Uncategorized – Climate Justice Now

Mental Health and Activism in 2020

Francesca Von Krauland COVID-19, Global Future, Racial Justice, Uncategorized December 16, 2020December 16, 2020activism, black lives matter, climate change, mental health, pandemic, racial justice

Earlier this year, the previous Climate Justice Now blogger, Dominique, wrote an article entitled Taking Care of Yourself and the Environment. As 2020 winds down, I think mental health, especially as it relates to activism, the events of this year, and racial factors, is an important topic to readdress. No one’s life was unaffected by COVID-19, but rather than giving into the despair that sometimes accompanies massive upheaval, many people focused on working toward positive change in areas they felt more control over—addressing racial injustice, making progress in the climate movement, and (particularly in the U.S.) political campaigning to ensure that we have forward-thinking leaders to guide us into the next year.

While admirable as a coping mechanism, and a necessary part of creating change to protect others in the future, those who engage in activism often experience adverse mental health effects because of their work. Often, the issues that people fight for are deeply personal, fueled by identity and trauma. Having such a stake in the outcome of one’s work makes for powerful activism, but also poses a threat to the emotional stability of those who engage in it. Activists are at a higher risk of developing PTSD and suicidal ideation when their identities are wrapped up in the causes they champion, and even those whose identities aren’t experience vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue, which also pose a risk. This organization points out that movements struggle to hold onto their most passionate, committed activists because of burnout. For people who make careers out of activism, the effects are magnified: the hectic schedules and low pay associated with activism can result in stress from familial tension, a lack of access to medical services, and anxiety about the future in regards to retirement or even homeownership. Those in the field emphasize that addressing activist mental health is essential to the protection of both individuals as activists and the movements themselves.

While mental health has long been an issue in relation to activism, this year, with the added stress of the pandemic and all of its associated disruptions, our collective mental state is perhaps more precarious than ever. The WHO explains, “Fear, worry, and stress are normal responses to perceived or real threats, and at times when we are faced with uncertainty or the unknown. So it is normal and understandable that people are experiencing fear in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.” In addition to the very-valid fear of microscopic particles floating about, ready to send any non-mask wearing person to the ICU, there’s the added burden of isolation from all the joys of life that usually help with coping: seeing family and friends over a meal, working out at the gym, and browsing one’s favorite stores, for example. Added to this, the fact that unemployment is rising, many people have lost loved ones to the virus, and living situations are altered, the rise in anxiety, depression, substance abuse, insomnia, and other mental health conditions is unsurprising. To compound the issue, the pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide at a time when they are most needed. As Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, urges, “World leaders must move fast and decisively to invest more in life-saving mental health programmes—during the pandemic and beyond.”

As the sun sets earlier and people retreat indoors, people who struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) are more at risk than ever of experiencing overwhelming symptoms of low energy, poor mood, and social withdrawal, among others. Dr. Desan of Yale Medicine states, ““We are seeing an obvious increase in the number of people seeking help for anxiety, and that’s not unreasonable. People are anxious about catching COVID-19, among other related issues,” Dr. Desan says. “This is a major mental health event.”

As with most other major issues, the collective suffers, but a particular segment of the population feels the effects most acutely. On the topics of both mental health as it relates to activism and mental health during the pandemic, while U.S. adults reported considerably elevated adverse mental health conditions this year, younger adults, racial/ethnic minorities, essential workers, and unpaid adult caregivers reported having experienced disproportionately worse mental health outcomes, according to the CDC. Particularly for people of color, who this year led the Black Lives Matter movement through emotional protests deeply tied to their identity, heightened rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide compound the pressures associated with the discrimination they protest in the first place, in addition to the pandemic, and the climate-related problems, and so much more. It’s no wonder that the term self-care was coined by black woman activist Audre Lorde when she famously said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” After a year like 2020, everyone, but especially those most impacted, must look after themselves—starting with mental health.

The language we use for particularly successful activists—”champions” of a cause—reveals the underlying psychology that fuels the mental health problem in activist movements. Linda Sarsour, one of the founders of the Women’s March and a Muslim Palestinian-American activist, says, “Activists often become caricatures to people, for some even super-human. Many don’t realize the deep depression and anxiety we experience. The work is overwhelming and [it’s] compounded by not feeling safe and worrying about your life and the lives of your children.” Recognizing that caring deeply for the world is a kind of emotional labor that taxes the mind and body is a good first step in the direction of protecting one’s mental health. Next, mental health care needs to be made more accessible to everyone, especially those from marginalized communities who most need it. And finally, until then, the most powerful tools activists, and anyone struggling with mental health has, is self-care.

