Understanding Social and Environmental Justice

1. Social and environmental responsibility

2. Harmful social and environmental effects Key Questions: • What is environmental justice? • What is social justice? • How does environmental and social injustice harm personal and community health? Key Words: • Poverty • Environmental justice • Social justice

3. 1. Social and Environmental Justice • Environmental Justice means correcting instances of Injustice. • Poorer people suffer the most from pollution – through poor or dangerous work conditions or lack of resources. • Poor people have unequal access to basic resources such as water and energy. • Natural resources are depleted such as trees, fishing stock.

4. Poverty leads to a lack of freedom • Lack of environmental and social injustice • Lack of freedom means lack of choices • Cannot choose where or how you live – whether you have a house with a garden, or live near a rubbish dump. • Because you are poor you have limited options.

5. Social Justice means correcting social injustices. • Social injustice happens when: • People with fewer choices suffer the most from discrimination based on ability, age, culture, gender, race and religious beliefs. • People with fewer choices lack acknowledgment of their human rights and access to services • Education, housing, health or security

6. Our Constitution says that everyone has the right to: • An environment that is not harmful to their health and well-being. • Safety – to be safe and out of harms way. Also freedom from danger, risk, harm or injury. • Security and protection, which means freedom from poverty or need, such as • Hunger, thirst and shelter. • Both Environmental and Social justice stops people being exploited and disadvantaged. • Exploited: to be taken advantage of and being oppressed.

7. 2. Crime and Violence • When people lose their lives or possessions to crime, it affects them and those around them. • The effects of crime: • Anger, fear, distrust, sadness.