Environmental justice issues are often associated with poor neighborhoods in urban areas. However, rural people in the United States and throughout the world have a legacy of engagement in the quest for environmental justice for their own communities. Fossil fuel extraction industries (e.g., oil, gas and coal) and other mining activities disproportionately occur within and affect rural areas and small towns while developing resources for export to energy-hungry cities. The contemporary development of unconventional drilling technology provides recent opportunities to examine the challenges and opportunities confronting rural communities. This special issue of Contemporary Rural Social Work features practice and research articles focused on promoting environmental justice in rural communities.