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Project: Formosa Plastics Global Archive

The Formosa Plastics Global Archive supports a transnational network of people concerned about the operations of the Formosa Plastics Corporation, one of the world's largest petrochemical

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EiJ Global Record: Calhoun County, Texas, USA

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This is a case study collection focused on Calhoun County, Texas, including material about different petrochemical plants, environmental activism, and visions for reviving the fishing community.

Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

Collection for Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, focused on Formosa Plastics' operations in the Renwu Industrial Park. 

Southern Louisiana, USA

This collection focuses on Formosa Plastic's operations in Baton Rouge and planned expansion in St. James Parish, Louisiana. 

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Yunlin County, Taiwan

This is a case study collection focused on Yunlin and Changhua Counties, Taiwan, including material focused on environmental activism, litigation, and media analysis related to Formosa Plastics' Si

Main argument

Anonymous (not verified)
Lee argues that EJ practice has long stagnated over an inability to properly define the concept of disproportionate (environmental and public health) impacts, but that national conversations on system racism and the development of EJ mapping tools have improved his outlook on the potential for better application of the concept of disproportionate impact. Lee identifies mapping tools (e.g. CalEnviroScreen) as a pathway for empirically based and analytically rigorous articulation and analysis of disproportionate impacts that are linked to systemic racism. In describing the scope and nature of application of mapping tools, Baker highlights the concept of cumulative impacts (the concentration of multiple environmental, public health, and social stressors), the importance of public participation (e.g. Hoffman’s community science model), the role of redlining in creating disproportionate vulnerabilities, and the importance of integrating research into decision making processes. Baker ultimately argues that mapping tools offer a promising opportunity for integrating research into policy decision making as part of a second generation of EJ practice. Key areas that Lee identifies as important to the continued development of more effective EJ practice include: identifying good models for quantitative studies and analysis, assembling a spectrum of different integrative approaches (to fit different contexts), connecting EJ research to policy implications, and being attentive to historical contexts and processes that produce/reproduce structural inequities.