A sacrifice zone or sacrifice area (often termed a national sacrifice zone or national sacrifice area) is a geographic area that has been permanently changed by heavy environmental alterations (often to a negative degree) or economic disinvestment, often through locally unwanted land use (LULU). Commentators including Chris Hedges, Joe Sacco, and Steve Lerner have argued that corporate business practices contribute to producing sacrifice zones. [1] [2] [3] A 2022 report by the United Nations highlighted that millions of people globally are in pollution sacrifice zones, particularly in zones used for heavy industry and mining. [4]
A sacrifice zone or sacrifice area is a geographic area that has been permanently impaired by environmental damage or economic disinvestment. [5]
Another definition states that sacrifice zones are places damaged through locally unwanted land use causing "chemical pollution where residents live immediately adjacent to heavily polluted industries or military bases." [1]
For Ryan Juskus [6] sacrifice zones are "geographical areas that bore a disproportionate amount of industrial pollution, toxic chemical exposure, or other environmental harms associated with industry or national security" (p.11). Another important aspect of this definition is that the existence of Sacrifice Zones involves the presence of Abundance Zones. In other words, the disproportionate environmental damage that some communities receive is directly related to maintaining privileges and lifestyles in other geographies. Another important aspect of sacrifice zones is that they are often located in low-income communities with a large presence of ethnic or religious minorities which benefits majority groups. [7]
Juskus (2023) refers that the concept of Sacrifice Zone has its origins in the field livestock management, being used to refer to the spaces where farmers concentrated cattle waste in order to protect the remaining pasture land. [6] However, the concept would be appropriated by the American Indian Movement and some environmentalist struggles transforming it from a technical term used for land and animal management to a way of conceiving geographical spaces in which the destruction of natural resources is a problem. [6]
According to Helen Huntington Smith, [8] the term was first used in the U.S. discussing the long-term effects of strip-mining coal in the American West in the 1970s. The National Academy of Sciences/National Academy of Engineering Study Committee on the Potential for Rehabilitating Lands Surface Mined for Coal in the Western United States produced a 1973 report that introduced the term, finding:
In each zone the probability of rehabilitating an area depends upon the land use objectives, the characteristics of the site, the technology available, and the skill with which this technology is applied. At the extremes, if surface mined lands are declared national sacrifice areas, all ecological zones have a high probability of being successfully rehabilitated. If, however, complete restoration is the objective, rehabilitation in each zone has no probability of success. [9]
Similarly in 1975, Genevieve Atwood wrote in Scientific American :
Surface mining without reclamation removes the land forever from productive use; such land can best be classified as a national sacrifice area. With successful reclamation, however, surface mining can become just one of a series of land uses that merely interrupt a current use and then return the land to an equivalent potential productivity or an even higher one. [10]
Huntington Smith wrote in 1975, "The Panel that issued the cautious and scholarly National Academy of Sciences report unwitting touched off a verbal bombshell" with the phrase National Sacrifice Area; "The words exploded in the Western press overnight. Seized upon by a people who felt themselves being served up as 'national sacrifices,' they became a watchword and a rallying cry." [8] The term sparked public debate, including among environmentalists and politicians such as future Colorado governor Richard Lamm. [11] [12]
The term continued to be used in the context of strip mining until at least 1999: "West Virginia has become an environmental sacrifice zone". [13]
Argentina
Villa Inflamable neighborhood is located in the city of Dock Sud and is part of the Greater Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area. The community is situated at the center of a petrochemical development area, where 44 hydrocarbon companies are currently operating. These same companies are mainly responsible for turning the Riachuelo-Matanza basin into one of the most polluted bodies of water in the world. [14]
Reports from Argentinian and foreign public agencies [15] [16] have confirmed the presence of lead, chromium, benzene and other hazardous chemicals in the water supplies of the neighborhood, in amounts far in excess of what is allowed by international regulations. Journalistic [17] and academic research [16] has collected multiple testimonies of serious health diagnoses commonly associated with the presence of these contaminants. Likewise the book Flammable: Environmental Suffering in an Argentine Shantytown explores the effects of toxicity in the daily lives of the residents of the Inflammable neighborhood, referring to multiple diagnoses of lead poisoning among the inhabitants of Inflammable, especially among children. [14]
The Chilean port of Quintero and adjacent Puchuncaví have been pointed out as a sacrifice zone. [18] The zone hosts the coal-fired Ventanas Power Plant, an oil refinery, a cement storage, Fundición Ventanas, a copper foundry and refinery, a lubricant factory and a chemical terminal. [18] In total 15 polluting companies operate in the area. [19] In 2011, Escuela La Greda located in Puchuncaví, was engulfed in a chemical cloud from the Ventanas Industrial Complex. The sulfur cloud poisoned an estimated 33 children and 9 teachers, resulting in the relocation of the school. The old location of the school is now abandoned. [20] In August and September 2018 there was a public health crisis in Quintero and Puchuncaví, where over 300 people experienced illness from toxic substances in the air, coming from the polluting industries. [21]