Dominique’s blog wisely recommends that people feeling overwhelmed spend time in nature, reach out to others, and “remember that anxiety is rooted in love for the people and places in your life.” I think that last one is particularly important—gratitude is perhaps the strongest cure for despair. It is a privilege to love something so deeply as to ache at its absence, its obscuring. Acknowledging that pain is often rooted in one’s ability to imagine better means that hurting and hoping go hand in hand. This is the power of language: we can rephrase the problem. 2020 changed almost everything for almost everyone. This is a time of opportunity, not of crisis. We’ve ripped the bandage off of a wounded world and it burns. The world in 2020 is a messy gash with still-drying blood, but without the bandage, we can imagine what the skin will feel like when it’s healed.

Healing, despite its poetry, is a science. The world will not heal with hope and imagination alone—certainly, those need to be there, along with despair at how things are now, but most of all, we need science. Thought and logic and clear-headedness drives movements. Science makes up vaccines and holds the solution to climate change. Logic battles the judgement we have for the parts of us that are struggling: what is more logical a reaction to the horrors of 2020 than to, in fact, feel horror? And then to acknowledge it, and then to channel the horror into yet more logic, that needed to solve the problem. All is not as it should be—but only because the work isn’t quite done yet. We’re getting there. Painfully, hopefully, and with science and gratitude.

Featured Image from AmGen

Intergenerational Movement Building

Francesca Von Krauland Global Future, Racial Justice, Uncategorized December 15, 2020December 15, 2020black lives matter, climate justice, history, march for our lives, multigenerational activism

Few individuals bring as much attention to the climate movement as Greta Thunberg, whose efforts have rallied children, lawmakers, and skeptics alike to the cause of tackling climate change. Though perhaps the best known young activist, Greta is far from the only student taking the lead in a cause. In fact, historically, young people have led the way for social change, working alongside professionals and older activists to overhaul problematic norms all over the world. Today, in movements like Black Lives Matter and Fridays for Future, multigenerational movement building is an effective and necessary goal to achieve lasting improvements.

Greta Thunberg, a Swedish teenager, has addressed both the U.S. Congress and the United Nations about taking drastic measures to address climate change. Despite bringing attention to a movement involving several million people, the Global Climate Strikes, Greta emphasizes, “I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean.” Yet societal problems affect young people profoundly, and they can’t always wait until they’re older to do something about it. The lives of young black and indigenous activists are shaped daily by systemic forces far older than them, and they can’t afford to hope that their parents’ generation will make the changes that are so long overdue. As I discussed in my previous article, people of color are particularly impacted by climate change, and are therefore very active in the climate movement. Indigenous young people who protested at Standing Rock, Kanaka Maoli youth who defended land at Mauna Kea, and students in Flint, Michigan are just some of the children whose lives are at stake because of environmental threats.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every person under the age of 18 has the right to participate in the decision-making processes that impact them. Organizations like UNICEF work to give young people a platform to participate in climate action, hosting events like the 2019 United Nations Youth Climate Summit in New York City for activists to express their views in a public forum, but many young people actually founded their own organizations to spread their messages. For example, a youth group founded the Black Lives Matter Youth Vanguard to protect black children, particularly in schools, New Jersey teenager Anya Dillard founded Next Gen Come Up, an organization “dedicated to encouraging youth activism and community service through media and creativity,” and 18-year-old Sophie Ming organized large protests in Manhattan and founded the New York City Youth Collective to educate young people on issues related to the BLM movement. Some youth are even writing books to help other youth build the movement, such as Jamie Margolin’s Youth to Power: Your Voice and How to Use It. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other young people working for justice every day, even and especially throughout this chaotic year of the pandemic.

Throughout history, social change has always been spearheaded not by those in power, like lawmakers and judges, but by visionaries too young to be constrained by outdated ideas of how things should be. In fact, Ben & Jerry’s (another reason to love their ice cream) created a succinct outline of global student activism within recent history, from the 1960 Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-Ins to protest segregation, to the 1968 University Uprisings against government censorship in France and capitalist consumerism in Poland, to the Vietnam War protests of the ’60s and ’70s, to the Soweto Uprising of 1976 against South African Apartheid, to the Velvet Revolution in Prague to push the Communist party out of power after the fall of the Berlin Wall, to the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protest in Beijing, to the 2010 Arab Spring, 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline Protests, and 2018 March for Our Lives against gun violence. The list includes movements led by college and, more recently, high school-aged people working to address the corruption, prejudice, and oppression that would limit their futures. It’s astounding that people so young could be so forward-thinking, but who better to envision a safer future than those who will live it?

