Earth Day Reminder that Climate is a Justice Issue

Apr 15

Earth Day falls on April 22nd every year since 1970 and started out of the rising humxn consciousness in the US the decade prior from Rachel Carson’s 1963 book, Silent Springs, about pesticide impacts on health. Apparently the modern day environmental justice movement as we know it in the US has always been feminist - then just as now wom-n and their associated emotions are used as political weapons against justice and change.

So when I first heard the phrase – Climate Feminist* – it was as if all the neurons in my brain fired up in connection and excitement!
[*Anyone can be a feminist regardless of age or gender or identities. It’s a choice to act for equity and justice over oppression and hate. Watch We Should All Be Feminists TedTalk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie].

But let’s back up…

Our climate crisis has caused…
·       extreme weather events and patterns
·       arctic ice melting and sea level rise and warming
·       degradation of ecosystems, including permanent loss of plants and animals
·       stress to all political, economic, and social systems globally
·       negative humxn health impacts such as heat-related illness, death, respiratory, diseases, mental health, and more.
·       humxn and animal displacement and climate refugees

So, to be clear, I’m not here to argue of IF it exists or not.

Climate change is real.
It’s caused by humxn behavior.
It’s not normal Earth behavior.
It’s NOW. It’s urgent.
It’s not opinion or politics.
It’s science.
And we have the science to make better choices.

[Watch this YouTube by Dr. Katharine Hayhoe for a great 9-minute video on “Global Weirding” and its impact on us and the next generation.]

And you can plot projected warming on this cool site that shows your grandparents, your mother, yours, and your real/hypothetical children and the temperature they will experience. Even at low modeling projections, we are warming a couple degrees which is the point of ocean acidifying, coral reef bleaching, and more. And that’s the lowest forecast based on current carbon output.

Okay, we got that as a foundation. Now let’s take it a step further.

The impact of climate change is a justice issue because it disproportionately affects wom-n and nonbinary folks, children and elderly, and BIPOC folks. Responding to and minimizing the impact of climate disasters varies greatly based on privilege, power, economics. The ability to feel or not feel the daily impact of climate or to avoid or minimize impact corresponds directly to where you live, what resources you can get or have, and how you can respond.

What’s been clearer over these last couple years of blatant racial injustices and ongoing viral pandemic is that we need new approach or paradigm to how we lead and make decisions. We need care, collaboration, community and future oriented leaders who center equity and justice. The same capitalist, profit-for-few oriented companies and people, have benefited off exploiting wom-n and BIPOC folks just as they have exploiting the planet’s resources without renewal. [Click for a brief overview of Climate Feminism]

This year as part of pursuing my purpose and passion, I’m enrolled in the Climate Change & Health certificate program with Yale’s School of Public Health. We’re focused on all about the health impacts of climate and building adaptation plans for our local communities. I think I’ll write some separate posts on these issues as I work through my course projects, but the summary is that climate disproportionately affects folks who are in impoverished situations and historically minoritized and disenfranchised. So if you’re not thinking and worried about climate’s impact - likely it’s time to reflect on privilege and chat with other folks outside your bubble but in your community.

Examples of the climate & racial justice connection are helpful. Here’s a few:
·      Dakota pipeline through Standing Rock Sioux tribe lands, against their permission. Enough said.
·      Black and Hispanic/Latinx communities are by far subjected to more air pollution than white communities who source most pollutants [source]
·      Coastal communities in the south, home to larger populations of African Americans will/are experiencing sea level rise = loss of home/economic stability and will/do have less governmental resources directed to mitigate [source]
·      Urban neighborhoods + discriminatory housing practices = ‘redlining,’ ie more concrete, less trees, higher temperatures and food deserts [source]

What can we do?

Learn more

·      All We Can Save – I love, love, love this anthology of wom-n climate authors and poets. They have free resources on the website and are changing the conversations and action around climate justice. They introduced me to the beauty of Climate Feminism. Go here! Create your own circle or book club with it. They have resources. I’m starting this in my backyard - it’s a great way to connect, discuss, and create community change!
·      Science Moms – I’ve had to pleasure of connecting with one of the amazing climate scientist moms, Dr. Melissa Burt at Colorado State University, who is one of the forward thinking, change agents who started this group/resource. They have some great brief lists of what basics you need to know about climate and what you can do. The New Yorker had a recent article about their work.
·      Listen to How to Save a Planet podcast with one of the co-hosts being the same amazing climate scientist, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, from the book above. LOVE!

Demand better and do different

·      Demand that our elected officials do more for climate justice. ScienceMoms have a great template for sending a letter. But importantly, look local and combine with other folks.
·      The How to Save a Planet podcast has an ongoing list of all their Calls to Action from each podcast.
·      Project Drawdown has a comprehensive list of solutions we already have and know based on our current science, the list is anything from plant-rich diets and reducing food wastes to renewable energy and shifting agriculture.

So yes, please make individual changes, and spend money locally and with companies who are active in reducing their carbon footprint. And the biggest and most important action we need right now is to demand CHANGE on all levels. While I’m not interested in scare tactics or doom/gloom, it is important to know that according to over 13,000 scientists we as a humxn species are at critical climate emergency point. Now is the time. As the authors in All We Can Save say, we know we are too late to save everything so let’s save all we can.

What else would be helpful to you in order for you to feel knowledgeable, able, and ready to make changes?

Terry Tempest Williams, author and environmentalist, said,
“soul and soil are not separate. Neither are wind and spirit, nor water and tears.”