https://research.ebsco.com/c/oetvbl/viewer/pdf/kcl3t5y2pj

Although Earth Day 1970 is a widely recognized event for its major influence on informing the American public on environmental issues, there were also two precursor events that laid the foundation of environmental justice progress for years to come. These events were the establishment of the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission (ORRRC) in 1958 and President Kennedy’s Natural Resources Tour of 1963. The ORRRC was established to review the nation's recreational needs and resources in order to create future policies and programs regarding environmental regulations. Within 10 years of this commission being active, it contributed the enactment of “three pieces of landmark legislation … the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1965, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965” (Webber 324). These acts still remain the foundation of water and wildlife policies in the world today. As for President Kennedy’s Natural Resources Tour, this event was a five-day tour of 11 states to raise awareness of environmental issues across the nation. President Kennedy’s tour is widely renowned as a significant step forward in educating the public about the importance of resource conservation. These previous events contribute to our research by providing a history of large-scale events that raised public awareness on environmental justice. One of our goals as a group is to possibly remodel Drew’s recycling plan, and creating a committee modeled after the ORRRC may allow us to see various perspectives in order to create a new recycling program that fits the needs of different groups at Drew.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-12/the-green-new-deal-vs-the-old-green-deals

The Green New Deal is a resolution that aims to tackle the issue of climate change and economic inequity through public policy. In this article, the author, Brenton Mock argues that the Green New Deal must provide a voice to marginalized communities that have long suffered from environmental injustices in order for this policy to be effective in the long term. He also mentions that previous policies, such as the cap-and-trade policy, completely failed at addressing the issue of environmental injustice. As a solution, Mock emphasizes that the voices of all communities must be heard, and that we “we [should not] minimize this historical legacy and assume that all regions of the country are equal” (Mock 2019). In essence, he is saying that a large-scale policy on environmental justice will only help certain communities while leaving others behind. This article pertains to our overall research in that we are aiming to provide an equal opportunity to healthy resources to all people, regardless of their backgrounds.