Young activists are more likely to be flexible, think of the big picture, and use innovative means for campaigning, like social media, but without the support of adults who can actually implement changes, progress would still be years away. This is why it’s so important for older people to be involved with movements too—not only are they more likely to have wisdom to share on how to build and sustain social movements, they might also have the funds to fuel the movement, the expertise to guide its focus, and the wisdom to mentor young leaders, and protect them from the emotional exhaustion and physical threats sometimes tied to activist work. Movements today are not just intergenerational—they are also interdisciplinary. “The number of marchers is unprecedented, from different economic, ethnic, and racial groups—an awakening unlike any that I’ve seen on this Earth in over 70 years,” Bullard, a professor for urban planning and environmental policy, and activist, explains. “Today, the different movements are converging, and I think that convergence makes for greater potential for success.”

Movements also shape higher education, which in turn shapes the students who will then begin their careers with the goals of social and climate justice at the forefront of their minds. For example, Dr. Beverly Wright, a professor of sociology, trains leaders from historically black American universities in the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. She founded the HBCU Climate Change Consortium and the HBCU-CBO Gulf Equity Consortium, where her students assisted Hurricane Katrina victims and researched climate impacts on vulnerable communities. She also took them to the COP21 in Paris to witness the negotiation of the Paris Climate Accord. Such programs might not exist if climate activism were not so widespread, and students exposed to these kinds of opportunities are more likely to continue to pursue work that centers on sustainability and climate justice. The field of environmental engineering is another example of the institutionalization of the progress of the climate movement; a relatively new field in higher education, environmental engineering focuses on the prevention, control, and remediation of hazards to the environment using engineering expertise. With the existence of such fields, a young person today could learn about climate change in school, become an activist with the support of adult mentors, study a relevant field in university, and then go on to become a scientist, lawmaker, businessperson, or other global shaper in a position to implement the changes he or she studied the need for. It’s a hopeful path, but just one of many that exists for young people today who care so deeply about the planet and the people on it.

It’s easy to see young activists as heroes—altruists and outliers to their age group. But the reality is that young people have always cared, because they’ve always had to—it’s a matter of survival. Perhaps the fact that activists are younger, high schoolers and even middle schoolers rather than young adults, is a sign that no one is protected from the stark realities of our warming planet—least of all those who will inherit it.

Featured image from Time

Racial and Climate Justice: Shared Goals

Francesca Von Krauland Global Future, Racial Justice, Uncategorized December 12, 2020December 12, 2020activism, black lives matter, climate justice, defund police, racial justice

Skimming headlines, it’s clear that a few issues dominated our collective headspace this year: the COVID-19 crisis, racial injustice in the United States, and the increasingly alarming problem of climate change. Written out, they seem like separate categories, like one could place a given newsworthy event within a single topical classification without acknowledging the existence of the others. Obviously, this is not the case. In a country (and world) in which people of color are disproportionately affected by both the changing climate and the pandemic, in addition to facing direct discrimination, the three problems are closely intertwined, so that the discussion of one necessarily links to another. The movements for racial justice and climate justice share goals, and the ways in which these aims can be achieved have considerable overlap as well. One of the most-discussed ways of addressing the racial violence in the U.S. this year can be summed up by the slogan “Defund the Police.” But what does that actually mean, and why could it be a step in the direction of both racial and climate justice?

The idea of “defunding the police” actually refers to the idea of reallocating police funding away from traditional law enforcement. Much of the violence making headlines this year—in addition to the violence that hasn’t always made headlines for many, many years before this one—is perpetrated by the police against the black community in the United States. American cities collectively spend $100 billion per year on policing, resulting in police departments with military-grade equipment, while education, housing, health care, and other essential programs suffer chronic underfunding, disproportionately effecting communities of color. By decreasing the police budget and funneling money toward these programs, communities would be strengthened and the potential for the police to abuse their power severely undercut.

The social benefit to such a policy is matched only by the environmental one. Money previously put towards enabling violence could instead support environmental initiatives. According to this report, “As the state faces a pandemic-driven budget crisis, the programs that cap-and-trade revenue funds—including climate and environmental justice programs, investing in jobs and climate mitigation in black and brown communities—could now be at risk.” Freeing up funding to support these initiatives would be essential both to continuing to combat climate change and to supporting people of color, directly and indirectly. The Black Lives Matter movement has long supported what it refers to as a policy of “Invest-Divest,” or investing in Black communities by divesting from the forces that oppress them, such as police, prisons, and fossil fuels. It’s a policy that other countries have adopted with success. Sweden’s criminal justice system emphasizes short prison sentences that actually reduce the rate of reoffending. It focuses on rehabilitation rather than punishment, unlike the American system. In the U.S., it’s well known that long prison sentences stunt disproportionately-black former inmates’ successful reintegration into society, but a lesser known impact of the jail system is the environmental damage it causes. Many prisons produce waste and emissions far above local and federal standards because of overcrowding, an issue exacerbated by the growing prison population and the length of their punishments. Clearly, a reform of the criminal justice system, to include defunding the police, addressing unfair sentencing, and reconceptualizing prisons, would have both social and environmental advantages.

People of color also disproportionately live near these polluting prisons, in addition to other facilities emitting harmful pollutants. This study finds that people in poverty are exposed to greater quantities of fine particulate matter—including automobile fumes, smog, soot, oil smoke, ash, and construction dust, which are carcinogens—than people living above the poverty line, because they are much more likely to live near polluters. This exposure causes lung conditions, heart attacks, asthma, low birth weights, high blood pressure, and premature deaths, conditions statistically linked to poorer, nonwhite populations. The EPA states that decreasing the production of these particles and regulating emissions would directly benefit these populations—another example of the overlapping aims of the climate and racial justice movements.

The idea of combining the aims of the two movements is nothing new. Just as feminists support climate activism, black activists have drawn up their own version of the Green New Deal and Build Back Equal, which places racial and climate justices’ considerable overlap at the center of their goals. In 1966, the Freedom Budget by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin planned for a ten year program that would address employment, wages, health care, and clean air, with the aim of economic justice. Even then, the condition of the environment was a priority for the nation’s future—an essential component of ensuring a good standard of living for black and white Americans alike. This is a goal that has only become more urgent as climate change—and racial violence—worsens. Perhaps 2020 can be the year that movements converged, and racial justice became the goal of climate activists, and climate justice that of racial activists, because, after all, black or white, we need to make sure our shared future is green.

Featured image from Climate X Change

Women’s COVID & Climate Leadership

Francesca Von Krauland Uncategorized December 7, 2020December 7, 2020

Women are some of the world’s most effective, yet underrepresented leaders. From the international level to the corporate to the humanitarian, women make up only a minority of leadership positions, yet they consistently show results that are stronger than their male counterparts. Studies into whether women have a different leadership style and what those leadership traits consist of are more important than ever as we watch leaders grapple with pressing issues like the pandemic in addition to longstanding issues like climate change. The people we look up to today to solve the world’s problems are the same people who will inspire tomorrow’s leaders—girls ready to do everything their role models, both women and men, are doing, but better.

According to a UN study, women are the heads of state in only 21 countries worldwide, make up only a quarter of members of national parliaments, and represent 36.3% of elected officials in local deliberative bodies. Women are also just 30% of executives in health organizations, and 24.7% of the world’s health ministers, despite the fact that 70% of health workers are women. These statistics show that few women are in the position to make decisions that represent the interests of other women. Despite the small number of women in charge, the women who are, particularly as heads of state, have been in the headlines this year for being the most effective, reactive, and decisive leaders in responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

Women lead Denmark, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, New Zealand and Slovakia—some of the countries that most effectively implemented confinement measures, testing, and social distancing. The same UN study found that “in countries such as Canada, Ethiopia, India and Madagascar, women medical and health experts are increasingly found in leadership positions and taking the lead in daily press briefings and public service announcements. Women mayors across the world, from Banjul (the Gambia) to Barcelona (Spain), have been highly visible in responding to the pandemic and are sharing their experiences in online forums.” So, what qualities do these and other women leaders share?

Another study found that in countries with comparable GDP per capita, population, population density, and population over 65 years of age, in addition to other equalizing factors, female-led countries had fewer deaths, locked down earlier, and were more communicative with the public about their policies. Leaders whose countries suffered lower death rates shared a few goals: inclusion of the population in planning, authenticity in terms of lowering the barrier between the professional and personal, truthfulness that built trust, decisiveness as the crisis unfolded, and the capable adaptation to technology to combat the virus, including using testing, contact tracing apps, social media knowledge-spreading, and online reporting systems, among other measures. From Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who created a robust stimulus package for economic recovery, to New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, who used Facebook Live to hold an informal Q&A to reassure her populace, women have been reinventing the way that leaders react to and solve global issues as they unfold. Of course, proactive measures might be what define the most successful leaders of all: those who foresee and prevent problems before they burden society. Despite scientific appeals to leaders regarding the possibility of pandemics, it seems that most of the world was ill-prepared on this particular issue.

