Read the following documents:

Compare the map http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/mp_thrts.html with the map of vegetation in your World Atlas. What kind of landscape is affected?

Tribal lands in the arid West have been targeted by military, energy and mining concerns for decades. Native Americans and other westerners living in these sparsely populated regions were unknowingly exposed to nuclear contamination for years. Furthermore, uranium was often mined from and milled near tribal lands. The Native Americans who worked in the mines were not advised of the dangers to their health from working in or living near the uranium mines. Water sources were polluted by water that drained from the mines. Few safety regulations were enforced in the mines and many of the mines still remain uncovered. To this day, few studies have received funding to research the health effects that Native Americans have experienced or are experiencing because of radiation. Because of this, health problems are discounted as anecdotal when Native Americans go to court to fight for their right to clean air, earth and water.

After reading the articles, answer the following questions:

1. Use your own words to define environmental justice.

2. Why do the nuclear industry and the Feds target tribal communities?

3. Some people call this practice of targeting Indian reservations “nuclear colonialism.” Why do they say this?

4. The Tribal Sovereignty article mentions “Mobile Chernobyl.” How is this issue like the environmental situation in Russia? What kind of image does the phrase Mobile Chernobyl generate for you?