PARENT SESSION
Symposium #32: Ecological Restoration and Environmental Justice: Empowering Communities.
Organized by: LM Jablonski and KM Rodriguez
Thursday, August 8. 1:00 PM to 3:45 PM. Maricopa Meeting Room, TCC.
Ecology, environmental history, environmental justice, and the role of ecologists in society.
MIDDENDORF, GEORGE*,1, GRANT, BRUCE2, 1 Howard University, Washington, DC2 Widener University, Chester, PA
ABSTRACT- Questions of the relationship between ecology and Environmental justice (EJ) have emerged amid debates examining the larger roles of ecology and ecologists in society. Traditional historical descriptions of the environmental movement, in which ecology has had a major influence, have focused on the conflict between preservation and conservation, and where wilderness protection has been usually viewed as biocentric and elitist, while natural resource management has been seen as anthropocentric, commercial and utilitarian. Both approaches, preservation and conservation, emerged in the late 19th century and developed over issues of how to best use federal lands in the American West. Underpinnings for both dominate the ecological literature and training, and intertwine the history of professional ecological organizations and the careers of many prominent ecologists. In contrast, the foundations for EJ were established in the late 19th century with urban-centered efforts to mitigate environmental health burdens in the workplace. This approach was incorporated into the social ecology curriculum with a specific emphasis on the ecological study of cities, and later, through coupling with Civil Rights efforts in the late 20th century, became the EJ movement. Today, the role of ecology in defining and resolving EJ problems has been recognized as critical in the development, implementation and enforcement of fair and just policies. EJ efforts have largely focused on impacts of hazardous waste landfills and chemical manufacturing plants, but a variety of recent ecological studies, including human consumption patterns of fish and efforts to restore urban lands, demonstrate the need for ecological input into the environmental policy decision-making process. It is critical that ecological studies incorporating human dimensions consider the differential impact on peoples of different races, cultures and incomes.
KEY WORDS: environmental, justice, preservation, conservation