The pandemic might have highlighted the work of a few particularly successful women, but women have been leading movements for progress and recovery in other areas long before this year, and have made a particular impact in the climate movement. Multiple studies indicate “female policy-makers are better at working in a bipartisan way and collaborating across the aisle to drive change; they are more attuned to community needs; and, according the World Economic Forum, female leaders more effectively advance a populations’ overall health.” It’s well-established that climate change effects women in unique ways, especially among the world’s poor; therefore, it’s crucial that these women find themselves represented by women or are themselves in the position to make decisions impacting our global future. Women tend to perceive climate change as a risk more readily than men. Interestingly, men and women also have different emissions patterns, and in places like Sweden, men are responsible for almost twice as high emissions as women due to behavioral differences related to car use. Looking at statistics, with women in charge, the knowledge they bring in terms of care work, consumption, and behavioral patterns, in addition to their particular leadership styles, results in better-run, cleaner, and safer societies. It’s no wonder that climate activists like Greta Thunberg are regarded as saviors, their every word canonized and reprinted on a thousand activists’ posters.

Women are powerful, competent, and yes, in some ways, different than men because of their experiences and the knowledge that comes with these experiences, but they are not one conglomerate of do-gooding guardians who will save the world from the men who seek to dominate it. Women have always been part of the problem too, and powerful women have as varied opinions and approaches as powerful men: to write about them otherwise is a disservice. There’s something vaguely sexist, I think, about expecting “good” women, and especially girls, to solve the world’s problems—especially because in some capacity or another, with more or less visibility, they always have been doing just that. Behind Angela Merkel stand thousands of other women who might agree or disagree with her, but are still working to solve climate change, to stop the spread of the virus, to mitigate the impacts that both have had on vulnerable people, both male and female, across the world. Acknowledging the power of women in the climate movement is important—othering them is reductive. Nevertheless, they persist.

Featured image from Forbes

Building Back Equal

Francesca Von Krauland COVID-19, Global Future, Uncategorized December 1, 2020December 1, 2020care work, economics, feminism, femtech, marketing, sustainability

“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.” So ends a Financial Times article penned by author Arundhati Roy earlier this year, when the extent of the COVID-19 situation was just beginning to become clear. Her words hold truer than ever as we near the final month of this chaotic, tragic, wake-up call of a year. Everything has changed, but have we as a society changed enough to make the most of the times to come?

In my last article, I gave a sketch of the vision of some feminist climate activists, one that involves knocking down the capitalist world order and replacing it with a collectivist and egalitarian framework. I now want to highlight some of the work already being done, within the system, to reform and rebuild the economy with both social and climate justice at the forefront.

First, some hopeful facts, as explained by Joni Seager, a feminist geographer at Bentley University. Renewables have passed non-renewables in the EU for electricity. The BP oil company says that the peak of their output has passed. The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund has said it won’t put any more funding toward fossil fuels. As a whole, in developed nations, fossil fuels are on the way out—all due the fact that rational economic behaviors would move us away from fossil fuels at this moment, more so than as a result of the compassion of the powerful and the passion of the powerless. In fact, much has been accomplished despite what Seager calls “a stubborn attachment that defies sensibility of economics” in the United States and Australia, where governments have ratcheted up commitment to fossil fuels through identity politics. From the top to bottom predominately male work force, to the fact that capital benefits accrue most to men, to the very language we use of “drill baby drill and “dominating the Permian Basin,” the fossil fuels industry is a remarkably masculinized one. Outdated for more than one reason, a society reliant on fossil fuels is also one that propagates a limiting, gendered worldview—and even those who challenge the science and economics of fossil fuels don’t always do so with equality in mind.

There’s a particular, 21st century brand of masculinity that drives environmental policy with methods that only enforce outdated social norms. The economic effects of the pandemic make the Green New Deal more urgent and relevant than ever, yet a feminist analysis of its proposed policies reveals numerous shortcomings, due in large part to the male elite perspective it relies on. A paper commissioned by two UK feminist organizations, Wen and the Women’s Budget Group, found that the Green New Deal creates tech jobs for “men in hard hats lifting solar panels,” a masculinist assumption of what the economy is for. With little acknowledgement of social difference, they emphasize that true progress lies in investing in women and POC-dominated care work, which pollutes less than construction. Care work can be paid or unpaid, and it mainly takes place in the home in the service of others, including children, aging parents, and spouses. The interconnections between the exploitation of women’s care work and the Earth need to be addressed simultaneously because all those doing the care work make survival, learning, and change possible in the face of existential threats—despite the free subsidy that care work represents to people in power. The study found that each pound invested in care produces three times as many jobs as one invested in construction, and this fact, coupled with that the vast majority of people of all genders want care work to be paid, points toward an economic solution that would also have a positive social impact. Supporters of a care-centered green movement consciously distance themselves from some of the ideas of the climate feminists of my last article. Branding themselves “eco-feminists,” supporters of a Feminist Green New Deal emphasize that their ideas are not about women being close to nature or other such caricatures, but about rational arguments for the democratization of care work.

