Is There an Environmental Justice Bandwagon Effect? A Subpopulation Analysis of Self-Reported Accomplishments

Abstract

This systematic study investigates the self-reported accomplishments of those environmental justice organizations responding to a survey conducted in 2006 using the 2000 People of Color Environmental Groups Directory and an extensive web-based search to stratify by population. The subpopulations responses included: Hispanic, black, and Anglo/multiple/other populations. A content analysis was conducted on the accomplishments reported by the organizations. The typology used in this study was based on the variables of procedural equity, geographic equity, and social equity. The research question assessed the relationship between accomplishments while controlling for race. The issue areas identified were: natural resources, toxic and health, and political empowerment. Crosstabulations, chi-square, and contingency coefficients analyses resulted in statistical significance indicating that race does matter (p=.001; contingency coefficient=.434). The minority organizations continued to focus on toxic waste sites and environmental health (57.7 percent) and political empowerment strategies (80 percent) relating to the goals of procedural equity and social equity, respectively. The Anglo/multiple/other organizations focused on mainstream environmental issues such as natural resources, habitat protection and sustainability (82.4 percent). These mainstream groups may have jumped on the environmental justice bandwagon and there may be a latent potential for capture. The environmental justice organizations might consider coalescing to define the issue area most crucial to the movement and form issue networks to include the mainstream environmental groups to contribute to possible solutions.