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INTRODUCTION TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES 21
(the poor, minorities, indigenous groups, the global South). The interests of the
dominant groups harm the interests of those who lack sufficient resources,
capabilities or possibilities for protecting themselves. This includes mining, felling,
hydroelectric plants, dams in tribal areas, the removal and depositing of banned
chemicals or any waste in poor countries, and the acquisition of resources by force,
to name but a few examples. Environmental racism is therefore one form of
institutional discrimination by the given institutions and projects not ensuring
equal rights for the groups concerned. The consequence is that minority groups
and communities become exposed to disproportionately greater environmental
hazards. For instance, toxic waste is often deliberately deposited in areas where the
inhabitants are unlikely to protest because they are poor, powerless, undereducated,
and insufficiently organized. Environmental racism, however, is not always
conscious or intentional. One case is when a project with a high risk of causing
pollution is established at a place whence the more affluent then move out and
the poorer move in to their places. Now they will live on in a dangerous environment
(Kottak 1999: 29-30). All over the world, environmental and civil movements of
indigenous peoples and the poor address the concerns of environmental justice
and eco-racism.
The existence of an imbalance can be demonstrated in the less direct but no
less grave cases of environmental impacts: distant islands gradually drowned by
rising ocean levels are victims of the changes in the environment caused by the
“advanced” Western societies. EH holds that certain societies have a greater
responsibility for such damage than others. This insight has led EH researchers to
postcolonial criticism and collaboration with such research. Gyula Nagy addresses
issues of environmental justice in his paper in this volume.
Ecological imperialism
The notion of ecological imperialism describes the process in whose course —
typically but not always domesticated — animals and plants brought in from other
areas squeeze out the local populations. Accordingly, the history of extinctions
may be written in parallel with that of the great geographical discoveries
The explorers did not only export, but also imported new species that had an
impact on the European natural environment. The new plants like the potato,
maize, the sugarcane or pepper not only had a profound influence on the diet,
but also greatly affected the native plant populations by ousting former staples
(buckwheat, millet) and foraged plants.
Anthropocene
The Anthropocene as an era in the history of the Earth is now a well-known term.
The designation, which includes the Greek word for human (anthropos), deliberately
alludes to the impact of humanity, indicating that in this era the human being has
been capable of effecting such measurable changes in the natural environment as
can be caused, say, by an asteroid or earthquake (altered ozone layer, inundation
of islands, and the ability of human activity to trigger an earthquake). The