I found myself more engaged by Robert Figueroa's text than I have been with most of the other readings as environmental justice is one of the main reasons I chose to return to school to pursue a civil engineering degree. I had narrowed down potentials majors to wildlife ecology and engineering and chose civil engineering because I felt I could still help animals with that degree but could also help disenfranchised people (plus making a living wage for once in my life will be nice).
I could go on about specific environmental injustices for hours (the expansion of an open mine pit that constantly violates air quality laws and that is situated next to Spring Valley High School comes to mind), but I want to focus on two smaller aspects of Figueroa's chapter that I found compelling. Figueroa brings up corporations or entities that are applauded for what he terms "mainstream environmentalism," (362) despite not doing nearly enough. I've heard the term "greenwashing" before and immediately remembered a specific incident from an Earth Day celebration in "downtown" Summerlin. Billed as 100% renewable powered I immediately noticed the gas generators powering bouncy castles. Most vendors had nothing to do with sustainability or the environment (a steakhouse had a prominent booth) and there was a petting zoo.
Another minor point that Figueroa makes is the resentment many whose jobs are affected feel towards environmentalism, calling it "environmentalism for whom?" (372). As much as it irritates me when people who are well-off complain about this, it is a genuine concern of mine for those who don't have the means. I feel that while the Green New Deal is getting a lot of flack from Fox News (and to be honest most of our awful centrist media), if passed people will change their minds when they get checks much as people during FDR's New Deal did.
