The article about environmental racism and environmental justice proved the point from last week’s reading that the lower class were neglected before and after the storm. This point was further analyzed in the movie we watched in class, where we were able to see documentaries on those specific people who were greatly effected by this tragedy. This week’s article showed that not only were they neglected during the storm but before that as well, since they were living near toxic pollution, which creates hazardous conditions. What stuck out to me in this reading was that the author compared this natural disaster to the heat wave in Chicago. I was personally unaware of this event and by comparing the two, the author proved that the government is partially responsible for these causes and it’s more than “just a natural disaster” which is how politicians explain the situations. Furthermore, I was surprised that after so many instances the government still fails to efficiently help everyone after hurricane Sandy.

There seem to be more than one issue involved when discussing these situations so what is the real problem.. housing? poverty? rescue and relief system? capitalist society? The entire system just seems corrupt when evaluating the causes and effects of natural disasters.