Environmental Justice and You: How Getting Involved in STEM Can Positively Impact Your Community
Diverse interns are both champions of change and stakeholders in the outcomes of those changes
Quite often, in the national conversation about justice in communities of color, the focus is primarily on racial inequality, police brutality, and over-policed neighborhoods. Of course, these are prescient issues that demand our attention, but sadly, inequality in the U.S. is multifaceted and impacts people of color in many other ways, including wage disparities, barriers to economic prosperity, and increased health risks. Thus, it’s critical that the national dialogue expands to include environmental justice. To make this happen, it’s vital that young people of color secure internships and jobs in green STEM, where they can impact research and policies that directly benefit their communities.
Why environmental justice matters
In short, environmental justice is the practice of developing, implementing, and enforcing environmental laws, policies, and regulations that treat everyone fairly, regardless of their location, their ethnic background, or their socioeconomic status. Environmental justice matters because it’s often communities of color that end up on the short end of the stick.
African-Americans in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic U.S. live with 66% more air pollution, according to a 2019 analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists. Hispanic children are 60% more likely to have asthma because of lifelong exposure to air pollutants, and many Asian American communities around the country (especially in Chicago) have been infiltrated by industrial factories, leading to high levels of lead in the soil used to grow fresh produce.
Overall, communities of color are more likely to be located near landfills and hazardous waste sites, children of color are disproportionately affected by lead poisoning, and climate change impacts are felt most acutely in these areas. And generally speaking, for more than 35 years, the most polluted census tracts in the country have been those primarily populated by people of color.
Over time, these conditions create numerous health risks for people of color, ranging from severe, long-term respiratory illnesses to higher vulnerability to lethal viruses like COVID-19.
Environmental justice matters because every American deserves to live in a neighborhood where everyday life doesn’t put them in harm’s way. A more environmentally just America is an America where Black life expectancy is increased, children of color have fewer serious health problems, and everyday tasks like drinking tap water won’t pose a risk.
How you can make a difference
It’s no secret that STEM isn’t a diverse job sector. Though results may vary across different industries or organizations, the overarching narrative is that there aren’t a lot of diverse employees in the rooms where decisions are made.
By pursuing a career in STEM, you can play a role in making your community and all communities safer. As an environmental scientist, you can use your skill set to study environments and influence policymakers to enact legislation that protects disadvantaged neighborhoods. As an environmental engineer, you can create innovative solutions for recycling, air pollution control, and wastewater management. As an environmental technician, you can gather important samples to help find and prevent pollution.
The beauty of working in STEM is that there are endless paths you can take to make a difference. But regardless of the avenue you pursue, the work you do can have a long-lasting impact.
Today, communities of color are disproportionately impacted by poorly enforced environmental policies. But if more diverse interns and job seekers get involved with major organizations, environmental justice can become more than a cause to fight for – it can become a reality.
