GEF

Unit 6  |  Social Changes of Sustainable Development 131 The United States Commission on Civil Rights has ruled that African-Americans living in Cancer Alley have been dispro- portionately impacted by the state’s lack of regulation for hazardous materials. Other environmental justice struggles involve the contaminated water supply in the community of Flint, Michigan, Latino farmworkers harmed by pesticides, and Native Americans whose communities have suffered from water pollution and groundwater depletion due to uranium mining. The goals of environmental justice and sustainability overlap, as both have social equality and environmental health as core guiding principles. Industrial pollution plagues communities around the globe. ?  DID YOU KNOW What happens to those electronic gadgets after they are no longer useful? They usually end up in poor com- munities in Africa and India to be salvaged or recycled. This work, often carried out by children, releases large quantities of toxic chemicals into the local environment. Consumers, company own- ers, and investors benefit from this system, while pay- ing low wages and passing on environmental harm to poor communities.