  Developed  World,  New  York,  Palgrave,  2001,   p.  222.   19  Thomas  Homer-­‐Dixon,  ‘Environmental  Scarcity  and  Violent  Conflict:  The  Case   of  South  Africa,’  Journal  of  Peace  Research,  Vol.  35,  No.  3,  May  1998,  p.  289.   20  The  legacy  of  racial  segregation  and  dispossession  upon  inequality  continues   to  this  day.    For  example  whites  who  comprise  just  9  percent  of  the  population   own  80  percent  of  the  land,  while  blacks,  who  comprise  80  percent  of  the   population  own  just  13  percent.    Mashile  F.  Phalane  and  Filomina  C.  Steady,   ‘Nuclear  Energy,  Hazardous  Waste,  Health,  and  Environmental  Justice  in  South   Africa:  The  Continuing  Legacy  of  Apartheid,’  in  Filomina  C.  STEADY  (ed.),   Environmental  Justice  in  the  New  Millennium:  Global  Perspectives  on  Race,   Ethnicity,  and  Human  Rights,  New  York,  Palgrave  Macmillan,  2009,  p.  189.   21  Larry  A.  Swatuk,  ‘Environmental  Policy  Making  in  Southern  Africa:  Learning   the  Hard  Way,’  in  Gordon  J.  MacDonald,  Daniel  L.  Nielson,  and  Marc  A.  Stern   (eds.),  Latin  American  Environmental  Policy  in  International  Perspective,  Boulder,   Colorado,  Westview  Press,  1997,  p.  188.     6  
  • 7.   The  environmental  effects  of  segregation  on  black  communities  in   particular  have  been  severe.    The  homelands  themselves  were  situated  in  fragile   environments  whose  thin  topsoil  was  wholly  unsuitable  for  extensive   agricultural  requirements.22    The  resulting  legacy  of  devastating  soil  erosion  led   one  recent  observer  to  describe  the  scene  in  the  homelands  as  ‘almost  lunar  in   its  desolation.’23    Meanwhile,  in  the  shantytowns  that  still  surround  South   African  cities,  poor  blacks  live  in  hazardous  environmental  conditions,  including   inadequate  access  to  sanitation  and  uncontaminated  water  supplies.24    Due  to  a   lack  of  alternatives,  moreover,  a  heavy  reliance  on  wood  fuel  for  energy   consumption  in  both  rural  and  urban  areas  has  led  to  extensive  deforestation   and  air  pollution,  putting  further  strain  on  both  the  environment  and  the   communities  it  supports.25         Despite  the  dismantling  of  Apartheid  by  the  new  African  National   Congress  (ANC)  government  in  1994,  the  social  effects  of  environmental  racism   have  proved  persistent.    This  can  be  traced  to  two  considerable  impediments  to   change,  the  first  related  to  perceptions.    During  the  Apartheid  era,  and  indeed   throughout  South  Africa’s  history  of  colonial  domination,  environmental   management  and  conservation  supported  policies  of  racial  discrimination.    The                                                                                                                   22  The  South  African  ecosystem  is  characterized  by  land  unsuitable  for   agricultural  production,  low  rainfall,  and  soils  susceptible  to  erosion.    Indeed,   only  13.5  percent  of  South  Africa  is  considered  suitable  for  crop  production,  with   only  3  percent  of  that  considered  high  yield.    Thomas  Homer-­‐Dixon,   ‘Environmental  Scarcity  and  Violent  Conflict,’  p.  282.     23  It  is  estimated  that  during  the  20th  century,  25  percent  of  South  Africa’s  topsoil   has  been  lost  to  soil  erosion,  while  55  percent  of  the  land  is  threatened  by   desertification.    Ibid,  p.  285.   24  Mashile  F.  Phalane  and  Filomina  C.  Steady,  ‘Nuclear  Energy,  Hazardous  Waste,   Health,  and  Environmental  Justice  in  South  Africa,’  p.  190.    For  example,  in  South   Africa,  between  12  and  16  million  people  lack  potable  water,  while  21  million,  or   half  the  population,  lack  adequate  sanitation.    