Environmental Justice Working Group

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Environmental Justice is the view that all people deserve a healthy and safe environment in which to live, work, and play – regardless of their race/ethnicity, their class status, their age, their gender, their citizenship, and other social variables.

Hundreds of studies have established that environmental injustice is a persistent and systemic problem around the world, where “ethnic minorities, indigenous persons, people of color, and low-income communities confront a higher burden of environmental exposure from air, water, and soil pollution from industrialization, militarization, and consumer practices.” Environmental justice researchers and practitioners focus on building more equitable, safe, and sustainable systems that will create more environmental equity. Importantly, biodiversity and ecological well-being are increasingly vital parts of environmental justice.

The main goal of the Environmental Justice Working Group is to create space for engaged interdisciplinary scholarship, training, and teaching, and community-building around issues of environmental injustice. They aim to make Colorado State a central node for environmental justice in the American West. They work to build a rich and collaborative community of scholars, practitioners, non-profit partners, and community members passionate about building a better society, where all people can feel safe and healthy where they live, work, and play and where our socio-economic systems serve and sustain our planet.

Leadership