Green Jobs and Environmental Justice
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Green Jobs and Environmental Justice
Margy Goodman
INTRODUCTION
Not everyone has fair, equal access to clean natural resources or economic opportunities with safe,
well-paying employers. Oftentimes what ultimately determine people’s ability to access such
resources are their socio-economic and racial backgrounds. The following activities will educate
students on how climate change and pollution often affect those from different backgrounds and
bring them to understand how green jobs are a pathway out of poverty for people affected by
environmental injustices.
LESSON OVERVIEW
Grade Level & Subject: 9-12: Health, Social Studies, and Vocational Education
Length: One class period
Objectives: After completing this lesson and extension activity, students will:
• Understand that people’s race and socio-economic status determine the quality of natural
resources available to them.
• Understand that green jobs will allow underprivileged people to overcome these differences.
• Understand that the green jobs sector provides a pathway out of poverty.
National Standards Addressed:
This lesson addresses the following National Education Standards1
• Content Standard: NPH-H.9-12.1 HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE
PREVENTION
As a result of activities in grades 9-12, students will be able to:
• Analyze how the family, peers, and community influence the health of individuals
• Analyze how the environment influences the health of the community
• Content Standard: NSS-G.K-12.5 ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY
As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should:
• Understand how human actions modify the physical environment
• Understand how physical systems affect human systems
• Understand the changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of
resources
1 http://www.education-world.com/standards/
Earth Day Network
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www.earthday.net/education education@earthday.net• Content Standard: NS.9-12.6 PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES
As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop and understanding of:
• Personal and community health
• Natural resources
• Environmental quality
• Natural and human induced hazards
Materials Needed:
• Empty plastic soda bottle
• Scrap paper
• Computers with internet access for research portion (extension activity)
Assessment: Students will be assessed through the following activities:
• Participation in discussion.
• Participation in and attention to Activity One.
• Completion, thoroughness, and quality of extension assignment.
LESSON BACKGROUND
Relevant Vocabulary:
• Environmental injustice: Refers to inequitable environmental burdens borne by groups such
as racial minorities, women, residents of economically disadvantaged areas, or residents of
developing nations.
• Environmental justice: The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless
of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and
enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies
• Green job: "It has to pay decent wages and benefits that can support a family. It has to be
part of a real career path, with upward mobility. And it needs to reduce waste and pollution
and benefit the environment."-- Phil Angelides, Apollo Alliance
• Superfund: The federal government's program to clean up the nation's uncontrolled hazardous
waste sites.
Information:
The effects of climate change will not affect everyone the same way. In the same way that some
people have easier access to natural resources, there will be some people better equipped to handle
climate change. When water sources become depleted or contaminated, not all people are able to
purchase clean water supplies due to economic disadvantages. Furthermore, as seen when Hurricane
Katrina struck, those living in inner city areas are less capable of relocating, escaping disaster, and
receiving relief than those living in other areas. In short, people of varying racial and socio-economic
backgrounds will continue to be less able to access and afford support and relief when a severe
environmental crisis strikes.
Earth Day Network
1616 P Street NW, Suite 340 Washington, DC 20036
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www.earthday.net/education education@earthday.netThose who are the least economically advantaged are often the ones who face the heaviest burden
and unhealthy conditions associated with various wastes. Neighborhoods and communities specific
to such individuals are frequently the dumping sites for hazardous waste. Typically, people in these
neighborhoods do not have the resources or power to fight back against this problem and,
therefore, ultimately breathe and drink polluted air and water. In addition, these areas generally have
fewer employment opportunities, lower-paying jobs, and working conditions involving exposure to
more hazards and harmful substances.
There is, however, hope. Green jobs have the potential to strengthen America’s economy and
provide unemployed individuals with millions of jobs in the coming years, thus providing many
communities with greater resources to help themselves combat the effects of climate change.
Furthermore, the increasing number of green jobs available will ultimately improve the environment
in which the underprivileged tend to live. Green jobs represent a significant opportunity and
pathway out of poverty.