70  percent  of  urban  blacks,   moreover,  do  not  have  running  water  and  are  forced  to  rely  on  supplies   contaminated  by  industrial  run-­‐off.    Thomas  Homer-­‐Dixon,  ‘Environmental   Scarcity  and  Violent  Conflict,’  p.  286.   25  In  Kwa  Zula  Natal,  for  example,  it  has  been  estimated  that  in  the  fifty  years   following  the  start  of  Apartheid,  the  regions  forests  have  been  reduced  from  250   to  just  50.    Approximately  40  percent  of  the  population,  or  17  million  people,  rely   on  wood  fuel  for  cooking  and  heating.    Ibid,  p.  285.     7  
  • 8. same  colonial  rulers  whose  settler  population  had  once  relied  upon  subsistence   activities  viewed  the  historical  crop  and  livestock  practices  of  black  communities   as  unnatural  and  ecologically  destructive.    Redefined  as  ‘poachers,’  black   communities  were  forcefully  relocated  away  from  their  ancestral  lands  to  make   way  for  game  and  nature  reserves.26    The  resulting  marginalization  of  local   communities  from  their  land  and  resources  has,  not  surprisingly,  negatively   affected  their  environmental  perceptions,  leading  to  an  ‘anti-­‐conservation’   ideology  that  has  proved  difficult  to  dislodge  in  the  post-­‐Apartheid  era.27         The  second  impediment  to  radical  change  in  South  Africa  relates  to   difficulties  associated  with  policy  implementation.    While  the  new  South  African   constitution  proclaims  a  universal  right  to  an  environment  that  is  not  harmful  to   health  or  well-­‐being,28  its  application  has  been  burdened  by  a  history  of  collusion   with  environmentally  unsound  industries  by  the  Apartheid  government,  coupled   with  an  overall  lack  of  transparency.    For  example,  the  shipping  of  hazardous   mercury  waste  to  Kwa  Zulu  Natal  by  a  British  Company,  though  discovered  in  the   late  1980s,  would  not  be  halted  until  1996.    To  this  day,  10,000  barrels  of  the   waste  remains  in  the  province,  unable  to  be  disposed  of  or  recycled  due  to  health   and  economic  considerations.    While  a  solution  is  being  found,  the  local  black   communities  face  continued  exposure  to  health  risks,  a  consequence  of   environmental  racism  that  is  to  be  found  across  the  country.29                                                                                                                     26  Larry  A.  Swatuk,  ‘Environmental  Policy  Making  in  Southern  Africa,’  pp.  196-­‐ 197.   27  Farieda  Khan,  ‘The  Roots  of  Environmental  Racism  and  Rise  of  Environmental   Justice  in  the  1990s,’  in  David  A.  McDonald  (ed.),  Environmental  Justice  in  South   Africa,  Cape  Town,  University  of  Cape  Town  Press,  2002,  p.  16.     28  Anthony  Butler,  Contemporary  South  Africa,  Hampshire,  Palgrave  Macmillan,   2004,  p.  144.   29  The  company,  Thor  Chemicals,  had  been  banned  from  operation  in  Britain  due   to  casualties  from  mercury  poisoning  and  the  imposition  of  tougher   environmental  laws.    It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  workers  at  the  South   African  site  tested  positive  to  mercury  poisoning,  and  indeed  the  Mngeweni   River,  which  flows  through  nearby  communities  was  found  to  have  mercury   levels  1,500  times  higher  than  international  acceptable  levels.    For  a  full   description  of  the  saga,  see  Mashile  F.  Phalane  and  Filomina  C.  Steady,  ‘Nuclear   Energy,  Hazardous  Waste,  Health,  and  Environmental  Justice  in  South  Africa,’  pp.   195-­‐198.     8  
