SLWK 422 Lecture 13: 04%2F24%2F2018
● The social work profession has yet to take on environmental justice as a key issue.
● Virginia policies
○ Right to work.
○ Low taxes.
○ Balanced budget.
○ Limited regulation.
● Pro-business stances can work against environmental justice movements, but they don’t
necessarily have to.
● Groundwater removal
○ Virginia is sinking faster than any other state on the East Coast.
■ Main reason: groundwater removal.
○ Department of Environmental Quality approves permits to remove groundwater.
○ Large companies were approved to remove large amounts of groundwater,
depleting underwater aquifers.
○ Permits revised in December 2017.
● Coal Ash
○ Coal ash is a byproduct of burning coal, and is then stored in ponds. Dominion
plans to get rid of the ponds due to environmental concerns (mercury, cadmium,
arsenic).
○ Dominion approved to release treated coal ash wastewater.
● Lead
○ Main sources of lead:
■ Paint
■ Pipes
■ Gasoline (dust)
○ State requires testing of children who meet certain conditions.
○ State funded to test levels by request and provides education.
○ Professionals certified in handling lead should manage renovation projects on
older homes.
● Why study comparative policy?
○ Different countries have different ways of addressing issues such as health care,
poverty, social insurance, family obligations, taxes, etc.
○ Different approaches bring about different results.
○ By studying comparatively, we can see what works, what doesn’t, and then
design better policy.
● Gosta Esping-Andersen
○ Swedish political scientist.
○ His book The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism
is the classic of comparative
politics.
○ Divides countries into 3 kinds of welfare state:
■ Liberal.
■ Corporatist-Statist/Conservative.
■ Social-democratic.
Document Summary
The social work profession has yet to take on environmental justice as a key issue. Pro-business stances can work against environmental justice movements, but they don"t necessarily have to. Virginia is sinking faster than any other state on the east coast. Department of environmental quality approves permits to remove groundwater. Large companies were approved to remove large amounts of groundwater, depleting underwater aquifers. Coal ash is a byproduct of burning coal, and is then stored in ponds. Dominion plans to get rid of the ponds due to environmental concerns (mercury, cadmium, arsenic). Dominion approved to release treated coal ash wastewater. State requires testing of children who meet certain conditions. State funded to test levels by request and provides education. Professionals certified in handling lead should manage renovation projects on older homes. Different countries have different ways of addressing issues such as health care, poverty, social insurance, family obligations, taxes, etc.
