Written by: Michael A. Long Oklahoma State University, USA, Michael J. Lynch, University of South Florida, USA and Paul B. Stretesky, University of Lincoln, UK

The relationship between inequality and the environment, as the title of this post suggests, is complex and not easily unpacked. Inequality exists in numerous ways and at different levels of analysis. For instance, inequalities can emerge between people or between groups. As social scientists we are less interested in inequality at the individual level where two people may, for instance, have different access to environmental resources. Instead, we are more concerned with social level inequalities that are observed between groups and affect many people. It is only through an examination of social inequality that we see how people at different locations in the societal power structure are affected by adverse or positive environmental contexts (e.g., residing near a polluting site versus being able to access a park in a city). In short, power shapes social relationships, some of which are environmental in nature. What this means, then, is that the ways power is structured in society impacts the natural environment.

Let us begin with a simple illustrative example from Jorgenson et al. (2020) which offers an observation that power, defined by racial composition and income inequality, is related to adverse health outcomes resulting from exposure to particulate pollution (PM2.5). As the percentage of black residents, particle matter, and income share of the top 10% of earners increased (a measure of income inequality), life expectancy decreased across US states. Here, an adverse outcome – decreased life expectancy – is not simply a function of increased exposure to particulate pollution as one might expect but is also shaped by the overall racial composition and income inequality in states. Increases in particulate matter are the most detrimental (most strongly correlated) to life expectancy in states with the greatest levels of income inequality and in states with the highest proportion of black residents. Jorgenson et al.’s study is an example of the ways in which inequality and the environment are related and multidimensional.

This example focuses attention on a very specific adverse environmental condition: poor air quality measured by particulate pollution (PM2.5). However, this is just one measure of air quality. Poor quality air can also be defined by ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels that are too high. Many of these measures of poor air quality can overlap, and locations with overlapping air pollution measures are likely unhealthier. A further test of the relationship between inequality and air pollution expanding on Jorgenson et al.’s finding might include these additional measures either individually or as an index. For example, Shenassa and Williams (2020) found adolescents living in areas with higher rates of poverty were more likely to be exposed to a class of chemicals known as volatile organic chemicals (or VOCs).

The two examples we provided above focus on air pollution but also demonstrated that the concept of air pollution is a broad term, that air pollution comes in different forms, and can be measured in complex ways with multiple measures. The same would be true for other measures of pollution in the environment. For example, water can be polluted, and it can be polluted with different kinds of chemicals. Moreover, some forms of water pollution might include dimensions of water impurities we might often overlook, such as the extent of salt-water intrusion into drinking water sources, which may also be related to various forms of inequality, and which may be complicated by coastal flooding that results from climate change and may have differential adverse effects on local indigenous peoples (Leonard 2021; Sageghi and Hosseini 2023).

The term “environment” broadly refers to the natural world and the impact of humans on that world. That impact extends beyond pollution and can include access to environmental resources that have beneficial uses for people, including for instance, food (e.g., access to clean waterways with sufficient fish stock to support local peoples). The term “environment” may also include issues for urban residents, and involve equal access to green spaces, or to urban garden areas which allow low-income residents to grow fresh foods to supplement their diets. This complex set of relationships between environment and inequality is the focus of our Handbook on Inequality and the Environment. The Handbook begins with an overview of the theoretical traditions of environmental inequality to provide readers with a framework for understanding the complex and diverse set of relationships between the environment and inequality. The Handbook is then organized into sections that explore key concepts related to inequality and environment and focus on issues such as race, ethnicity and indigenous peoples, gender, class, and economic circumstances for social problems such as climate change, natural resource extraction, and food insecurity. Unlike other volumes in this area the Handbook examines the way environmental inequality is intensified by state responses to environmental challenges. The contributions by leading authors are written in accessible language that should appeal to undergraduates, graduates and others who are looking for an overview of this important and increasingly relevant area of study.

Jorgenson, Andrew K., Terrence D. Hill, Brett Clark, Ryan P. Thombs, Peter Ore, Kelly S. Balistreri, and Jennifer E. Givens. (2020). Power, proximity, and physiology: does income inequality and racial composition amplify the impacts of air pollution on life expectancy in the United States? Environmental Research Letters 15 (2): 024013.

Leonard, Kelsey. (2021). WAMPUM Adaptation framework: Eastern coastal Tribal Nations and sea level rise impacts on water security. Climate and Development 13 (9): 842-851.

Sadeghi, Amir-Reza, and Seiyed Mossa Hosseini. (2023). Assessment and delineation of potential groundwater recharge zones in areas prone to saltwater intrusion hazard: a case from Central Iran. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 195 (1): 203.

Shenassa, Edmond D., and Andrew D. Williams. (2020). Concomitant exposure to area-level poverty, ambient air volatile organic compounds, and cardiometabolic dysfunction: a cross-sectional study of US adolescents. Annals of Epidemiology 48: 15-22.

Handbook on Inequality and the Environment
Edited by Michael A. Long, Michael J. Lynch and Paul B. Stretesky is available now.

Read the introduction and other free chapters on Elgaronline.