  • 9. (iii)  Brazil     The  history  of  racial  discrimination  in  Brazil  is,  at  least  outwardly,  quite   different  to  that  of  the  United  States  and  South  Africa.    Despite  a  similar  history   of  colonial  domination,  marginalization  of  indigenous  populations,  and  slavery,   the  issue  of  race  has  long  been  avoided  in  the  Brazilian  public  sphere.30    Racism   was  effectively  ‘swept  under  the  carpet,’  especially  during  the  military   dictatorship  that  ran  from  1964  to  1985,  with  societal  hierarchy  being  explained   by  cultural  and  class  differences  rather  than  race.31  Yet  since  the  establishment   of  democracy  in  the  mid-­‐1980s  a  significant  level  of  prejudice  and  racism   towards  Indians  and  those  with  African  heritage  has  bubbled  to  the  surface.32     This  phenomenon  is  what  anthropologist  João  Costa  Vargas  termed  the   ‘hyperconsciousness/negation  of  race  dialectic’,  or  the  ‘tension  between  a   pervasive  belief  that  race  should  neither  be  talked  about  nor  addressed,’  and  the   reality  of  persistent  racial  discrimination  throughout  Brazil.33     In  contrast  to  the  issue  of  race,  the  Brazilian  environment,  and  specifically   the  Amazon,  has  historically  been  at  the  forefront  of  the  nation’s  consciousness.     For  Brazilians  from  the  poor  to  the  affluent,  the  Amazon  is  an  imaginary   landscape  of  wealth  waiting  to  be  exploited,  a  ‘land  without  people  for  people   without  land’  as  the  military  regime  aptly  put  it.34    Indigenous  populations,  and   other  communities  who  had  moved  there  centuries  earlier,  are  therefore  largely   ignored,  and  deforestation  for  the  purposes  of  large-­‐scale  grazing,  mineral                                                                                                                   30  Luiz  C.  Barbosa,  The  Brazilian  Amazon  Rainforest:  Global  Ecopolitics,   Development,  and  Democracy,  Lanham,  MD,  University  Press  of  America,  2000,  p.   102.   31  George  M.  Fredrickson,  ‘Race  and  Racism  in  Historical  Perspective:  Comparing   the  United  States,  South  Africa,  and  Brazil,’  in  Charles  V.  Hamilton  et  al.  (eds.),   Beyond  Racism:  Race  and  Inequality  in  Brazil,  South  Africa,  and  the  United  States,   Boulder,  Colorado,  Lynne  Rienner  Publishers,  2001,  pp.  1-­‐2.   32  Kathryn  Hochstetler  and  Margaret  E.  Keck,  Greeng  Brazil:  Environmental   Activism  in  State  and  Society,  Durham,  Duke  University  Press,  2007,  pp.  183-­‐184.   33  Christen  A.  Smith,  ‘Strategies  of  Confinement:  Environmental  Injustice  and   Police  Violence  in  Brazil,’  in  Filomina  C.  Steady  (ed.),  Environmental  Justice  in  the   New  Millennium:  Global  Perspectives  on  Race,  Ethnicity,  and  Human  Rights,  New   York,  Palgrave  Macmillan,  2009,  p.  93.   34  The  Amazon  covers  60  percent  of  Brazil’s  total  area.    Ibid,  p.  142.     9  
  • 10. exploration,  and  agricultural  production,  has  proceeded  at  an  alarming  rate.35     Resistance  movements,  supported  by  external  pressure  for  environmental   justice  from  NGOs  and  international  organizations,  have  progressively  secured   portions  of  the  Amazon  as  Indian  reserves  since  the  mid-­‐1980s.36    More  often,   however,  the  establishment  of  nature  conservation  areas,  and  the  redefinition  of   Indian  subsistence  activities  as  ‘poaching’,  have  led  to  the  forceful  removal  of   communities  and  racial  hostility.37    For  ordinary  Brazilians,  moreover,  who  rely   for  their  survival  on  agriculture,  lumber,  commerce,  and  mining  in  the  Amazon,  it   is  difficult  to  understand  programs  aimed  at  the  protection  of  small  communities   ‘hidden’  in  the  forest.38         There  has  been,  due  to  the  significance  of  the  Amazon  to  global   environmental  health,  sustained  international  pressure  over  the  last  thirty  years   for  greater  protection  in  the  region.    