CONTEXTUALIZING DISPARATE IMPACTS IN RICHMOND
Is Richmond’s experience representative of a larger problem? Although highly regulated, implementation and enforcement of the oil refining industry differs, which may explain why a 1995 study by the Environmental Defense Fund found significant variation in emissions among refining facilities in the U.S. While California did not rank in the five worst or five best states in terms of efficiency, one might infer that uneven implementation and enforcement would pose more risk to politically vulnerable communities at a more local level.
The inherent politics of scientifically characterizing risk to human health
In terms of characterizing risk, we might ask, Which communities do oil refineries especially …show more content…
To this day, despite comprising a significantly lower percentage of California in general, people of color comprise 82.5% of Richmond’s population, and many of these residents live in poverty. These factors make the residents of the city more vulnerable to Chevron’s exploitation of their land and labor. Also, local zoning decisions have placed tremendous sources of toxins nearest these communities, in a classic display of environmental racism. Of course, in an example of circular causation, the exposure to pollution in these areas can only decrease the value of these homes, which has obviously not helped improve the welfare or wealth of these residents, as they lack the assets to relocate to areas with cleaner air. This vicious cycle of segregation, environmental racism, and impoverishment has cumulative effects. Indeed, the complex process, in which areas with cheap homes are deemed less “costly” to pollute, has allowed Chevron and other companies to pollute these areas, creating an accumulation of environmental burdens and cumulative health impacts in these …show more content…
This fits in with the larger trend wherein, as the U.S. has become the largest oil refiner in the world, multinational oil companies have consolidated—grown in size and shrunk in number— to mainly five major corporations. A consequence of this consolidation that is not often discussed is the concentrated impact on fewer communities. Of course, when it comes to Richmond, Chevron clearly holds immense economic power as the main employer in the city. However, Chevron’s power is contested by community power, which will be discussed further in the policy part of the
Is Richmond’s experience representative of a larger problem? Although highly regulated, implementation and enforcement of the oil refining industry differs, which may explain why a 1995 study by the Environmental Defense Fund found significant variation in emissions among refining facilities in the U.S. While California did not rank in the five worst or five best states in terms of efficiency, one might infer that uneven implementation and enforcement would pose more risk to politically vulnerable communities at a more local level.
The inherent politics of scientifically characterizing risk to human health
In terms of characterizing risk, we might ask, Which communities do oil refineries especially …show more content…
To this day, despite comprising a significantly lower percentage of California in general, people of color comprise 82.5% of Richmond’s population, and many of these residents live in poverty. These factors make the residents of the city more vulnerable to Chevron’s exploitation of their land and labor. Also, local zoning decisions have placed tremendous sources of toxins nearest these communities, in a classic display of environmental racism. Of course, in an example of circular causation, the exposure to pollution in these areas can only decrease the value of these homes, which has obviously not helped improve the welfare or wealth of these residents, as they lack the assets to relocate to areas with cleaner air. This vicious cycle of segregation, environmental racism, and impoverishment has cumulative effects. Indeed, the complex process, in which areas with cheap homes are deemed less “costly” to pollute, has allowed Chevron and other companies to pollute these areas, creating an accumulation of environmental burdens and cumulative health impacts in these …show more content…
This fits in with the larger trend wherein, as the U.S. has become the largest oil refiner in the world, multinational oil companies have consolidated—grown in size and shrunk in number— to mainly five major corporations. A consequence of this consolidation that is not often discussed is the concentrated impact on fewer communities. Of course, when it comes to Richmond, Chevron clearly holds immense economic power as the main employer in the city. However, Chevron’s power is contested by community power, which will be discussed further in the policy part of the