DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Samuel van der Swaagh

11/19/12

LASC 101 - Critical Issues

Prof. Himmelfarb

Reflection 4

 

            In Majora Carter’s speech to the E. F. Schumacher Society, Carter persuasively explains the triple bottom line of sustainability and environmental justice. In other words, Majora Carter speaks about the inseparable relationship between social equality, economics and the environment. According to Majora Carter, there exists an inexplicable link between environmental abuse and poverty and lawlessness. During the beginning of the speech, Carter talks about how the South Bronx, her hometown, has not only suffered from crime and economical oppression, but also environmental injustice. In a place like the South Bronx that processes more than 30% of NYC’s waste and 70% of the City’s sewage, there exists very little economic development or infrastructure, and consequently a disproportionate amount of opportunity. In short, due to the South Bronx’s environmental state, Bronx residences have more of a chance of falling into jail rather than education. Majora Carter argues that the root of the South Bronx’s problems is environmental injustice. That is, the South Bronx experiences a tremendous amount of environmental burden without many environmental benefits.

 

            In response to her hometown’s environmental problems, Carter developed the Sustainable South Bronx organization (SSB) that was aimed at making Bronx residence feel more treasured. As Carter once stated while explaining how she approached the Bronx garbage issue, “It wasn’t the ‘not in my backyard’ argument at all . . . . We said, ‘not garbage because what we need is equitable solid-waste handling that doesn’t continue to overburden the most vulnerable in the City.’” A key trait of Carter’s organization is a determination to creatively mitigate a problem in a manner that both exhibits equality and opportunity. Take for example, when carter discusses how she transformed a trashed and abandoned street end into a usable community park. First Carter had to win a battle against Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s proposal to create more Bronx landfills and sewage plants. Following this first victory, Carter continued to persuade women government agencies to fund a $1 million for a SSB Greenway. Gaining momentum, Carter then began a volunteer group that cleared trash from a river street end, and helped create a beautiful local community park. Along this rough journey Carter observed that her efforts provided employment (e.g., the new park opened a facility for training student in green-collar fields), and re-enlivened the community with environmental responsibility. The Sustainable South Bronx organization highly believes that people should not be treated as the problem, but as the solution.

 

            Probably one of the best illustrations that Carter uses to draw a connection between economy, the environment and social equity is her view of garbage and prisons. In the middle of her speech, Carter complains about the jail situation in NYC by saying, “So while all the TV networks and magazines are proclaiming that everything is ‘going green’ two of the fastest growing industries in the United States are prisons and garbage.” As Carter discusses sustainability, she questions whether or not it is true that we are heading towards a green society. In many NYC communities that are heavily burdened with environmental and social woes, state planners often place prisons in these areas in order raise the economic development. Carter expresses regret over the fact that jails and landfills are rising everywhere because she believes that green-collar jobs, land-use planners, and supportive-community services and infrastructures is the way of the future. Green-collar jobs, for example, open opportunities for employment, and create desirable communities. Consequently, green-collar jobs attract businesses to communities and boosts economic growth. Thus, in a sense, green-collar jobs reduce the need for prisons and landfill because such fields create cleaner and more vibrant environments.

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.