CIESIN Thematic Guides An important perspective on the relationship between political and civil rights and environmental change at the national and subnational level is the environmental justice movement, which is currently recognized as one of the most active fields in U.S. environmental policy. Some scholars and activists argue that environmental hazards in general, and hazardous waste sites in particular, are disproportionately concentrated in areas with high minority populations, even when variables other than race are taken fully into account.
A comprehensive resource on the subject is the book that triggered the growth of the environmental justice movement, Bullard's Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality (1990). An interesting application of relevant analytic techniques and interdisciplinary use of environmental and legal data is contained in "A Special Investigation; Unequal Protection; The Racial Divide in Environmental Law" (Lavelle and Coyle 1992). For a skeptical view, consider the testimony of Waste Management Inc. before a March 3, 1993, hearing of the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights.