Paul Mohai

MEN, WOMEN AND THE ENVIRONMENT: AN EXAMINATION OF GENDER GAP IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN AND ACTIVISM

Abstract Relatively little information yet exists regarding gender differences in environmental concern and activism. What information is available has so far provided a mixed picture, with some studies indicating men to be more concerned than women, others indicating women to be more concerned, and still others finding no significant differences. This study provides additional evidence from national survey data. From these data, women were found to express greater concern for the environment than men before and after applying multivariate controls for age, education, labor force/homemaker status, and other variables. However, the magnitude of the differences was not great. Gender differences in environmental activism provided an ironic contrast. Even though women indicated somewhat greater concern, rates of environmental activism for women were substantially lower than for men. Furthermore, these differences were greater than differences in rates of general political participation and persisted in spite ...

Reassessing Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Environmental Justice Research

The number of studies examining racial and socioeconomic disparities in the geographic distribution of environmental hazards and locally unwanted land uses has grown considerably over the past decade. Most studies have found statistically significant racial and socioeconomic disparities associated with hazardous sites. However, there is considerable variation in the magnitude of racial and socioeconomic disparities found; indeed, some studies have found none. Uncertainties also exist about the underlying causes of the disparities. Many of these uncertainties can be attributed to the failure of the most widely used method for assessing environmental disparities to adequately account for proximity between the hazard under investigation and nearby residential populations. In this article, we identify the reasons for and consequences of this failure and demonstrate ways of overcoming these shortcomings by using alternate, distance-based methods. Through the application of such methods, we show how assessments about the magnitude and causes of racial and socioeconomic disparities in the distribution of hazardous sites are changed. In addition to research on environmental inequality, we discuss how distance-based methods can be usefully applied to other areas of demographic research that explore the effects of neighborhood context on a range of social outcomes.

Is There a "Race" Effect on Concern for Environmental Quality?

Efforts to examine racial differences in environmental attitudes and to explain what may account for them are relatively recent. A conventional wisdom has been that African Americans are not as concerned as are whites about environmental quality issues. Although this view has been challenged by recent studies and by the rising visibility of a grassroots environmental justice movement, much of the recent research has failed to distinguish among the many various types of environmental issues about which African Americans and white Americans may be concerned. The review of the literature suggests that there are sound theoretical reasons to expect that African Americans are less concerned than are whites about some issues (such as nature preservation issues) but that they are more concerned about others (such as pollution). In particular, three theoretical explanations have a bearing on understanding racial differences in environmental concern: (1) hierarchy of needs, (2) cultural differences, and (3) environmental deprivation. The first two predict that African Americans are less concerned about the environment than are whites. The third predicts that African Americans are more concerned than are whites. The authors tested hypotheses about these explanations from a comprehensive survey of residents in the Detroit metropolitan area. They found little evidence to support the theoretical explanations that predict African Americans are less concerned about the environment than are whites. To the contrary, they found few differences between African Americans and whites, even over the nature preservation issues about which African Americans long have been thought to be unconcerned. Where significant differences existed, they were over local environmental problems, with African Americans expressing substantially greater concern than did whites. That racial differences in concern about such issues is a function of the disproportionate burden of environmental disamenities in

Air Pollution Around Schools Is Linked To Poorer Student Health And Academic Performance

Exposing children to environmental pollutants during important times of physiological development can lead to long-lasting health problems, dysfunction, and disease. The location of childrens schools can increase their exposure. We examined the extent of air pollution from industrial sources around public schools in Michigan to find out whether air pollution jeopardizes childrens health and academic success. We found that schools located in areas with the highest air pollution levels had the lowest attendance rates-a potential indicator of poor health-and the highest proportions of students who failed to meet state educational testing standards. Michigan and many other states currently do not require officials considering a site for a new school to analyze its environmental quality. Our results show that such requirements are needed. For schools already in existence, we recommend that their environmental quality should be investigated and improved if necessary.

Dispelling Old Myths: African American

Abstract Contrary to widely held assumptions, African Americans are concerned about environmental issues-and not just issues directly related to human health. An analysis of extensive national and Detroit area data reveals fundamental flaws in the idea that white Americans care more about a healthy environment than do African Americans. What are the implications of these findings for the people of the United States? In what direction does this take the US. environmental movement?