The Endhó Dam, often referred to as the "largest septic tank in Latin America" [22] [23] is a heavily polluted body of water that was built in the 1950s to supply irrigation water to the Mezquital Valley region of the State of Hidalgo and today receives about 70% of Mexico City's sewage effluent. [24] The river that feeds the dam is also a major repository for industrial waste from an oil refinery, two large cement factories, and several industrial parks in the region. These sources of pollution have spread to nearby springs affecting people, animals and crops. [25] Journalist Carlos Carabaña [26] indicates that since 2007, the National Water Commission has issued reports to municipal and state authorities repeatedly informing them of the presence of high levels of heavy metals in the nearby wells, urging the authorities to take action because of the potential health risks posed by the dam. Other effects related to contamination from the dam include damage to crops in the communities neighboring the dam, poisoning of livestock, and stigmatization of agricultural products from the Mezquital Valley region. [22]
The US EPA affirmed in a 2004 report in response to the Office of Inspector General, that "the solution to unequal protection lies in the realm of environmental justice for all Americans. No community, rich or poor, black or white, should be allowed to become a 'sacrifice zone'." [27] : 28
Commentators including Chris Hedges, [2] Joe Sacco, Robert Bullard [1] and Stephen Lerner have argued that corporate business practices contribute to producing sacrifice zones and that these zones most commonly exist in low-income and minority, usually African-American communities. [28] Sacrifice zones are a central topic for the graphic novel Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt , written by Hedges and illustrated by Sacco. [3]
In 2012, Hedges stated that examples of sacrifice zones included Pine Ridge, South Dakota and Camden, New Jersey [2] In 2017 a West Calumet public housing project in East Chicago, Indiana built at the former site of a lead smelter needed to be demolished and soil replaced to bring the area up to residential standards, displacing 1000 residents. [29] In 2014, Naomi Klein wrote that "running an economy on energy sources that release poisons as an unavoidable part of their extraction and refining has always required sacrifice zones." [30]
Lake Maracaibo in the state of Zulia is one of the most important bodies of water in the western region of Venezuela. This lake was also the site of one of the worst environmental catastrophes in Venezuela's history: the Barroso II blowout in 1922; an oil well that began spewing huge quantities of oil for 9 days, spilling around 900,000 barrels in the area. [31] This oil disaster, paradoxically, became a milestone for the abundance of the oil industry in the country.
Erick Camargo indicates that oil spills generated by the lack of maintenance of the complex network of oil infrastructure continue to be a constant and are the main cause of contamination in the lake. However, he also indicates that the use of agrochemicals on nearby crops and the discharge of sewage worsen the situation. [32]
A 2022 scientific paper reveals the presence of multiple toxic elements in surface sediments in different parts of the lake. This constitutes a high risk for the flora and fauna of the region, as well as for the health of the human communities living in the areas where the samples were taken. [33] Another study in 2007 revealed the presence of toxic metals in part of the subway aquifers connected to the lake basin; the samples taken had values well above the limits allowed for drinking water according to national and international regulations. [34]
The human-environment interactions that lie at the heart of environmental justice, including sacrifice zones, have been proposed to also include the environmental sacrifice of regions beyond Earth. [35] Klinger states that "the environmental geopolitics of Earth and outer space are inextricably linked by the spatial politics of privilege and sacrifice - among people, places and institutions". [35] Dunnett has called outer space the 'ultimate sacrifice zone' that exemplifies a colonially framed pursuit of infinite opportunities for accumulation, exploitation, and pollution. This manifests in both terrestrial and space-based sacrifice zones related to launch infrastructure, waste, and orbital debris. [36]
Point Nemo is an oceanic point of inaccessibility located inside the South Pacific Gyre. It is selected as the most remote location in the world and serves as a "spacecraft cemetery" for space infrastructure and vessels. [37] Since 1971, 273 spacecraft and satellites have been directed to Point Nemo; this number includes the Mir Space Station (142 tonnes) and will include the International Space Station (240 tonnes).
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance or energy. Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants.
Maracaibo is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the second-largest city in Venezuela, after the national capital, Caracas, and the capital of the state of Zulia. The population of the city is approximately 2,658,355 with the metropolitan area estimated at 5,278,448 as of 2010. Maracaibo is nicknamed "The Beloved Land of the Sun".
Lake Maracaibo is a brackish lake located in northwestern Venezuela, between the states of Zulia, Trujillo, and Mérida. Hydrologically, it is a semi-enclosed bay off the coast of the Gulf of Venezuela. Lake Maracaibo is commonly considered a lake, though due to its current geological characteristics, it should not be considered as such. With a surface area of 13,512 km2 (5,217 sq mi), it is the largest lake in South America and one of the oldest on Earth, having formed disputably as a lake 36 million years ago in the Andes Mountains.
Environmental racism, ecological racism, or ecological apartheid is a form of racism leading to negative environmental outcomes such as landfills, incinerators, and hazardous waste disposal disproportionately impacting communities of color, violating substantive equality. Internationally, it is also associated with extractivism, which places the environmental burdens of mining, oil extraction, and industrial agriculture upon indigenous peoples and poorer nations largely inhabited by people of color.
