Evolution of a movement : four decades of California environmental justice activism / Tracy E. Perkins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Perkins, Tracy E., 1980- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Climatic changes--California.

Climatic changes.

Environmental justice--California--Case studies.

Environmental justice.

California--Environmental conditions.

California.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (335 pages)

Place of Publication:

Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2022]

Summary:

Despite living and working in California, one of the county's most environmentally progressive states, environmental justice activists have spent decades fighting for clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and safe, healthy communities. Evolution of a Movement tells their story--from the often-raucous protests of the 1980s and 1990s to activists' growing presence inside the halls of the state capitol in the 2000s and 2010s. Tracy E. Perkins traces how shifting political contexts combined with activists' own efforts to institutionalize their work within nonprofits and state structures. By revealing these struggles and transformations, Perkins offers a new lens for understanding environmental justice activism in California. Drawing on case studies and 125 interviews with activists from Sacramento to the California-Mexico border, Perkins explores the successes and failures of the environmental justice movement in California. She shows why some activists have moved away from the disruptive "outsider" political tactics common in the movement's early days and embraced traditional political channels of policy advocacy, electoral politics, and working from within the state's political system to enact change. Although some see these changes as a sign of the growing sophistication of the environmental justice movement, others point to the potential of such changes to blunt grassroots power. At a time when environmental justice scholars and activists face pressing questions about the best route for effecting meaningful change, this book provides insight into the strengths and limitations of social movement institutionalization.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Environmental Justice Activism Then and Now

1. Emergence of the Disruptive Environmental Justice Movement

2. The Institutionalization of the Environmental Justice Movement

3. Explaining the Changes in Environmental Justice Activism

4. Kettleman City: Case Study of Community Activism in Changing Times

5. California Climate Change Bill AB 32: Case Study of Policy Advocacy

Conclusion: Dilemmas of Contemporary Environmental Justice Activism

Appendix: Arguments for and against the Environmental Justice Lawsuit Brought against the California Air Resources Board

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780520976344

0520976347

OCLC:

1334343980