Environmentalism is defined by the Webster's dictionary as "(1) a theory that views environment rather than heredity as the important factor in the development and especially the cultural and intellectual development of an individual or group (2) the advocacy of the preservation or improvement of the natural environment; especially: the movement to control pollution." Most people consider environmentalists as "tree-huggers" that fight for the rainforests and the ozone. More recently, however, there has been a new group of "environmentalists" that have come forward. They are minorities and their supporters that are fighting the environmental racism that has been occurring in their neighborhoods.

"Environmental racism can be defined as the intenti

- "Three out of the five largest commercial hazardous waste landfills in the United States are located in predominantly African-American or Latino communities" (Buntin 5).

- Increase efforts to communicate with racial minority and low-income communities and involve them in environmental policy-making" (Weintraub 5-6).

The Environmental Protection Agency admits that certain communities suffer a disproportionate share of the burden, but there appears to be a general lack of data on the health effects of pollution in those communities. One reason for this is that environmental and health data are not routinely collected and analyzed by categories of income and race. The information is available but the EPA considers environmental racism a public relations issue, not a civil rights issue (Weintraub 2). Therefore, they do not take claims seriously enough to gather the necessary data by income and race.

- Waste disposal companies have been attempting to convince Native Americans to permit dumping on the reservations under the guise of improving the economic conditions. High rates of lung cancer and poisoned land have occurred on Navajo reservations as a result of uranium mining.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Objectivism Objectivists, Asians Weintraub, Kelly Johnson, Protection Agency, Native Americans, Workgroup EPA, Church Christ, Michigan January, Tucson Arizona, Emelle Alabama, environmental racism, waste sites, hazardous waste, toxic waste, predominantly african-american, polluting industries, hazardous waste sites, air water, weintraub 2, native americans, income race, predominantly african-american hispanic, toxic waste site, fighting environmental racism, development especially cultural,
Approximate Word count = 1321
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)