Conference Preparation Sheet

The Planeteers
By: Joann Lam, Alisa Hernandez, Juan Calderon Flores, Christina Ceballos

Tell me about your Subject.

Why did you choose it?

Our team selected the topic of environmental justice in minority and low-income
communities because the idea evolved from our discussion of social injustices within our
disciplines. An initial thought was to explore the lack of urban green spaces in areas of lower
income. This then led our thoughts to the disproportionate amounts of air pollution in similarly
impoverished communities. Our disciplines together relate to the ways in which the physical
environment affects those living within it, we came together as biologists and chemists as
concerned scientists to investigate this disparity.

How is it related to your fields?

We plan to investigate environmental pollutants such as air, water, land, global climate
change. Each of these abiotic environmental features is affected by chemistry, which
subsequently affects the biological components of the ecosystems. Our team is comprised of
biologists and chemists, our scientific disciplines have trained us to understand the extent of
work done on these environmental issues, placing us in a position to evaluate environmental
effects on lower income and colored communities.

Why should anyone care about it?

Environmental stewardship is a shared responsibility for all peoples using and sharing
the natural resources available through the environment itself. The misuse of the environment
and resources by one group of people who later re-distribute the negative consequences and
contaminated, polluted resources to communities holding less political power is a moral
irresponsibility. However, this occurrence is increasingly commonplace where privileged, in-
control groups ruin and pollute the environment (i.e., air, water, land, location) and leave low-
income, people of color communities to suffer in these contaminated areas. This action is
socially immoral and should enrage any person who learns that systemic inequity extends to
basic human needs such as land to live on, water to drink, and air to breathe.

What is its history?

The history of environmental justice as a recognized cause began when attention was
brought to the dumping of waste products and garbage into areas of lower socioeconomic
status communities. This disparity is thought to be sources in the resource access and power
disparities between wealthy communities and lower income communities. The difference of
economic status between classes leads to an unequal distribution and use of resources. This
inequity creates social, economic, and health disadvantages for peoples of lower
socioeconomic status communities.

How Will You Organize?

Use the space below to "map" the clusters your team thinks it might use to organize its
bibliography (include ideas for pictures/graphics). Traditional outlines or idea maps are both fine.
Practice:

Each student should annotate ONE source in the space below. Follow the instructions on the
prompt for a complete annotation. You will not receive full credit for an incomplete annotation.

Student #1 (Name: Joann Lam):

Lewis, J., Hoover, J., & MacKenzie, D. (2017). Mining and environmental health disparities in Native
American communities. Current Environmental Health Reports, 4(2), 130–141.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-017-0140-5
Mine waste from abandoned mines in Native American lands has contaminated soils and water that
these Native tribes forage and drink from, causing increased exposure to toxic metals and the likelihood
of developing health problems like chronic diseases in these communities. The waste takes decades to
remove which will impact multiple generations, so it is important that effective measures to protect
indigenous populations are created while respecting Native culture and policies. Lewis et al., (Ph.D.),
members of the Community Environmental Health Program at the University of New Mexico, want to
increase awareness of these abandoned sites to policymakers and elected officials that have the power
to change and make policies to protect indigenous communities' health. To know more about water
contamination in other minority communities, read McDonald’s and Jones’ paper that determines if
underrepresented populations were exposed to more drinking water violations than others. (Joann
Lam)

Student #2 (Name: Alisa Hernandez):

Su, J. G., Jerrett, M., Morello-Frosch, R., Jesdale, B. M., & Kyle, A. D. (2011). Inequalities in cumulative
environmental burdens among three urbanized counties in California. Environment International, 40, 79-
87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2011.11.003
The authors of this study examined three urban counties to understand the inequity within and among
those areas due to climate change induced heat stress and correlational air pollution. This study’s
results uphold previously reported findings that lower income and communities of color endure a
greater amount of environmental pollutants and heat stress than wealthier or majority white
communities. As the team of authors all hail from a reputable university—UC Berkeley’s Department of
Environmental Science, Policy, and Management—the credentials of the team attest to their
credibility, additionally their use of previous studies to contrast their results to provide additional
evidence of authority on the subject. This study is intended to guide management practices and policy
making through the intended audience of legislators and future researchers. This study examines the
compounded effects of heat stress with air pollutants, another environmental health disparity concern
investigated by our team. (Alisa Hernandez)
Student #3 (Name: Christina Ceballos):

McDonald, Y. J., & Jones, N. E. (2018, October). Drinking water violations and environmental justice in
the United States, 2011-2015. American journal of public health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6137766/
Researchers investigated if underrepresented minorities’ water sources accumulated a large
percentage of violations reported. It was discovered that those living in poorer sections of town were
subjected to a poor water quality source. Thus meaning that these areas received the most violations
for the quality of the water. Both authors have a Ph.D. which increases their credibility though they
seem to specialize in cervical cancer. The author’s intended audience is to those that are interested in
investigating the environmental justices affecting the water quality of those in low income
neighborhoods. This article coincides with Juan’s article where it mentions that Latino families
experience a higher number of pollution than their higher socioeconomic neighbors. (Christina
Ceballos)

Student #4 (Name: Juan Calderon Flores):

Grineski, S., Bolin, B., & Boone, C. (2007). Criteria Air Pollution and Marginalized Populations:
Environmental Inequity in Metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona. Social Science Quarterly, 88(2), 535–554.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/42956308.
Through the use of multiple regression equations, environmental justice researchers in Phoenix,
Arizona, found census block groups with lower neighborhood socioeconomic, higher portions of Latino
immigrants, and renters are exposed to higher levels of criteria pollutions in the Phoenix metro area.
The three authors published their work in the Social Science Quarterly. The intended reader would be a
college science major or higher. Air pollution appears to have a strong correlation with the climate
change/heat exposure section. (Juan Calderon Flores)