Equity & Environmental Justice

All people depend on the environment, and our quality of life is so often directly linked to the quality of our environment. Given our dependence on natural resources, man-made environmental pollution and toxins are a threat to human health. Often, these environmental burdens disproportionately impact people of color, poor people and other marginalized communities.

Environmental justice seeks to level the share of environmental benefits and burdens. The EPA defines environmental justice as the merging of issues of race, color, national origin or income with issues of development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies. In order to be inclusive, environmental projects must have the meaningful involvement of all people affected by them.

The ultimate goal of environmental justice is that everyone has the same degree of environmental protection and equal access to the decision-making process that shapes the environment in which they live.

Both locally and globally, NC State has ongoing research and student initiatives that work toward a healthy future of social, environmental and financial balance. On campus, the university has also hosted symposiums, an Environmental Justice workshop in partnership with the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity, and experiences such as an environmental justice-themed Alternative Service Break trip. Some student organizations, such as the NC State Stewards, also focus on environmental justice.

Academic Courses

The following university courses are related to environmental justice. Browse the course schedule for the most current information about when these courses may be offered.

Course ID		Course Name	Semester Offered
AEC	380	Water Resources: Global Issues in Ecology, Policy, Management, and Advocacy	Summer
CE	250	Introduction to Sustainable Infrastructure	Fall/Spring
CNR	250	Diversity and Environmental Justice	Fall/Spring
COM	436	Environmental Communication	Fall**
COM	479	Climate Change Communication	Fall
COM	538	Risk Communication	Fall**
CS/HS	410	Community Food Systems	Fall
ES	100	Introduction to Environmental Sciences	Fall/Spring/Summer
ES	150	Water and the Environment	Spring
ES	200	Climate Change and Sustainability	Fall/Spring
FLG	440	Green Germany: Nature and Environment in German Speaking Cultures	Fall
FW	221	Conservation of Natural Resources	Fall/Spring/Summer
FW	511	Human Dimensions of Wildlife and Fisheries	Spring
FW	730	Ethics in Fisheries, WIldlife, and Conservation Biology	Fall
HI	340	History of Agriculture	Spring
HI	381	NGO Nonprofits in a Global Context	Fall
HI	540	American Environmental History	Spring
HS	420	Green Infrastructure	Fall
HS	491	Sustainable Agriculture Entrepreneurship Study Abroad	Summer
IDS	201	Environmental Ethics	Fall/Spring/Summer
IDS	303	Humans and the Environment	Fall/Spring/Summer
LAR	535	Environmetnal Social Equity and Design	Spring
LAR	542	Human Use of the Urban Landscape	Spring
NTR	210	Introduction to Community Food Security	Summer
PHI	214	Issues in Business Ethics	Fall/Spring/Summer
PHI	420	Global Justice	n/a
PRT	550	Human Behavior and the Environment	Fall
PRT	555	Environmental Impacts of Recreation and Tourism	Fall
PRT	560	Theory and Practice of Partnerships for Conservation and Community Sustainability	Spring
PS	236	Issues in Global Politics	Fall/Spring/Summer**
SOC	220	Cultural Geography	Fall/Spring/Summer
SOC	350	Food and Society	Spring
SOC	351	Population and Planning	Fall
SOC	761	Contemporary Debates in Food & Environment	Fall/Spring
SOC	763	Environmental Sociology	Fall
SOC	762	Sociology of Food Systems	Fall
SSC	185	Land and Life	Fall/Spring
STS	323	World Population and Food Prospects	Fall/Spring
WGS	308	Contemporary Issues in Ecofeminism	Spring

NEWS & FEATURES | More

July 13, 2022

EdIT Director Mark Williams Helps Organize NC State’s Inaugural Juneteenth Event With Re-established African American Faculty and Staff Organization

Educational IT Director Mark Williams discusses how he helped to re-establish NC State’s African American Faculty and Staff Organization during the pandemic and the organization’s role in hosting the university’s inaugural Juneteenth event.

July 11, 2022

New Collaborative Community Projects Support Youth Education, Tribal Knowledge, Air and Water Quality, and More

Four new projects in North Carolina are launching this year as part of the Community Collaborative Research Grant Program. Projects will support youth education, tribal knowledge, air and water quality, and an exploration of plastic contaminants in headwaters. North Carolina Sea Grant and N.C. Water Resources Research Institute administer the program in partnership with the William R. Kenan Jr. Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science.

July 6, 2022

Register for the Inclusive Excellence Summer Intensive

The Inclusive Excellence Summer Intensive session will be July 28 and will cover foundational diversity, equity and inclusion topics.