EPA JOURNAL

United States

Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Communications,
Education, and Public Affairs

William K. Reilly
Administrator

Lew Crampton

Associate Administrator

Charles Osolin

Director of Editorial Services

John Heritage
Editor

Karen Flagstad
Associate Editor

Ruth Barker
Assistant Editor

Jack Lewis

Assistant Editor

Nancy Starnes
Assistant Editor

Douglass Lea
Contributing Editor
Marilyn Rogers
Circulation Manager

Editorial Assistance
Leighton Price

Design Credits

Ron Farrah

James R. Ingram

Robert Flanagan

Front Cover:

November 1988: Young activist in Louisiana Toxics March protests pollution from petrochemical plants along Mississippi. Copyright Sam Kittner.

EPA JOURNAL

is printed on recycled paper.

s it time that we broadened the definition of environmental protection
in this country?

The physical environment of America's minorities-Hispanics, Native
Americans, Asians, African Americans, the poor of any color-has in
one way or another been left out of the environmental cleanup of the
past two decades. Black children, as a whole, have more lead in their
blood than do white children. Blacks are decidedly overrepresented in
air-pollution nonattainment areas. The environment of migrant farm
workers, particularly in their exposure to hazardous pesticides, has not
been well protected, to say the least. People of color are much more
likely to have hazardous waste sites in their backyards than are whites.
Some environmental problems suffered by minorities are not even in the
standard lexicon: poorly insulated homes that are hot in summer and
cold in winter; neighborhoods infested with rats.

The environmental effort launched by Earth Day, 1970, has been largely defined by middle and upper class whites. It has been environmentalism with a big E, a specialized activity serving a special segment of our society. Environmental protection laws have largely reflected that definition. Ironically, Earth Day, itself, was socially oriented and broad based, involving tens of millions of people of all ages, incomes, and regions of the country.

Some will argue that, for the most part, minorities and the poor have not volunteered for the environmental movement. Agreed; they may have had more pressing problems. Does that mean that they should not share in the benefits?

A skeptic says, "If you broaden the definition of protection to include the devastated environment of the inner city, where is the end?" It may be that there is no end, only a goal, one that we can strive for but never completely achieve: decency, compassion, hope. It may be that every social cause should, fundamentally, have this aim. Not simply because it is right, but because on a planet with great risks as well as great benefits, it is realistic. O

John Heritage

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EPA is charged by Congress to protect the nation's land, air, and water systems. Under a mandate of national environmental laws, the Agency strives to

formulate and implement actions which lead to a compatible balance between human activities and the ability of natural systems to support and nurture life.

EPA JOURNAL is published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Administrator of EPA has determined that the publication of this periodical

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