The State of Environmental Justice in America Conference 2008

On May 21-24, 2008 Yasmin Bowers attended the conference in Washington, DC. as she has a 4+ year long relationship with the Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE, EPA, government agencies, students, non-profits, and businesses all convened at the esteemed Howard University Law School to discuss the various stakeholder roles in Environmental Justice (EJ).

Consciously Rebuilding advocates that all people have equal right to a healthy environment regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic class. The DOE has set the tone for all government agencies as they are taking the Executive Order 12898 as serious as the topic itself. I would like more government agencies and corporations to address that Environmental Injustices exist and instead of arguing over data, more proactive socially responsible is needed--especially under the midst of Climate Change and Global Warming. A concerned citizen expressed that these corporations and entities contribute towards the affected community's health care. I think this is a new wave of socially responsibility and is similar to Philip Morris' outreach for health and smoking, the Casino's responsibility to encourage help for gambling addicts, and the alcohol industry's sponsorship of AA meetings. If an entity is going to continue to operate in a manner that has adverse environmental and health effects, and the precautionary principle is overlooked, then the reactive/intervening role would be to offer treatment. It's something that other industries acknowledge, and it's time for it to be applied to Environmental Justice issues.