Too often, the environment is dismissed as the concern of those who are not confronted with bread and butter issues.

But the reality is that the people who have the most urgent environmental concerns in Scotland are those who cope daily with the consequences of a poor quality of life, and live in a rotten environment, close to industrial pollution, plagued by vehicle emissions, streets filled by litter and walls covered in graffiti.

This is true for Scotland and also true elsewhere in the world. These are circumstances that would not be acceptable to better off communities in our society, and those who have to endure such environments in which to bring up a family or grow old themselves are being denied environmental justice.

Roger Downie, professor of environmental and evolutionary biology at the University of Glasgow, will explore the origins of the idea of environmental justice and discuss its usefulness in the debate over how we can achieve a sustainable and good quality of life for people and the rest of the living world.

This talk, which is part of the University of Glasgow Science Festival, is free and open to everyone. To book a place call 0141 330 2806.

Location: University of Glasgow, Boyd Orr Lecture Theatre

Date: Thursday 17th May

Time: 7pm

Ray McHugh (r.mchugh@admin.gla.ac.uk)

First published: 15 May 2007