Restructuring and the Contraction and Expansion of Environmental Rights in the United States

In this paper I examine the ways in which economic and political restructuring is impacting environmental rights as conceptualized and practised by environmental justice activists in California and the Southwestern USA. Using Iris Young's framework, I argue that the recent gains of the environmental justice movement have been based largely on procedural justice, which is insufficient to ensure universal environmental quality, a stated goal of the movement. The limits of procedural justice have become apparent through the processes of restructuring, internationalization, and immigration, all of which are creating a new landscape for activists. Activists in California find that their rights are being contracted, because of deregulation and capital flight, and at the same time are expanding to include residents of Mexico. Given these global realities, procedural justice must also be accompanied by efforts to address both uneven development and a lack of democracy over private production decisions.