Oldal 219 [219]
OCR
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE 217 in each case. To investigate environmental justice in a context-specific manner, we need to rely on concepts that are locally accepted, socially legitimate — not arbitrary — and aligned with the given context. This complexity arises from the diverse array of concepts applied jointly and their numerous interpretations. The identification of environmental injustices, whether it is in the form of environmental damage or the absence of justice, should not be seen as the final outcome but rather as the starting point for engaging in a broader social discourse. The approach to environmental justice explained so far needs to be complemented with further procedural elements. This is necessary because environmental events are not isolated from society but rather are in interaction with it. Environmental injustice is not only related to nature; it also depends on the social context. Researchers have taken two opposing perspectives in this regard. These hold different interpretations on the interaction between the environmental (nonhuman) factors and society (Murdoch 1997). Neo-Marxists argue that unjust situations unambiguously arise because of human society’s influence on nonhuman factors (Murdoch 1997; Bosco 2014). Gender, age, ethnicity, the process of the perpetuation of social and power relations also influence the environment directly or indirectly. According to actor-network theory, the interactions between human beings and the environment are not determined solely by pre-existing social and economic structures. Rather, the dynamics of the natural world can also play a crucial role in shaping how individuals and groups respond and organize themselves in the face of environmental challenges. This theory highlights the interconnectedness and mutual influence between natural and social elements within the broader environmental context. For example, a natural disaster causes the social relations of settlements to change, which results in new contacts for the better assertion of interests. The comparison of the two views has an important message for environmental justice: space and environment are human-generated processes and products of society. Therefore, environmental injustice arises essentially in humans-influenced spaces and environments. In addition, space and its environmental factors are also capable of constructing society, hence the process of environmental injustice may be a force which forms social groups (Murdoch 1997; Bosco 2014). In addition, the same environmental processes appear differently under different social conditions and if the geographical and temporal scale varies. In the exploration of environmental injustice, ex ante (preceding) and ex post (following) processes can be identified concerning the temporal aspect of injustices. Nevertheless these processes cannot be entirely differentiated; they become mingled. Ex ante injustices occur when an environmental event, such as a disaster, acts as a catalyst, revealing pre-existing underlying injustices. These injustices, which are rooted in complex social, economic, or power processes, may have already been present but were not readily evident until the environmental event brought them to the surface. The disaster serves as a trigger, exposing the deeper and more complex issues that were already at play. On the other hand, ex post injustices involve the degradation of the environment and social deprivation as a result of the environmental event. In this case, the environmental event leads to a downward spiral, where the degradation of the environment and social hardships mutually provoke and reinforce each other, exacerbating the overall injustice. Situations of injustice cannot be remedied without a geographical perspective, because, for one thing, the environmental
