Dorceta E. Taylor

Introduction: The Evolution of Environmental Justice Activism, Research, and Scholarship

This article argues that there is a long history of environmental racism in American society. The first part of the article briefly discusses some of the environmental practices that discriminated against and negatively impacted people of color. It also discusses the responses of people color to these inequities. The second part of the article examines the rise of the contemporary environmental justice movement. This portion of the essay also looks at the evolution of environmental justice scholarship. It argues that despite controversy over the assertion that race and class are related to the siting patterns of hazardous facilities, most studies support the claim.

Diversity and Equity in Environmental Organizations: The Salience of These Factors to Students

Diversity in environmental institutions is of increasing concern to scholars and practitioners. The author examined student perceptions of the importance of 20 diversity and equity factors in their decisions to accept a job. A national sample of 1,239 students in 9 environmental disciplines (biological sciences, geosciences, natural resources, agricultural sciences, forestry, geography, environmental science, environmental engineering, and social sciences) participated in the study. Although most respondents assigned some importance to diversity and equity factors, large ethnic and gender differences existed in the significance that respondents assigned to each factor. Ethnic differences in assessing the importance of the diversity and equity factors also occurred in the extent to which respondents distinguished between factors that did or did not mention subgroups of workers.

Minority Environmental Activism in Britain: From Brixton to the Lake District

Historically, the British environmental movement has been devoid of minority participation, but this is changing very slowly, with the emergence of ethnic minority environmental groups and multiracial environmental alliances. These groups have argued that ethnic minorities have little or no access to public funds earmarked for countryside and wildlife preservation issues. They argue that white environmental organizations do not pay attention to the needs of inner-city minority residents and minority access to the countryside. Increased access, community improvement and beautification projects, environmental education, youth training, community garden projects, and issues of environmental racism are all foci of ethnic minority environmental movements. While some white environmentalists have been supportive of them, others have been uncomfortable with them or even hostile to their existence.

Race, gender, and faculty diversity in environmental disciplines

Purpose – The lack of diversity in environmental institutions has been a concern of environmental justice activists and scholars for several decades now. Although studies have been conducted on the level of diversity in environmental groups, environmental organizations, and student participation in environmental programs, little research has been conducted on faculty diversity in environmental departments. This chapter examines the status of minority faculty in university environmental programs in the United States. Design/methodology/approach – The chapter examines results from a national survey of 2,407 faculty in several environmental disciplines. Findings – The results were consistent with national studies of science and engineering (S&E) faculty that find that Hispanics, blacks, and Native Americans are underrepresented among the faculty in these units. The analysis also points to the fact that female faculty are underrepresented and are in a more vulnerable position than male faculty. Originality/value – The examination of race and gender indicates that scholars should pay more attention to the interaction effects of these variables to identify the different levels of vulnerability that female faculty in these disciplines face.

Racial and ethnic differences in the students’ readiness, identity, perceptions of institutional diversity, and desire to join the environmental workforce

There is strong evidence that minority students are interested in environmental careers despite data showing that the percentage of people of color currently employed in environmental organizations is low. This study explores this conundrum by examining five factors that are related to workforce diversity. It assesses the racial and ethnic differences in (a) academic preparation for environmental work, (b) environmental identity, (c) the extent to which students are interested in pursuing careers in the environmental field, (d) the factors that influence students when deciding whether to accept environmental jobs, and (e) students’ salary expectations. This study analyzes data from 157 students—46 Whites, 43 Blacks, and 68 other racial minorities. Data was collected from students participating in science, technology, engineering, and math programs hosted by at a large public university, a mid-sized private university, and a historically Black university. The data, collected from May to June 2016, revealed that minority and White students have similar grades, are taking a similar range of courses, and are members of campus environmental clubs. Students were more likely to describe themselves as an environmentalist rather than as a conservationist. The study also found that minority students are most comfortable working in organizations that promise jobs with upward mobility, leadership opportunities, and incorporate diversity activities in their programming. Though minority students tended to have salary expectations that were higher than that of White students, the differences were insignificant. Moreover, the mean salary that students would accept to work in environmental organizations is compatible with what is currently being paid in the field.