Which came first, people or pollution? A review of theory and evidence from longitudinal environmental justice studies

A considerable number of quantitative analyses have been conducted in the past several decades that demonstrate the existence of racial and socioeconomic disparities in the distribution of a wide variety of environmental hazards. The vast majority of these have been cross-sectional, snapshot studies employing data on hazardous facilities and population characteristics at only one point in time. Although some limited hypotheses can be tested with cross-sectional data, fully understanding how present-day disparities come about requires longitudinal analyses that examine the demographic characteristics of sites at the time of facility siting and track demographic changes after siting. Relatively few such studies exist and those that do exist have often led to confusing and contradictory findings. In this paper we review the theoretical arguments, methods, findings, and conclusions drawn from existing longitudinal environmental justice studies. Our goal is to make sense of this literature and to identify the direction future research should take in order to resolve confusion and arrive at a clearer understanding of the processes and contributory factors by which present-day racial and socioeconomic disparities in the distribution of environmental hazards have come about. Such understandings also serve as an important step in identifying appropriate and effective societal responses to ameliorate environmental disparities.

Equity and the environmental justice debate

This article takes an autobiographical approach in describing the evolution of the equity and environmental justice debate. The intent is not only to provide a historical approach in identifying the emerging research and policy questions, but also to describe the authors own scholarly growth in studying them.

Environmental Concerns, Values and Meanings in the Beijing and Detroit Metropolitan Areas

Given increasing evidence from international surveys that concern for the environment appears to be a worldwide phenomenon, the authors of this article were interested in conducting an in-depth analysis of environmental concerns, values and behavior in the Beijing and Detroit metropolitan areas. Because of the attention that has been given to the influences of dominant social values and neighborhood environmental context on environmental attitudes cross-nationally, the authors were especially interested in examining what impact these have. In so doing, they attempted to introduce several important innovations in their comparative study, including new measures of commitment to the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) and indicators of neighborhood environmental quality. Using face-to-face interviews with probability samples surveys of residents in the Beijing and Detroit metropolitan areas, the study also determined, from openended questions, people’s understandings of ‘the environment’ and ‘economic growth’ and the priority trade-offs between them that are often implied and debated. The analyses found striking similarities as well as differences in the two metropolitan areas.

Race and Environmental Voting in the U.S. Congress

Objective. This article examines long‐term trends in the environmental voting behavior in Congress and attempts to identify the factors that account for racial differences in voting patterns. Methods. Hypotheses about the various possible influences on environmental voting behavior are tested using longitudinal analyses and path analysis techniques. Results. Findings indicate African American members of Congress have been consistently more supportive of proenvironment legislation than either Republican or Democrat colleagues from 1981 to 1998. The data further suggest that much of these overall differences are explained by an especially large racial gap in proenvironmental voting among members from the South. Although such a gap among members from outside the South is eliminated by controlling for ideology and other variables, it remains substantial among Southern members. Conclusions. Based on the strong and consistent support for environmental legislation by African American members of Congress in the past, we expect significant racial differences in environmental voting to endure. Although results suggest that ideology plays a partial role in explaining such differences, future research will be needed to identify the reasons for the especially large racial gap in proenvironmental voting among members from the South. Given the growth in their numbers, their relatively safe seats, and their potential to chair important committees as they gain seniority, we expect African American legislators to play an increasingly important role in shaping and deciding the fate of national environmental policy in the future.

Environmental Justice Implications of Brownfield Redevelopment in the United States

This article discusses environmental justice implications of brownfield development. Although many argue that brownfield development can be an excellent alternative to the Superfund Act for a new toxic waste policy in the United States, providing environmental as well as economic improvements, such views are based on anticipated rather than proven or actual benefits. Questions pertaining to the environmental justice consequences of brownfield development discussed in this article include who lives near brownfield sites and which sites are cleaned up first, whether lowering cleanup standards for brownfield development is safe for human health, whether brownfield development can provide economic benefits without any adverse consequences of development to local residents, and how public participation should be included in the process of brownfield development.