Often  viewed  as  an  attempt  at   environmental  imperialism,  however,  the  results  have  been  mixed.39    The  state,   burdened  with  considerable  foreign  debt  and  economic  instability  has   repeatedly  resorted  to  resource  extraction  to  the  detriment  of  indigenous   populations.40    In  any  case,  it  would  be  mistake  to  assume  that  the  state  can   simply  legislate  problems  in  the  Amazon  away.    The  strong  federalist  system  put   in  place  by  the  1988  constitution  has  resulted  in  a  dearth  of  central  planning  and   policy  formulation  –  the  state  is  effectively  absent  in  the  region.41    The  economic   value  to  be  gained  from  land  grabbing  and  resource  exploitation,  moreover,  has   made  the  area  ripe  for  criminality.    In  a  video  released  by  the  Indigenous  Council   for  Roraima  in  June  1998,  for  example,  gunman  hired  by  commercial  farmers                                                                                                                   35  Though  the  rate  of  deforestation  is  heavily  contested,  ranging  from  a  total  loss   of  8  percent  to  25  percent,  it  is  generally  accepted  that  the  rate  is  increasing  year   by  year.      J.  Timmons  Roberts  and  Nikki  Demetria  Thanos,  Troube  in  Paradise:   Globalization  and  Environmental  Crises  in  Latin  America,  New  York,  Routledge,   2003,  pp.  139-­‐142.   36  Luiz  C.  Barbosa,  The  Brazilian  Amazon  Rainforest,  p.  99.   37  J.  Timmons  Roberts  and  Nikki  Demetria  Thanos,  Troube  in  Paradise,  p.  79.   38  Kathryn  Hochsettler  and  Margaret  E.  Keck,  Greening  Brazil,  pp.  140-­‐142.   39  Luiz  C.  Barbosa,  The  Brazilian  Amazon  Rainforest,  p.  83.   40  J.  Timmons  Roberts  and  Nikki  Demetria  Thanos,  Troube  in  Paradise,  pp.  168-­‐ 169.   41  Kathryn  Hochsettler  and  Margaret  E.  Keck,  Greening  Brazil,  p.  147.     10  
  • 11. were  seen  to  be  firing  upon  an  indigenous  community  in  an  effort  to  force  them   out  of  a  state  designated  reserve  area.    Charged  with  protection  of  these   communities,  local  authorities  are  either  unwilling  or  unable  to  do  so.42    As  one   Brazilian  journalist  described,  ‘[c]riminality  has  turned  Amazonia  into  an   enormous  green  Sicily.’43    Thus  despite  concerted  efforts,  some  marginally   successful,  the  deforestation  of  the  Amazon,  and  the  risk  to  the  survival  of  Indian   communities,  has  continued  apace.44         Environmental  Racism,  Risk,  and  the  Weight  of  History     What  can  be  drawn  out  from  the  above  examples  is  the  effect  that   historical  social  policies  can  have  upon  the  distribution  of  environmental  risks.     The  regulations  that  govern  risk  distribution  are  ultimately  the  responsibility  of   states,  and  are  determined  by  their  particular  social,  economic,  and   environmental  policies.45    This  is  what  Ulrich  Beck  identified  as  the  ‘risk  society’   –  one  in  which  the  risks  of  environmental  hazards,  which  have  been  introduced   through  modern  production  and  consumption  patterns,  are  systematically   apportioned  by  central  authorities.46    Despite  the  abstract  nature  of   environmental  risk,  however,  it  often  manifests  itself  as  real  harm  to  real   people.47    As  we  have  seen,  these  harms  and  the  risk  of  them,  are  not  evenly   distributed  in  the  United  States,  Brazil,  and  South  Africa,  and  fall   disproportionately  on  racial  groups  within  those  countries.    