Cancer Alley is the regional nickname given to an 85-mile (137 km) stretch of land along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, in the River Parishes of Louisiana, which contains over 200 petrochemical plants and refineries. This area accounts for 25% of the petrochemical production in the United States. Environmentalists consider the region a sacrifice zone where rates of cancer caused by air pollution exceed the federal government's own limits of acceptable risk.
Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities ; or complex or numerous processes. Because of those factors, heavy industry involves higher capital intensity than light industry does, and is also often more heavily cyclical in investment and employment.
Gaita zuliana is a style of Venezuelan folk music from Maracaibo, Zulia State. Dating as far back as the 1800s, gaitas began as improvised songs in the neighborhoods of Zulia where, as Robert T. Carroll describes, “people would gather in a circle and encourage each other to make up verses to a song." Gaita incorporates various instrumentations and rhythms from Spanish, Indigenous and African music. According to Joan Coromines, it may come from the word "gaits," the Gothic word for "goat", which is the skin generally used for the membrane of the furro drum. Other instruments used in gaita include maracas, cuatro, charrasca and tambora.
Environmental issues in Venezuela include oil spills, illegal mining, deforestation, tourism, water shortages, pollution, poor waste management and hazards such as earthquakes, floods, rockslides, mudslides, and periodic droughts.
The Ministry of Environment is the South Korea branch of government charged with environmental protection. In addition to enforcing regulations and sponsoring ecological research, the Ministry manages the national parks of South Korea. Its headquarters is in Sejong City.
Quintero is a Chilean city and commune in Valparaíso Province, in the Valparaíso Region, 30 kilometers north of Valparaíso. The commune spans an area of 147.5 km2 (57 sq mi). It was the first port in the country, created during the expedition of Diego de Almagro. Fundición Ventanas and other heavy industries are located in the commune of Quintero.
The Asociación Pola Defensa da Ría of Pontevedra, known as APDR, is a Galician local environmental non-governmental organisation created in 1987 to address the environmental degradation of Pontevedra's ria area. It has over 500 registered members and it holds substantial support within the local community.
Ciudad Ojeda is a city located in the northeastern shore of Lake Maracaibo in Zulia State in northwestern Venezuela. Its population as of the 2005 census was listed as 128,941.
As with many countries, pollution in the United States is a concern for environmental organizations, government agencies and individuals.
Freshwater environmental quality parameters are those chemical, physical or biological parameters that can be used to characterise a freshwater body. Because almost all water bodies are dynamic in their composition, the relevant quality parameters are typically expressed as a range of expected concentrations.
A fenceline community or frontline community is a neighborhood that is immediately adjacent to a company, military base, industrial or service center and is directly affected by the noise, odors, chemical emissions, traffic, parking, or operations of the company. These communities are exposed to hazardous chemicals, high pollution levels, and environmental degradation along with the threat of chemical explosions.
The Mezquital Valley is a series of small valleys and flat areas located in Central Mexico, about 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Mexico City, located in the western part of the state of Hidalgo. It is part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, with altitudes between 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) and 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) above sea level. It is one of Mexico's main semi-arid/area regions, whose native vegetation is dominated by cactus species, mesquite trees, and maguey with pine and oak trees in the highest elevations. It is considered to be part of the northern extension of Mesoamerica, with one major archeological site, Tula, which was the main city of the Toltecs, an important influence for the later Aztecs. However, from the Aztec period to the 20th century, it was sparsely populated and very poor, with one main indigenous ethnicity, the Otomis. In the 20th century, irrigation works were created to take advantage of the water in the Tula River, along with wastewater drained from the Valley of Mexico for agriculture. Today, the valley produces various grains and produce, including one-quarter of all green chili peppers grown in Mexico.
Environmental issues in Chile include deforestation, water scarcity, pollution, soil erosion, climate change, and biodiversity loss, especially in its industry-heavy "sacrifice zones". The country of Chile is a virtual continental island that spans over 4,200 kilometers. It is bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Andes Mountains on the east, and the Atacama Desert in the north; it is home to several important eco-regions, such as the Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests, a biodiversity hot-spot that harbors richly endemic flora and fauna, and the Tropical Andes, which stretches into northern Chile. The country has a wide variety of climates due to its large size and extreme geographical features including glaciers, volcanoes, rain forests, and deserts. Chile faces many environmental issues that impact both its people and economy.
Environmental racism is a form of institutional racism, in which people of colour bear a disproportionate burden of environmental harms, such as pollution from hazardous waste disposal and the effects of natural disasters. Environmental racism exposes Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic populations to physical health hazards and may negatively impact mental health. It creates disparities in many different spheres of life, such as transportation, housing, and economic opportunity.
The Chilean port of Quintero and adjacent Puchuncaví have made themselves known for their pollution in the 2010s and 2020s. They have together been characterized as a sacrifice zone. The zone hosts the coal-fired Ventanas Power Plant, an oil refinery, a cement storage, Fundición Ventanas, a copper foundry and refinery, a lubricant factory and a chemical terminal. In total 15 polluting companies operate in the area.