Within the Femtech sector, which is “an all-encompassing name that defines innovations designed to support, improve and promote women’s health,” many products designed and sold for and by women are also eco-friendly. Replacing wasteful, disposable menstrual products with reusable cups, for example, is one of many ways that women are dominating the movement toward sustainable innovation and consumerism. Of course, this is problematic in another way—most available environmentally conscious products on the market, including reusable shopping bags, household cleaning products, and cosmetics, are marketed toward women, with some saying that green is the new pink in women’s marketing. While showcasing the ingenuity and motivation of the women behind some of these campaigns, such an approach alienates men, actually fueling the belief that saving the planet is women’s work, rather than something that can only be achieved through intersectional, inclusive action. But even these notions are dwindling among younger generations, which is a definite cause for hope.

There’s much to be done in the climate movement by both men and women—and deconstructing needlessly gendered economic and business policies seems like a good start. In reforming our global order to address the climate crisis, the pandemic, social injustice, and the economic crisis, solutions need not throw out the system in order to improve it. Policies that are feminist, sustainable, and economically sound would move society forward in a way that’s equal parts revolutionary and truly feasible.

Featured Image from Tee Public

Migrant Climate Activism

Francesca Von Krauland Global Future, Uncategorized November 18, 2020November 18, 2020activism, capitalism, climate change, migration, refugees

In my last blog, I discussed the ways that climate change increases migration rates, and increased migration in turn contributes to climate change. While it is important for policies to address this link, decreasing migration for environmental purposes is not the intended call to action. Talking about the negative impact of migration on the environment also denies the autonomy of climate refugees and overlooks the contributions many individuals with migrant backgrounds have made to the climate movement. Ideologically, the roots of migration and climate change are tangled, and many activists claim that the source of both issues must be addressed for either movement to see any substantive change.

Migration for climate-related causes alone is far less common than migration caused by reasons of climate exacerbated by political and economic issues.”Most importantly perhaps, climate change is a very political and economic issue: it is a form of persecution inflicted on the most vulnerable populations of the world,” this article points out. Maya Menenez, a migrant and activist, describes her view of the shared cause of both global issues: capitalism. Framing capitalism as a means for “individualizing our suffering,” she claims that indigenous movements, migrant movements, and environmental movements must support each other’s causes in order to make a difference, because of the issues’ overlap as products of the same system of power. Another migrant, Niria Alicia, who is a Xicana community organizer and SustainUS COP25 youth delegation leader, describes how her work as an agriculture laborer during childhood helped her to understand the “culture of disposability” that allows the land, and the people who work the land, to be exposed to toxic industrial chemicals for the profit of those more powerful. She connects the way that vulnerable populations like refugees and migrants are abused to the way that the Earth’s resources are depleted, each problem worsening the other for the benefit of corporations, wealthy people, and the function of society in the developed world. She stresses that even policies that are considered more forward thinking, like the Green New Deal, must be rewritten to include migrant justice in order to really achieve equity, with green jobs supportive of migrants and climate reparations included in reform measures.

Perhaps because of the way their experiences shaped their unique views of the world, many young refugees have become advocates for climate justice. Céline Semaan, who fled political conflict in Lebanon as child, founded a design lab in Brooklyn that brings sustainability into fashion—one of the highest polluting industries in the world. She turns plastic and textile waste into new materials for meaningful and ethically-created items, the sale of which she uses to support the efforts of the World Wildlife Fund, UNICEF, and ANERA—a mission that she says is driven by her experience as a refugee, during which she learned “how easily things can be taken away.” Another refugee-turned climate hero is Abraham Bidal of South Sudan, who works to combat one of the most prevalent environmental issues associated with refugee settlement: deforestation. He promotes a movement to plant trees in Uganda, the land that welcomed his people to safety. He explains, “Planting trees is important because trees are life…if one day we go back to South Sudan we can leave this place as we found it.” In Rohingya refugee camps in Myanmar, many of which are in areas effected by landslides and flash floods, refugee-led farming projects are common. Using solar powered safe water systems to reduce the effects of deforestation and erosion, refugees have led the way in using green technology to mitigate their energy costs and emissions.

The work of some of the most vulnerable people in reconceptualizing our norms and bettering a world that has given them so little is inspiring. In emerging from the pandemic, we need this same mindset, which focuses on regrowth inspired by the wisdom of our experiences. We must let the memory of our own discomfort create empathy for others still in the midst of their struggles. We must let pain fuel an urgency to protect others—our children, or our future selves.

