What does environmental justice seek to address?

• A. Ensuring all individuals receive equal healthcare resources.
• B. Fair distribution of environmental benefits and burdens across populations, especially vulnerable groups.
• C. Maximizing industry growth.
• D. Removing all environmental hazards immediately.

Answer: (B)

Environmental justice centers on fairness in how environmental benefits and burdens are shared among people, with special attention to communities that are vulnerable or marginalized. It seeks to prevent a situation where some groups—often low-income or racial/ethnic minorities—bear more pollution or environmental harms while others reap more benefits, and it also emphasizes giving these communities a real voice in decisions that affect their environment.

That’s why the best option describes the fair distribution of environmental benefits and burdens across populations, especially vulnerable groups. The other ideas don’t capture this balance: healthcare resources focus on medical care, not the environmental context; prioritizing industry growth can worsen unequal exposures; and eliminating all hazards immediately, while noble, isn’t a practical definitional aim of environmental justice, which is about distribution and participation.