Environmental Justice Studies

Another less explored way inequalities endure in our global society is through environmental inequities. Under the rubric “environmental justice,” the unequal distribution of environmental dangers as well as amenities has become a major theme in environmental studies, little engaged as yet by scholars of other kinds of inequality. Here as well class analysis is vital, as so many of the worst environmental conditions are shared by working class and minority communities, also by those in poorer nations. Here as well, Stony Brook has many faculty with related interests and expertise, including myself and Heidi Hutner, director of Stony Brook’s relatively new but thriving Sustainability Studies Program. The theme also offers many avenues for outreach into Long Island and other communities; this initiative will become  the first to dedicate serious attention to environmental justice in the Greater New York area.