Featured Image from New Frame

Last But Not Least

Dominique Agnew Uncategorized August 14, 2020August 14, 2020

This is my final blog as an intern for Climate Justice Now. For this last blog, I wanted to do a wrap up of what we have talked about over these last 14 blogs, and discuss my next steps as an activist.

When I look back on my blogs, one overarching theme I see is relevance and visibility. My first blog series was composed of a handful of posts about how race fits into environmentalism. I wanted this connection to become visible to environmentalists on this platform, especially considering the current social movements. One thing I think modern environmentalism prides itself on is its inclusion and progressive ideologies, but when you break it down how are these ideals actually being acted upon within the actual movement itself? Most climate activists are aware of environmental racism and the impact that climate change has had on a lot of poorer communities and countries, but how has the recognition been transformed into action? Personally, I don’t see much of it. I don’t think it is lacking because the people don’t care. On the contrary, I believe that they care a lot, and they want to contribute to that positive change, but don’t know what to focus on first. Do you focus on trying to transform the energy industry into a renewable and sustainable industry or do you focus on making sure that our current industry isn’t taking advantage of people in the poorer and less advantaged communities? I think this one of the questions that some environmentalists think about often. I am not gonna lie

Editorial Cartoons: Poverty/Environmental Justice | Environmental ... — Image from Her e

and say that I have the answer to these questions, because I don’t think I do. But one thing I do know that would aid the cause in working for a solution is by diversifying the movement itself. Different ways of doing this can be by doing effective diversity events at national parks or by pushing for natural resource education in public school systems. I highlighted effective, because there are some programs that don’t connect these students with their environment correctly. One of my blog series was about the social media movements that aren’t getting as much attention as they did during their prime and one lesson I wanted to share during that entire series was that not only are different things important to different people but also, there are problems out there that even the wisest of the wise have forgotten about. When you diversify a certain movement each of those things that were previously forgotten come to light yet again because someone in that diverse crowd remembers and was impacted, either physically or emotionally, by one of those forgotten problems. The environmental movement has a history of exclusivity, but today I want that to change. I want us to put action behind our beliefs of inclusivity and look deep into where this movement can make improvements.

Currently I am in the process of applying for law schools and doing my next step as an activist. There are a lot of different ways of facilitating change.

What Kind of Changemaker Are You? | Story of Stuff — The Different Changemakers. Link to Image

You can start a social media movement, you can write a blog and spread awareness, or you can do what I do and prepare to spend over $150,000 on another degree. But in all seriousness, I am so excited to take my next steps and see what change will come in the future.

Throughout my time as a Climate Justice Now Blogging Intern, I have learned a lot about how I see the world and my place in it. My first blog post on this site was about recognizing the importance of race in environmental history (you can access that blog here), and the theme of that first blog continued in a lot of my other ones. One of the reasons I wanted to become an intern for Climate Justice Now, is because I knew that this would be a great platform where I could share my stories and my perspectives on climate change and race relations. I knew that Climate Justice Now was a inter-sectional platform that understands the importance of looking at things from all angles and hearing from people that are not traditionally listened to. I am so grateful to have had this platform, and I thank all of you for reading my words.

Written by Dominique Agnew, Senior at Cornell University and Climate Justice Now Intern

Lack of Diversity Within the Environmental Movement

Dominique Agnew Uncategorized August 11, 2020August 11, 2020

Nature has always been a big part of who I am. With the Trinity Mountains spilling in from the West, the Cascade range sliding down from the North, and Lassen Volcanic National Park sprawled to the East, nature has always been incredibly accessible. As a kid, my most cherished memories — camping with my family, hiking in the mountains, building tree forts — center around nature.

What I never seemed to notice, though, was that I was usually the only Asian-American kid playing outside. When I did notice, it didn’t really bother me. Growing up in a predominantly White town meant that being the only Asian-American kid around was a given; it was the only thing I had ever known. But as I’ve gotten older, and especially throughout these past months, the whiteness of the outdoor community has really been on my mind a lot. Why? Why is the outdoor community so White? Where are the people of color? Where are the Asian hikers? The Black rock climbers? The Native American bikers? The Latinx rafters? The Middle Eastern skiers?

Much of the answer lies in the racist histories of the global North. Being from the United States, I am going to focus on the United States; this is not to say, however, that the United States is the sole contributor to the racism and exclusivity in the outdoor community. Founded upon slave labor and the forced removal of Indigenous communities, the United States has had a long history of discriminating against racial minorities, and it is this discrimination that has allowed Whites to dominate the outdoor scene.

