"Environmental Degradation, Reparations, and the Moral Significance of History" by Simon Caney

The purpose of Caney's article is to, "explore the moral implications of historic environmental injustices and, in particular, the moral implications of global climate change"(Caney 1). He wants to argue to fact that environmental issues should not be solely blamed on the "victims" but that the duty bares are those who participate in the act of injustice.

    The argument of climate change is not usually categorized with that of slavery, but in fact the main idea can be applied to both. We notice a similarity between the two when Caney gives his definition of environmental injustice. He describes it as, " as a situation in which some people either (a) lack a fair share of environmental benefits (i.e., benefits stemming from natural resources) or (b) have to bear an unfair share of environmental burdens (i.e., burdens stemming from harms to the environment)". Once I read this sentence I immediately thought about how that definition is very similar to the injustices that those who were enslaved experienced. Slavery is something that America has been experiencing for quite some time, and there are many reparation's from the damage that was done from our history of slavery. It is a proven fact that those of color experience more poverty than someone of a Caucasian background. This high rate of poverty is a reoperation from slavery, and the definition of slavery is much like that of environmental injustices. When someone is experiencing poverty they have a lack of human benefits. They may be starving, unable to afford basic health care, and homeless. They don't have the same access to food as those who are not in poverty and this is a very unfair burden that stems from racism. Instead of putting the blame on those who are poor, by saying they are just "lazy" and did this to themselves. It is important to realize who the true duty bares are, and they are everyone else who has let the racism and poverty rates get to the point that they are at now. Environmental injustices and the reoperations from slavery are subjects that can be used and bounce off one another to create a change that puts a true end the the negative impacts of them.