Many people think that this term and it’s initiatives are political. They are not. It is about doing the right thing. In the “About” section of my website, I had stated that “The industry that was the life-blood and livelihood of family generations before my own created their monopolies and made their profits. In the true spirit against today’s meaning of environmental justice they used our people, consumed our resources, destroyed our environment, and then just disappeared. Not only did they leave, they left quite a contaminated mess behind. This mess has affected and taken the lives of many of my family, friends and neighbors and caused much damage to the environment. It will last for many future generations.”

In the true spirit against the current definition of “Environmental Justice”, the steel mill and coal mining industries for decades took advantage of our local population and the environment. They paid meager wages and benefits and workers struggled economically while the companies made huge profits. In addition to causing great impact to their health and well-being as they worked there, they also ravaged the environment that the workers and their families needed for survival - air, water and soil. The pollution was present for near a century impacting many generations of the past and present. It will remain for a long time into the future perhaps many, many decades - impacting future generations. Like in the past, future generations will go on with their lives not even knowing of the presence and impacts associated with this pollution and how it affected those before them.

The definition below is from the US EPA Environmental Justice website:

For more on ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, visit the following reputable resources:

US EPA website: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice

PADEP Office of Environmental Justice at: https://www.dep.pa.gov/PublicParticipation/OfficeofEnvironmentalJustice/Pages/default.aspx

Science Direct: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/environmental-justice