Environmental Justice: Clean Air and Communities of Color

This policy analysis examines the Clean Air Act (CAA) to determine its impact upon communities of color in terms of environmental justice. Question: Is the CAA equally beneficial for all communities or is it disproportionately disadvantaging to communities of color? And if disadvantaging to these communities, what can be changed so that the CAA is applied more equitably? Critical race theory (CRT) is the theoretical framework used to analyze the Clean Air Act. Research shows that the CAA disproportionately disadvantages communities of color. The approach utilized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement the CAA needs to be re-evaluated to account for the experiences of communities of color.