Environmental Justice
Clean water, clean air, and a safe environment are rights we all share. The Bay will only truly be saved when everyone has equal access to clean water, clean air, and a safe environment.
Environmental justice refers to the effort to ensure that all people, regardless of background, have an equal opportunity to protect themselves and their community from the harm posed by pollution and other environmental threats. Everyone has the right to clean water and a saved Bay where they can live, work, and play safely.
Working Toward Environmental Justice
Saving the Bay is not only about the water and air in the watershed. It’s also about the communities that are connected to the Bay and are part of its ecosystem. We cannot save the Bay if we leave anyone out. Our role is multifaceted, and we are committed to building a healthy and sustainable Bay for all people.
CBF actively works to support communities and ensure that everyone has the opportunity and ability to participate in decision-making processes that affect their environmental and social well-being. This work also includes efforts to address pollution and toxic contamination in the Bay region that harms communities across the watershed. CBF works to ensure that all people in the Chesapeake Bay region have access to clean water, clean air, and a safe environment:
- We plant trees in areas like Richmond, Virginia, because trees provide countless health, economic, habitat, and environmental benefits. In urban areas, trees contribute to the resilience of communities in the face of rising temperatures, flooding rains, and other environmental harms.
- We advocate for solutions for people who live near facilities that emit harmful toxins like mercury, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and fine particulate matter. These emissions contribute to respiratory issues, heart conditions, and other serious health problems. In addition, air pollution eventually falls into and pollutes our waterways.
Moving Environmental Justice Forward
An article by former CBF Vice President of Litigation Jon Mueller and Environmental Justice Staff Attorney Taylor Lilley was published in the Public Interest Law Review. “Forty Years of Environmental Justice: Where is the Justice?” examines the history of environmental justice, primarily through the lens of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the White House, and evaluates the progress made in terms of regulations and permitting. It also examines administrative and judicial decisions addressing environmental justice claims and, in conclusion, provides recommendations for ways in which environmental justice issues can be better presented and addressed.