Resources:
• Environmental Justice, http://www.ejnet.org/ej/
• EPA, http://www.epa.gov/oecaerth/environmentaljustice/
• EPA Superfund, http://www.epa.gov/superfund/
• Green for All, http://greenforall.org/
• The Center for Public Integrity,
http://projects.publicintegrity.org/superfund/?gclid=CPP9naGw9psCFdVL5QodFlsY-g
• Environmental Justice Index, http://www.scorecard.org/community/ej-index.tcl
Preparation:
To prepare for Activity One, write the following words on separate cards or pieces of scrap paper:
toxins, safety hazards, emissions (make two of these), waste/landfills, water pollution,
asthma, cancer.
LESSON STEPS
Warm-up: Discussion
1. Discuss environmental justice. (Note: your students should have a basic understanding of
green jobs to participate in this discussion. Be sure they are familiar with the above
definition, as well as concepts and characteristics of green jobs.)
a) Ask students what they think environmental justice is.
b) Introduce the concept of environmental justice: What is it? Why are different people
affected by climate change and pollution differently? In what ways are some people
more disadvantaged in terms of environmental conditions than others? (People’s race
and socio-economic status have a lot of weight in determining the quality of resources they have access
to, where they live, the support they get from the local and federal government, etc. People who cannot
afford water filters, regular doctor appointments, time to exercise, or the costs of moving out of a
decrepit neighborhood are at a greater risk of suffering from a degraded environment. The areas
where such conditions exist are usually in low-income, urban or rural areas).
Earth Day Network
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www.earthday.net/education education@earthday.netc) Can your students think of any environmental justice issues in their community?
(Visit http://www.scorecard.org/community/ej-index.tcl for information about
environmental justice by group/population, county, zip code, etc.)
d) Introduce your students to Superfund and discuss: What is it? Why is it important?
What are some problems people have with the Superfund? (It is a part of the EPA
which puts money toward cleaning up and revitalizing polluted, neglected areas. Oftentimes
Superfund sites are in low-income areas. Sometimes there is concern surrounding a site when it is
designated as a Superfund site because the residents believe it will put a negative stigma on an
otherwise “good” neighborhood. It also uses taxpayers’ money to clean up pollution and hazards left
by others).
e) How are environmental justice and green jobs related? (Green jobs are a pathway out of
poverty. They create new jobs with improved conditions and create innovative means by which
pollution can be reduced and climate change slowed by focusing resources, development, manpower
and efforts in these areas).
f) How can green jobs bring people out of poverty? (Provide more jobs and better
opportunities while also cleaning up the environment, improving people’s living conditions, and thus
bettering people’s health).
Activity One: Comparing Communities
1. Before class, you should have written the following words on separate pieces of scrap paper:
toxins, safety hazards, emissions (make two of these), waste/landfills, water pollution,
asthma, cancer.
2. Split your class up into two groups. One group will represent the factory workers at a soda
bottling plant, and the other group will represent the everyday consumer.
3. Present an empty soda bottle to your class and explain that it represents the plastic that
comes out of factories in the United States. Such factories often employ workers in
hazardous working environments while paying them minimum wage and exposing them to
toxins daily.
4. Explain the following to your class:
a. Factory workers not only face the hazards associated with producing the plastic
bottle, but are also more likely to face the health problems resulting from pollution
from production of the bottles and inadequate disposal of the bottle when it is
empty.
b. Factory workers are most commonly from low-income urban or rural areas, where
these factories are located, which are also the same areas where landfills filled with
plastic bottles are situated. The toxins from the bottles can be released into the air
and can leach out of the plastic into the ground, entering water sources which are
ultimately consumed.
5. After this explanation, hand the bottle to the factory worker group. They are starting out this
activity with the bottle because they are the ones producing it and, thus, the first to posses it.
Also, give “safety hazards,” “toxins,” and one of the “emissions” cards to the factory
workers.
6. Explain that these workers are exposed to safety hazards and toxins while producing this
bottle. They also must breathe the polluted emissions from the factory near their homes,
and also are affected by the climate change related to the greenhouse gases in these
emissions.
