Environmental Defense Scorecard: Environmental Justice. (Forum)

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The struggle for environmental justice in the United States began to grow in the 1980s when activists started fighting to end the inequities faced by residents of low-income communities, often minorities, many of whom bear a disproportionate burden of environmental health hazards. In February 1994 the environmental justice movement came to national prominence when President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 12898, which focuses federal agency attention on this area of concern.

Environmental justice continues to grow in public awareness; today, news reports routinely focus on lawsuits and other efforts aimed at making neighborhoods safe from health hazards created by nearby …