Access to political power, community leadership, & representation

Under the 14th Amendment: The Equal Protection Doctrine 

- Ensures that governments apply their laws fairly to all people, prohibiting unreasonable or arbitrary discrimination by government entities.

- To learn more about rights that are protected by the Equal Protection Doctrine, click here.

- Terminology note: A suspect class is a group of people who have historically faced discrimination and are protected under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, leading courts to apply strict scrutiny when reviewing laws that affect them. Lacking political power prevents marginalized and vulnerable communities from informing those in power, and from influencing decisions that affect their community & environment. 

According to Ross of University of Virginia Law,

- A plurality of the Supreme Court initially suggested that political power should be measured according to a group’s descriptive representation in politics. Under that measure, the mostly white, male, wealthy, and straight makeup of most of the nation’s decision-making councils would indicate that other less well represented groups lack political power. This never received majority support from the supreme court.

- The Supreme Court consolidated around a different measure of political power, one that focused on democratic actions favorable to a group. If laws have been enacted protecting the group from discrimination or otherwise advancing the group’s interest, the Court assumes that the group can attract lawmakers’ attention and therefore does not need judicial protection. 

- Since enacting this law over 40 years ago, the Supreme Court has not found a single class suspect (see definition above). Does this make favorable democratic action a reliable measure of political power? 

- Ross argues that favorable democratic action is not always an accurate indicator of a group’s political power, and that courts should rely more on favorable legislative actions, indicators of lobbying activity, political responsiveness, voter turnout, and descriptive representation in politics. 

According to Stephanopoulos of University of Chicago Law School,

- “If powerlessness had to be produced by prejudice against discrete and insular minorities, it very rarely would be found. At the same time, the political weakness that does handicap many groups, caused by anonymity, diffuseness, poverty, alienation, and the like, would fail to register on the judicial consciousness.” 

- Level of scrutiny can vary based on groups’ interests and representative processes.

- Political power and influence of most groups, particularly minority groups, does not change much over time. If groups were to gain sufficient political power, there may be no need for extra legal protections for said groups. The very existence of these extra legal protections demonstrates possible inequalities.

Social justice agenda vs. equity agenda 

- The primary challenge for justice informed environmental politics is the conflict between social justice objectives (guaranteed rights and needs) and environmental sustainability objectives (preservation of biological diversity) 

- Injustices can arise from dimensions of globalization, including increasing popularity of new science and technology knowingly creating environmental issues that have implications for vulnerable populations’ ability to retain control over local resources.

- With increasing technology, questions of inaccessibility of information arise.

- A “justice-as-recognition” approach seeks to address the underlying structural causes of maldistribution of environmental harms.

importance of power surrounding the environment

- According to Pellow and Brulle, “Where we find social inequalities we also find environmental and health inequalities”. Certain spaces can be considered “undesirable” because of the level of pollution in these places, but also the type of people that occupy them.

- Access to a healthy and clean environment is increasingly distributed by power, class, and race. More political power/knowledge = increased ability to navigate these harms. 

- There are major differences in exposure to harms/ access to resources in affluent, well connected groups vs the poor and powerless.

- The “other” of society—those outside of the dominant cultural, political, and economic elite classes—experience the brunt of the “bads” of industrial production and the limits to growth. 

- The Environmental Justice Movement is a political response to this inequality. A more equal distribution of power can lead to more equitable distribution of environmental harms, and more effective solutions.