Earth Day Network
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www.earthday.net/education education@earthday.net7. Now that the bottle has been manufactured, it is ready to be sold. Turn the bottle over to
the everyday consumer group along with the other “emissions” card, as the consumer is not
exempt from breathing in polluted air from the bottle’s production or the greenhouse effect
of these gases in Earth’s atmosphere.
8. Once the consumer group is done with the bottle and ready to discard, hand it back to the
factory workers, along with the words “waste/landfills.” The factory workers must now
bear the burden of having the waste dumped into a landfill close to their home.
9. Since leaching of the plastic results from improper disposal (not being recycled) of the
bottle, the plastic particulates enter the soil and then the groundwater, which families in
these areas consume. Give the factory workers the “water pollution” card. As the ultimate
result of such environmental hazards and pollution is poor health, hand the factory worker
the “asthma” and “cancer” cards. They are more likely to deal with these and other health
problems in themselves and their families.
10. Students should now have a clear visual of who bears the burdens of production and
disposal of plastic water bottles.
Activity Two: Re-Cap
1. Discuss the outcome of Activity One.
a) What did the students take away from the activity? How did this activity make them
feel? Have students share words and emotions related to both sides of this activity.
a. How did the “factory workers” feel?
b. How did the “consumers” feel?
b) Ask students what they think determines who bears the greatest burdens of pollution
and climate change? Is this fair? Why or why not? Encourage discussion and debate
about inequality and injustice.
Activity Three: Green Jobs
1. Transition the discussion to get students thinking about how the exchanges in Activity One
could be different with the introduction of green jobs.
a) What actions could be taken to lessen the negative affects of production and
disposal? (Raising production standards at factories; putting limits on emissions; providing factory
workers with better health care benefits; strengthening recycling initiatives; providing assistance to
degraded neighborhoods; etc. Above all, creating more green jobs which would employ those affected
by environmental injustice, giving decent income to the workers and their families).
b) What if the consumer group decided to recycle the plastic bottle? Which of the
negative factors on the cards would be reduced from the equation? (Less
waste/landfills, and hence less water pollution, asthma, cancer, etc.)
c) Could the factory be “greened” by reusing recycled plastic instead of producing new
plastic? How would this affect the factory workers jobs?
d) What if there was a demand for another product besides a plastic bottle. Could the
factory workers be trained to produce an alternative product? What are some
alternatives to plastic? What are some health or environmental risks associated with
these?
e) What if the plastic bottling company decided to convert their factory to one which
uses renewable resources to power its plant? How would this affect the workers?
How would this affect the green job sector? (This change would lessen the amount of toxins,
Earth Day Network
1616 P Street NW, Suite 340 Washington, DC 20036
(P) 202-518-0044 (F) 202-518-8794
www.earthday.net/education education@earthday.netpollution and emissions that the worker and general public, are exposed to. Also, such a change
could require hiring more workers or providing new job skills training because workers would be
needed to carry out the change to renewable energy and to maintain the new system. These
improvements would likely improve efficiency and save money for the business owners, possibly
allowing them to improve conditions or increase pay.)
Extension: Writing Assignment
1. For homework or as an additional in-class assignment, have your students research a group of
people or a region where people are living in unhealthy, degraded conditions or areas that will be
overtly affected by climate change and environmental injustices. If possible, focus on an issue
affecting the community or region near your school (Navajo lands in Arizona; Superfund sites such as
Gowanus Canal, NY; coastal cities; urban environmental degradation issues; etc. See
www.scorecard.org/community/ej-index.tcl for more ideas. )
a) Have students include general information on environmental justice.
b) Students should explain why people’s surroundings affect their health, and in what
ways their specific group has been affected.
c) Students should also incorporate how green jobs would help the group they research,
suggesting ideas that would improve the environment, better the health of workers
or local residents, provide jobs, etc.
CONCLUSION
At the conclusion of this lesson, students will understand the disparities between people of different
racial and socio-economic backgrounds and how such differences among groups of people affect
their environmental quality, health, and access to resources. Most importantly, students will
understand that green jobs provide a pathway out of poverty.
Earth Day Network
1616 P Street NW, Suite 340 Washington, DC 20036
(P) 202-518-0044 (F) 202-518-8794
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