Environmental Justice 기후 위기와 사회사업

Box 14.1 Environmental Justice: A Practice–Policy Connection Acknowledging the power of environmental contexts, generalist practitioners work to improve social policy, create effective social institutions, and increase social support. Notice the prominence of social change strategies here, an emphasis that may overlook the potential benefits of working to enhance natural environments. Social workers have long focused to improve the constructed elements of physical environments by building adequate housing, establishing safe neighborhoods, and developing necessary services. Only recently has social work more directly addressed problems in the natural environment (Gray, Coates, & Heatherington, 2013). Impending environmental dangers loom large, both the immediate impact of natural disasters and the evolving long-term threats of warming temperatures, sea level rise, food and water shortages, fire, and industrial pollution. Social workers can play major roles in coping with these changes. By serving mental health needs of the general population, social workers already operate on the front lines to help people manage environmentally induced stresses. The demand for support is high. For example, six months after Superstorm Sandy, more than 14 percent of survivors screened positive for posttraumatic stress disorder and 6 percent met criteria for major depression (Boscarino et al., 2013). Similarly, 17 percent of New Orleans residents reported signs of serious mental illness after Hurricane Katrina (Galea et al., 2007). Overall, more than half of post-disaster mental health services are provided by social workers (Bauwens & Naturale, 2017). Social workers offer key assets in disaster response including a trauma-informed perspective, skills in psychological first aid, and resource networking capabilities. The acceleration of environmental crises calls on the social work profession to do more to generate “improved social responses to environmental changes” (Bent-Goodley et al., 2019). The Council on Social Work Education now requires that social work students learn ways to advance environmental justice. According to the CSWE (2015), “environmental justice occurs when all people equally experience high levels of environmental protection and no group or community is excluded from the environmental policy decision-making process, nor is affected by a disproportionate impact from environmental hazards” (p. 20). The social justice imperative requires social workers to protect the environment and to ensure that no particular class of people bears a greater environmental burden. Make no mistake. Environmental protection is a social justice issue. Although no one can escape the pervasive impact of climate change or the negative effects of pollution on world-wide ecosystems, some problems, such as exposure to toxic air and water, may be location specific, meaning that the closer you are to the source of the problem, the greater the impact is. Privileged people can live where they choose, something less true for those who are disadvantaged. Consider the example of “Cancer Alley” an area along the Mississippi River in Louisiana known for its high cancer rates likely associated with nearby industrial pollution. Researchers James, Jia, and Kedia (2012) found that in this location, cancer risk from air toxins disproportionately affects the socioeconomically disadvantaged (12 percent higher incidence in low income areas) and people living in majority–minority communities (16 percent higher risks in black-majority areas). As Dominelli (2014) notes, “environmental crises generate socio-economic and cultural inequalities ... that exacerbate those already existing in socio-economic, political and cultural structures” (p. 338). Simply, persons with limited resources bear the greatest impact of environmental adversity. By using public awareness campaigns, prevention programs, social action, and policy changes, macrolevel social workers confront issues related to environmental decline. Workers educate the public, challenge climate change denial, and disseminate information about pollution threats. As planners, social workers develop prevention programs aimed to increase community resilience against environmental disasters and mitigate disruptions when events occur (Teixeira, Mathias, & Krings, 2019). Activist social workers build political coalitions with others to shut down sources of pollution and replace them with climate friendly technologies (Powell, Bristow, & Precht, 2019). Importantly, social workers advocate policies to prevent environmental damage, protect vulnerable populations, and manage disaster displacement (Kemp et al., 2016). Developing effective policies requires an evidenced-based approach and direct input from those residents in marginalized communities most harmed by environmental adversity. To achieve environmental justice requires social workers to partner with other professionals, align with concerned citizens, and intervene at all system levels. Generalist Social Work Practice: An Empowering Approach9th edition | Published by Pearson 2021. 1. 1