Environmental justice and energy production : coal-fired power plants in Illinois

Abstract

The environmental justice framework has been applied to many environmentally negative issues in the past such as toxic storage and disposal facilities, toxic release inventory sites, air quality, transportation, and global climate change. It has not yet been applied to energy production in a quantitative study. This study investigates the relationship between the location of coal-fired power plants in Illinois and the socioeconomic characteristics of surrounding block groups. A two tailed t-test shows there are differences between the populations living near coal-fired power plants and those living farther away based on a 10-, 20-, and 30-mile buffer analysis using a GIS. Multiple regression models indicate that population density followed by Cook County (Chicago), Latino, and African American populations are the best predictors of the location of a coal-fired power plant in a state-wide analysis.