Assignment 4 - Environmental Justice

http://www.sfbayview.com/2010/showdown-hunters-point-shipyard-2010-a-good-offense-is-the-best-defense/

In San Francisco, California one of the old naval shipyards is loaded with hazardous contamination and sits at sea level, potentially affecting the lives of people and oceanic life in the area. "Uses of particular concern include federal and state designated Superfund sites, underground storage tanks, gas stations and vehicle garages, dry cleaners, heavy manufacturing and toxic industries." All of these hazardous land uses are present within the project area defined by the Candlestick Point-Hunters Point Shipyard Phase II Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) published on Nov. 12, 2009, according to the referenced article.

In California, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was enacted in 1970. It was enacted in response to the awareness that the environmental impacts of a development project in planning must be carefully considered to avoid hazardous, costly and unanticipated damage to human health, safety, property and the environment. The environmental impact report demonstrated that there were indeed hazardous materials that need to be removed, yet the report did not specifically address that there were segments of the population that would be harmed (according to the author).

According to the People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER) the government is not effectively addressing the contamination issues and that there are several segments of the population at risk. The populations that will be affected are the poorer neighborhoods surrounding the shipyard, as there are new developments currently planned, there are daycare centers and schools nearby in which the group POWER is concerned with the potential contact with the hazardous materials. Additionally, while the clean up and construction efforts have been on-going for a least a decade, there are now a group of peligran falcons who have nested in the machinery on site which also have to be addressed.

"Working with land use attorney Sue Hestor, POWER has held education and strategy sessions to challenge the Phase II DEIR. In collaboration with a “Hail Mary Pass” coalition of environmental activists, POWER succeeded in extending the public comment period of the 4,400-page DEIR that was released as a deceptive strategy during the December holiday season to Jan. 12, 2010."

Vig discusses the dilemma of collective action for environmental protection. He says that these occur when individuals would be better off if they cooperated in pursuit of a common goal. I read this piece several times and it appears to be overly slanted from the perspective of a very concerned citizens' group that may not fully understand the science behind the EIR and the Phase II report. The situation is a little different in this story than in readings. This is an impact created by governmental use, the naval ship yard, and not private business. BUT, I think the outcomes are similar. The government is working with the public to clean up and restore the area for livability. Secondly, Argandona points out that ethical management systems are a set of internal efforts to formulate, plan and implement policies to achieve certain outcomes that will result in the company performing its ethical duties more satisfactorily and the people who work for the company (in this case the governmental agency, the Navy) improving ethically. Simply because my article is not based in environmental justice issues from private companies does make the obligations discussed by our authors any less relevant. To the contrary, the government should be held to a higher standard in their own efforts to protect human health and the environment. What is the old saying, "He who lives in a glass house, should not throw stones."