This  ‘environmental   racism’  is  a  result  of  the  historical  development  of  their  social  policy  regimes.     Certainly,  as  our  framework  suggests,  the  fundamental  nature  of  these   regimes  can  be  differentiated  on  the  basis  of  their  particular  historical   development.    Yet  regardless  of  historical  specificity,  all  three  have  these  two                                                                                                                   42  Ibid,  pp.  143-­‐144.   43  Lúcio  Flávio  quoted  in  ibid,  p.  151.   44  Ibid,  p.  141.   45  Roger  C.  Field,  ‘Risk  and  Justice:  Capitalist  Production  and  the  Environment,’  in   Daniel  Faber  (ed.),  New  York,  Guilford  Press,  1998,  p.  86.   46  Ulrich  Beck,  Ecological  Enlightenment:  Essays  on  the  Politics  of  the  Risk  Society,   Atlantic  Highlands,  NJ,  Humanities  Press,  1995,  pp.  2-­‐4.   47  Roger  C.  Field,  ‘Risk  and  Justice,’  p.  81.     11  
  • 12. mutually  reinforcing  issues  in  common  –  racial  discrimination,  and  the  uneven   distribution  of  environmental  risk.    Dealing  with  racism  first,  we  can  note  that  all   three  countries  have  a  history  of  racial  discrimination  that  includes  colonisation,   marginalization  of  indigenous  communities,  and  slavery,  and  which  manifested   itself  within  the  very  structures  of  their  societies.    The  issues  of  environmental   justice  discussed  in  this  paper  are  all  tied  to  these  structural  inequities,  and   while  they  are  not  maintained  by  the  state,  forms  of  physical,  symbolic,  or   structural  violence  serve  to  keep  them  in  place.48    In  this  way,  racist  social   policies  have  influenced  contemporary  social  forces,  which  in  turn  have   produced  racist  environmental  outcomes.     While  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  racism  is  a  factor  in  the  distribution  of   environmental  risk,  another  common  factor,  present  in  each  country’s  social   policy  regime,  is  just  as  influential.    The  United  States,  as  a  liberal  welfare  state,   leaves  the  distribution  of  ‘goods’,  environmental  risk  among  them,  to  market   forces.    Brazil,  as  a  liberal  informal  welfare  regime,  has  been  pressured  by   external  forces  to  instigate  a  similar  system,  albeit  only  covering  the  formal   sector.    Those  outside  this  sector  are  arguably  at  the  mercy  of  market  forces  to   an  even  greater  degree.    Lastly,  in  South  Africa,  the  legacy  of  Apartheid  has  left   the  new  insecurity  regime  with  little  choice  but  to  follow  suit.    Thus,  market   forces,  heavily  influenced  by  the  weight  of  racist  histories,  distribute   environmental  risk  in  a  discriminatory  manner.     Conclusions       Using  an  extended  analytical  framework  the  environmental  policies  of  the   United  States,  South  Africa,  and  Brazil,  have  been  analysed  in  terms  of  their  racial   dimensions.    I  have  identified  race,  and  its  effect  on  the  distribution  of   environmental  risk,  as  a  determining  factor  in  environmental  outcomes  within   the  social  policy  regimes  of  these  countries.    This  result  is  based  upon  similar   racial  histories  within  each  country,  and  irrespective  of  particularities  in  the   development  of  their  social  policy  regimes.                                                                                                                     48  George  M.  Fredrickson,  ‘Race  and  Racism  in  Historical  Perspective,’  p.  24.     12  
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