User:Cyclegirl22/Incarceration in the United States/Bibliography

Environmental

'''Many prisons around the United States are built on or close to superfund sites which expose incarcerated individuals to toxins. Since prisons are not strictly regulated, the existence of these prisons allow these toxins to be prevalent in the environment. Prisons around the United States also contribute to the water contamination of surrounding bodies of water. In addition to water contamination, prisons also contribute high amounts of air pollution which affects individuals incarcerated within the prison, prison staff, surrounding communities, and the ecosystems in the surrounding area. Prisons around the country violate the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act frequently. The Environmental Protection Agency is supposed to monitor prisons around the country. Still, prisons often fail to provide Environment Impact Statements to the EPA each year, making it difficult to fully understand the environmental impact of U.S. prisons. '''

'''Mass incarceration in the United States has created numerous environmental justice concerns. As mentioned above, since many prisons are built on or close to superfund sites, incarcerated individuals are exposed to toxins every day. Some prisons in the United States are also built next to landfills, toxic waste sites, and old mining sites. Incarcerated individuals are forced to breathe and consume these toxins with no government protection. One major concern for incarcerated individuals is contaminated water with high levels of lead and copper. '''

'''Another concern that incarcerated individuals face is not having access to adequate heating and cooling during extreme weather conditions which are only becoming more common due to climate change. As summers continue to get hotter, prisons all over the country do not have air conditioning, and many incarcerated individuals are dying from extreme heat as a result. Even though prisons are supposed to provide fans and ice to individuals during extreme heat events, they do not always follow through, and people are left to suffer in extreme temperatures. During the winters, prisons do not have proper heating, and individuals are left freezing with little to no supplies. Many incarcerated individuals complain that the Department of Corrections does not provide supplies such as blankets during cold weather, and they have to depend on donations or suffer with nothing. Environmental justice and energy justice activists argue the lack of adequate heating and cooling in prisons is a form of “cruel and unusual punishment,” which violates their rights under the Eighth Amendment. Prisons require a large amount of energy since they run all day every day. While it is important for environmentalists to make prisons more sustainable, environmental justice activists are fighting for the inclusion of all of the incarcerated population’s energy needs when making this transition.'''

'''There has been a growing movement to make prisons more sustainable through numerous “green prison” programs. Green prisons promote a more sustainable lifestyle while also focusing on the incarcerated individual’s rehabilitation which will hopefully lead to low recidivism rates. However, there has been some pushback to the spread of green programs within prisons as environmental justice activists argue they only reinforce mass incarceration. '''

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Outline of proposed changes
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 * 1) Introduce how many prisons are built on or close to superfund sites, which create unhealthy, toxic conditions. Prisons are able to get away with exposing individuals to such toxins because they are not held to the same standards as the community. The existence of prisons allows for such toxins to be prevalent in environment.
 * 2) Something in the air: Toxic pollution in and around U.S. prisons - Elisa Toman
 * 3) Prisons also violate the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. The EPA is supposed to be supervising prisons to make sure they are held to federal standards. Prisons often neglect to provide Environmental Impact Statements. Prisons contribute to water contamination and air pollution which affects people in the prison and outside of the prison.
 * 4) Toxic Prisons and the Environmental Injustices of Mass Incarceration - Earth Island Journal
 * 5) Cruel, Unusual, and Toxic: The Environmental Implications of Mass Incarceration in the United States - Melissa Mitchell
 * 6) There has been a movement for "green prisons" to both benefit the incarcerated individuals and the environment itself. I will discuss at the end how there has been more attention towards the toxicity of prisons and how they are impacting the environment.
 * 7) The paradox of the ‘green’ prison: Sustaining the environment or sustaining the penal complex?