{"id":45686,"date":"2017-10-30T10:56:44","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T15:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?p=45686"},"modified":"2020-07-16T15:11:10","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T19:11:10","slug":"discovering-environmental-justice","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2017\/discovering-environmental-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovering Environmental Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sasha George (\u201916) works at the intersection of law and the environment.<\/h2>\n

\"SashaGrowing up in the South Bronx, Aleksandra \u201cSasha\u201d George (\u201916) was keenly aware of the pollution problems facing her community. \u201cWe were home to one of the largest redistribution centers in the country and had the second-highest asthma rate,\u201d she says. \u201cI saw a lot of dirty and unjust situations due to the location of polluting activities in my neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

George also read about the environmental problems facing the Caribbean and Latin America, thanks to the literature and Spanish-language newspapers provided by her parents, who are from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. \u201cI became very passionate about the environment and knew early on that I was interested in environmental law. I even became a supporter of Earthjustice<\/a> in high school!\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

At BU Law, she took advantage of externships<\/a> and other programs to learn more about a career in environmental law. In addition to her Semester-in-Practice (SIP)<\/a> with the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the Department of Justice, she also interned at the EPA and participated in the Environmental Law Practicum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While those experiences solidified her interest in environmental litigation, she discovered a passion for environmental justice through her coursework. \u201cI started to reflect on environmental justice through the lens of the civil rights movement\u2014which takes a different perspective from traditional environmental advocacy, \u201d she says.<\/p>\n

When it was time to look for a job, her mentor and former supervisor at the Department of Justice recommended that she consider a position at Earthjustice, which describes itself as the nation\u2019s original and largest nonprofit environmental law organization. Representing clients free of charge, the group\u2019s mission is to fight for environmental justice and advance the promise of a healthy world for all.<\/p>\n

As George went through the interview process at Earthjustice, she discovered an interesting connection with the litigation vice president of the Healthy Communities Group. Not only was the VP from the Bronx, she also had worked throughout her career to shut down the polluting facilities in George\u2019s community. \u201cIt felt like I was where I was supposed to be, under the mentorship of someone who cared about the problems that got me into this area in the first place,\u201d says George.<\/p>\n

Now a healthy communities law fellow at Earthjustice, George\u2019s role involves advocacy for environmental justice. \u201cWe work to improve the protections available for communities. Sometimes that means submitting formal comments to federal agencies about proposed laws, and other times it means lawsuits against the agency in charge of crafting or implementing the law,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She points to a recent case in the Southern Rust Belt as an example of how this works. A community group contacted Earthjustice when a group of neighbors reported instances of cancer in every home and in every age group. The neighborhood, notes George, is surrounded by facilities emitting hazardous air pollutants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat pollution is contaminating the soil, groundwater, drinking water, and the air with dozens of known and
\nsuspected carcinogens,\u201d says George. \u201cWhile legal remedies cannot undo all the existing injustices, environmental law is a powerful tool that can be used to protect against future pollution-related harms.\u201d<\/p>\n

George\u2019s team assisted the community group by filing comments with the EPA about the impact on the facilities\u2019 neighbors. \u201cOur legal team works to use federal laws like the Clean Air Act and applies a critical lens to highlight how real people are affected,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She credits her legal education with her ability to use that lens. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be in this position without having gone to BU Law. My professors and peers taught me how to think critically about environmental racism, and that completely changed the direction of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

George adds, \u201cI\u2019m excited about using that critical lens throughout my career to examine why certain communities are overburdened with pollution and why the government has failed to effectively address that problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

This feature originally appeared in <\/em>The Record, BU Law\u2019s alumni magazine. Read the full issue here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Reported by Meghan Laska<\/h6>\n

Related News<\/h4>\n