EJ and the Government

I honestly do not have many thoughts on Environmental Justice.  Environmental Justice was a hot topic a couple years ago but it seems that it has fallen to the wayside in recent years. I do not think that the government truly cares about environmental justice or about which communities are located by these waste sites until the people speak up about it. The White House website states, “The Department of Education awarded $35 million in Promise Neighborhoods grants to create safe and healthy spaces for children and improve the educational and developmental outcomes of youth in distressed neighborhoods.” but we have heard of many government programs or non government programs giving money to low income areas and these seem to just be empty promises because the dumping sites are still next to these neighborhoods and no visible positive change ever seems to come from these government plans. The White House website also says that “The Department of the Interior, building on the America’s Great Outdoors Presidential Initiative, is studying the Federal Government’s urban assets and developing ways to promote work opportunities on public lands in urban areas.”  If this actually happens then it could be a good opportunity to put money in the pockets of the people that live in these communities. If the hazardous waste sites are going to be in their communities then at least give them the opportunities to profit off of them. I do like that the Obama administration seems to actually be trying to push the environmental justice efforts in a greater capacity then the last two presidents but with his presidential term being almost over, I can not seem to see what major change could possibly come from this.