1 - Approaching Environmental Violence

Summary

The production of hazardous pollutants is part of everyday life for most every human; the problem is that the degree of production per person today is greater than it has ever been – and only getting worse. We all participate in this process, but not equally. We are currently in a moment of geologic history where something living is now the single largest driver of planetary change: humans. In the process of creating this change we are also creating substantial and unnecessary human health hazards, what I call environmental violence. Environmental violence (EV) encompasses many activities and processes – but certainly not everything – that humans do, particularly processes of consumption and production that exceed well past meeting basic needs. In this chapter I work through the theoretical threads that underpin the concept of EV and work to situate EV in human evolutionary and geologic history. I also chart out the rest of the book, providing a roadmap of where we are going and the materials, evidence, case studies, and methods that I will employ along the journey.