The goals of this environmental justice conference are stated simply: firstly, to explore whether racial minorities and the poor are being environmentally victimized, and secondly, to evaluate public policies that promote environmental fairness. Each speaker provided insight and information from their respective area of expertise. Led by keynote speaker Dr. Bunyan Bryant, they drew upon the realms of academic investigation, government and public policy, sociology, healthcare, and philosophy to unite the environmental movement with the quest for social justice. After absorbing so much information concerning the current state of environmental justice, one leaves the conference with an overwhelming sense of responsibility to promote awareness and fairness when dealing with issues of environmental quality.

Dr. Bunyan Bryant of the University of Michigan began by addressing the history, issues, dilemmas, and central premises of the environmental justice movement. Dr. Bryant distinguishes environmental racism, or the targeting of certain communities for undesirable land use, from environmental equity. The movement is characterized by a complexity of cultural norms, rules, regulations, behaviors, values, policies, and decisions. These influences either lead to the promotion of sustainable communities and the realization of high potentials, or contribute to the degradation of environments by impeding communities from enjoying social, political, and environmental health. Dr. Bryant notes the importance of key events, ranging from the effects of the 1990 Michigan Conference to the earlier convergence of the civil rights and environmental movements around the time of the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Fred Hampton. The awareness promoted by Rachel Carson, Paul Ehrlich, and Barry Commoner is also central to the survival of the movement. Additionally, many conferences over the years have contributed to the organization and dissemination of information vital to the growth of the environmental justice movement. As the movement continues to grow and hopefully breach international boundaries, Dr. Bryant emphasizes the importance of promoting an understanding of the central issues of race, income, intent, pollution control versus prevention, positivism and participatory research, and top-down versus bottom-up perspectives of investigation. Overall, Dr. Bryant's talk reveals the uniting theme of the conference - the need for public awareness and understanding of environmental issues and concerns.

Dr. Manuel Lizarralde spoke of green imperialism and the relationship of indigenous people with the conservation of natural environments. He emphasizes the importance of encouraging knowledge and understanding of the environmental effects of the consumerism lifestyle, as well as recognizing the expertise of indigenous people concerning their environment. Dr. Lizarralde dispenses with the notion of the "noble savage," instead explaining that indigenous people often do not have the technology to cause extensive environmental damage. This should serve as a warning to those of us inhabiting the western developed nations. Choices we make every day can degrade our own environment, as well as that of indigenous people in the rainforest communities of developing nations.

Dr. Harvey L. White of the University of Pittsburgh addressed the politics of environmental justice and the associated syndrome behaviors. The highlights of his talk were clever acronyms summarizing the mentalities and behaviors behind the environmental justice movement that result from responses to environmental hazards in a given community. NIMBYism (Not In My BackYard) employs a defensive strategy and results in a proactive, effective, emotional response to the threat of an environmental hazard. This is contrasted by the WIMBY (Why In My BackYard?) mentality that is reactive rather than proactive, although still powerful and effective. The politics of environmental justice, employed by governmental officials in position to make environmental decisions, are exemplified by the philosophies of NIMEY (Not In My Election Year), NIMTOO (Not In My Term Of Office), and PIITBY (Put It In Their BackYard), illustrating the struggle to solve problems of hazardous material while avoiding political conflict. These acronyms emphasize the importance of community awareness and unity and of using knowledge to enact change when dealing with environmental hazards.

Pam Davidson, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, spoke of the importance of empirical studies to investigate the distribution of hazardous sites when assessing environmental justice. These sites do not appear to be randomly distributed and instead are correlated to trends in the racial and economic characteristics of the communities. In order for the environmental justice movement to elicit positive change, quantitative evidence is needed to emphasize the problems and inequalities that exist concerning the installation of hazardous sites. A combination of the right research and the right experimental design is needed to reach these conclusions. Health effects are influenced by a multitude of factors and are thus difficult to quantify. Various risk factors will have complicated interactions and results in different combinations of exposure. Davidson emphasizes that an integrated perspective will meet these challenges by allowing for new possibilities and opportunities in the quantification of environmental justice. Dr. Timothy Black and Dr. John A. Stewart, of the Center for Social Research at the University of Hartford, provided additional quantitative evidence concerning the equity of regional solutions to solid waste disposal and the resulting disproportional distribution in struggling Connecticut communities.

Dr. Virginia Ashby Sharpe of the Hastings Center presented the philosophical and ethical implications of environmental justice, by explaining the differences between absolute and relative inequality in our society. To quote Aristotle, this distinction is put into practice with "equals treated equally, unequals unequally." Relative inequality simply recognizes the differences inherent in human individuality. Absolute inequality results in injustice, as exemplified by the siting of hazardous waste sites in minority or impoverished communities. Dr. Sharpe again highlights the importance of awareness in the promotion of environmental justice. A just society will understand the component factors of environmental health and the associated risks in order to make informed decisions and ensure healthy communities for all income levels.

The first panel of the conference, articulated by James Younger of the EPA, Jacquelyn Pernell of the DEP, and Dr. Mark Mitchell and Cynthia Jennings of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice, took a closer look at local environmental issues. These leaders have seen firsthand the environmental injustice present in nearby communities, with local schools, stores, and homes in a state unfit to promote public health. As James Younger explains, it is "difficult to understand environmental justice while sitting in an office." The identification and resolution of issues of environmental justice can only be solved by experience and through the education of all involved parties, especially those communities immediately affected. Barriers of race, class, language, and education must be overcome to unite communities in the quest for clean, healthy environments.

These sentiments were supported by Dr. Diane-Michele Prindeville of New Mexico State University. Her work with American Indian and Hispanic women demonstrates the strength of individuals who have educated themselves and united to fight for positive change in instances of environmental injustice. Dr. Jace Weaver of Yale University further explored the extent to which Native Americans have been subjected to environmental injustice at the hands of the unjust majority. Dr. Christopher Foreman of the University of Maryland is hopeful for future environmental justice as the United States enters the era of the Bush administration. The public must be engaged through education and democratic involvement to elicit positive change concerning issues of environmental health. Together these speakers convey both the strengths of the informed individual, as well as the need for collaboration in the development of environmentally just societies.

The second panel of the conference further investigated the forces striving for environmental change at the local level through presentations by Kenny Foscue of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Estelle Bogdonoff of the Southeastern Connecticut Indoor Air Quality Coalition, and Kathy Cooper-McDermott, R.N., of the New London Department of Health and Human Services. The panel highlighted local involvement in such innovative programs as Tools for Schools and Putting on A.I.R.S. (the Asthma Indoor Risk Strategies Pilot Program), which serve to educate members of the community concerning issues of health and environmental hazards. A community needs to be informed as to how to identify a problem and how to alleviate potential health risks. The development of coalitions with a synergistic approach will further unite and educate the community to accomplish goals.

This conference called upon a group of professionals and academicians from diverse areas in order to achieve an integrated perspective of the issues, successes, and common goals characterizing the environmental justice movement. The conference was bound together by a common message - the need for education and awareness of issues of environmental quality. Environmental justice corresponds directly to human health and quality of life throughout the world. Regardless of whether or not an environmental hazard exists in one's community or backyard, it is necessary to be informed of the issues that affect us all. The goals of the conference were thus met by clarifying that environmental injustice is indeed occurring, thereby instilling in each participant the need for continued education and involvement in the quest for safe and healthy environments for all. This is the way in which environmental justice will prevail in future societies.