Neighbourhood characteristics and urban gardens in the Toledo metropolitan area: staffing and voluntarism, food production, infrastructure, and sustainability practices

ABSTRACT Urban gardens are important sources of sustenance for communities with limited access to food. Hence, this study focuses on food production in gardens in the Toledo metropolitan area in Northwest Ohio. We administered surveys to 150 garden managers from November 2014 to February 2015 in our attempt to better understand how neighbourhood racial composition and poverty levels are related to staffing and voluntarism, food production and distribution, the development of infrastructure, and the adoption of sustainability practices in urban gardens. The results from 30 gardens are presented in this paper. We used Geographic Information Systems to map the gardens and overlay the map with 2010 census data so that we could conduct demographic analyses of the neighbourhoods in which the gardens were located. Though the gardens were small – two acres or less – up to 46 varieties of food were grown in a single garden. Gardens also operated on small budgets. Food from the gardens was gifted or shared with friends, family, and neighbourhood residents. Gardens in predominantly minority neighbourhoods tended to have fewer institutional partners, less garden infrastructure, and had adopted fewer sustainable practices than gardens in predominantly White neighbourhoods. Nonetheless, residents of predominantly minority and high-poverty neighbourhoods participated in garden activities and influenced garden operations. Volunteering and staffing were racialised and gendered.

Enhancing racial diversity in the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences

From the outset, the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS) has sought to create a diverse and inclusive organization. Though AESS has clearly outlined strategies for enhancing diversity, the association has found it challenging to attract robust numbers of students of color as well as faculty of color to its ranks. This paper contains excerpts from an address presented at the 2018 AESS Awards Dinner. The paper identifies some of the reasons for the limited participation of people of color in the association and suggests new approaches to increasing racial and ethnic diversity.

Research Article: Racial and Gender Differences in Job Mobility and Wages of Employees in Environmental Organizations

Despite the plethora of studies about environmental organizations, few studies have examined the work experiences of employees. Consequently, this study analyzes the job mobility and earnings of 265 environmental professionals. The survey sample consisted of 153 White and 112 minority respondents, including 150 men and 115 women. The study examines three dependent variables: job tenure, starting salaries, and current salaries. It analyzes how the independent variables race, gender, educational attainment, disciplinary background, type of college attended, length of time working in current organization, length of time working in the environmental field, and type of environmental organization worked in are related to the outcome variables. The study found that the perception of wage inequity was stronger among minorities than Whites. However, binary logistic regression analysis found that neither race nor gender were significant in predicting job tenure, starting, or current salary in multivariate models.

Environmental Inequalities: Class, Race, and Industrial Pollution in Gary, Indiana, 1945-1980.

By examining environmental change through the lens of conflicting social agendas, Andrew Hurley uncovers the historical roots of environmental inequality in contemporary urban America. Hurleys study focuses on the steel mill community of Gary, Indiana, a city that was sacrificed, like a thousand other American places, to industrial priorities in the decades following World War II. Although this period witnessed the emergence of a powerful environmental crusade and a resilient quest for equality and social justice among blue-collar workers and African Americans, such efforts often conflicted with the needs of industry. To secure their own interests, manufacturers and affluent white suburbanites exploited divisions of race and class, and the poor frequently found themselves trapped in deteriorating neighborhoods and exposed to dangerous levels of industrial pollution. In telling the story of Gary, Hurley reveals liberal capitalisms difficulties in reconciling concerns about social justice and quality of life with the imperatives of economic growth. He also shows that the power to mold the urban landscape was intertwined with the ability to govern social relations. |Features the pathbreaking work of Mark Catesby, the British naturalist and illustrator who founded natural history and bird art in America, preceding Audubon by nearly a century.