Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel, for the LORD has a grievance against the inhabitants of the land: There is no fidelity, no mercy, no knowledge of God in the land. False swearing, lying, murder, stealing and adultery! In their lawlessness, bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and everything that dwells in it languishes: The beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and even the fish of the sea perish. (Hosea 4:1-3, New American Bible)
Justice and care for the earth are inseparable. Both have to do with right relationships — right relationships among people, and right relationships between people and the earth. Both are integral parts of God’s will for a whole and healthy community of life within creation.
Environmental justice has to do with how environmental benefits and burdens are distributed among people. The poor and powerless benefit relatively little from the great wealth extracted from the environment by our economy and technology. Many do not have what they need to flourish, or even to survive, through no fault of their own.
Yet the environmental degradation caused by that very economy and technology has its most severe impact on those same people. They may lack the resources to escape or protect themselves from environmental pollution, or they may be more susceptible to its effects because they are very young, very old, or in poor health to begin with.
Violent conflict also expresses broken relationships among people. War, and preparations for war, can have devastating effects on the environment.
Issues of environmental justice are at stake in every facet of environmental concern. Family farmers struggle to make their living from the good earth, while agricultural workers bear the brunt of exposure to dangerous chemicals. Our world is characterized by an alarming discrepancy between those who consume too much and those who do not have enough. Patterns of urban development that reinforce inequality and cause some to live in severely polluted and unhealthy environments. Water pollution and scarcity, air pollution, and climate change threaten the well-being of poor and vulnerable people around the world. Where poverty forces people to take desperate measures to survive, both the land and its creatures suffer.
Yet, people of faith are at work mending these relationships through advocacy, relief, development, and peacemaking efforts. Doing so, they help creation to better reflect the Creator’s intentions for the whole community of life.