John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt. Image retrieved from this article

So, some history. In the nineteenth century, White upper class elites like John Muir and George Catlin began to explore the outdoors. Hunting and hiking, these early White explorers marveled at the pristine, “untouched” beauty of nature. In doing so, they fed the idea that nature should be preserved in its pure glory and sheltered from the human presence. They established the narrative of environmentalism. Where were people of color during these times? They were battling systemic, intense racism. Facing “extreme forms of oppression such as enslavement, internment, deportation, and dispossession and denial of land”, people of color did not take to exploring the outdoors or engaging in “the environmental” movement. Instead, they engaged in civil rights movements that aimed to dismantle racism in their workplaces and communities. But aren’t our workplaces and cities and

Civil Right Protests. Image from this article

neighborhoods and homes also our environments? Seen this way, people of color did engage in environmental movements, just not the environmental movement we traditionally think of. Nonetheless, the mainstream environmental movement — the one we picture when someone says “I’m an environmentalist” — was, and continues to be, a predominately White space.

How, you ask? In short, the ways with which the White upper class interacts with nature and “the environment” affect the goals of environmentalism. Because Whites tend to interact with nature in a recreational way — through fishing, hiking, hunting, climbing, and other recreational activities — a big portion of environmentalism is centered around preserving these interactions. Thus, we see that the main goals of mainstream environmentalism — wilderness preservation, wildlife protection, and pollution control — reflect the desires of the White upper class to use nature as a leisure space. While these ideals are not inherently harmful, they do limit the effectiveness of the environmental movement because they exclude people of color.

Environmental hazards disproportionately affect communities of color, but it is often these same communities that are excluded from discussions about environmental policies and climate change. In a study conducted by the National Center for Environmental Assessment, it was found that Black people are exposed to about 1.5 times more particulate matter than White people. The study also found that both pollution and polluters are disproportionately located in communities of color. Doesn’t it seem paradoxical that the very people environmental hazards and the climate crisis are affecting the most are not being included in the conversations about these issues? Until environmentalism includes these voices and works towards protecting ALL from environmental dangers, it will continue to fall short in serving every community.

Written by Eila Chin, Climate Justice Now Social Media Intern

What If Everything Was Connected?

Dominique Agnew Uncategorized August 5, 2020August 5, 2020

One thing I love about the environment is that it is connected to so many things besides the obvious things like the trees and the animals. It is connected to the way our houses are built. It is connected to what we do for leisure whether that is sun tanning or doing snow angels in your front yard. This interconnection of many different actions and concepts, is similar to what is happening currently in the midst of many global crises. Currently the people of Earth are dealing with a pandemic, climate change, an economic meltdown, and intense race relations and political relations… just to name a few. When you think about these crises one by one, they can easily seem like separate problems. Problems that need separate solutions. But, look closer. These problems that we are dealing with today are all interconnected.

Image by Cristina Daura. Retrieved from NY Times

When I look at those 5 interconnected crises, I see a few commonalities. One being the abuse of power and the perception of people in power. For the two “scientific” crises, Coronavirus and climate change, I see people believing the wrong people in power. For COVID-19 we have a lot of non-scientists thinking that they know best about an ever changing viral infection compared to a PhD educated virus expert. For climate change, we have people believing someone saying that it is a giant hoax compared to the climate scientists that have dedicated their lives to effectively prove otherwise. For the current economic meltdown, racial injustices and intense political relations I see the abuse of power and the impact of those that do not have traditional power. According to an ABC News article, since the pandemic began over 45 million people have filed for unemployment. With a stat like that, one would think that nearly all Americans are struggling economically during this hard time, but it seems like this is not the case. That same article says that “the combined wealth of the 614 U.S. billionaires increased by $584 billion.” Let me repeat that…$584 billion. I do not know why this is the case. They could have taken advantage of the demand for employment by doing lower than normal hourly rates. They could have been given a large sum of money from the relief funds from the federal government. But one thing I do know, is that the fact that the powerful are getting more powerful is not okay. The people that have filed for unemployment are what make the country run. They are the ones that work to make the products you buy and work so that your grocery stores and “Mom and Pa” shops can be open. Without them we wouldn’t have anything, and these billionaires wouldn’t have a society to lean on for making their money. Coronavirus has caused a deeper inequality gap in the United States, and I think many people have become aware of this.

The COVID-19 crisis is expected to knock some $4 trillion from the global economy. The climate crisis, under current pledges to cut carbon emissions, could cut $600 trillion from the global economy by 2100. The economic cost of climate change is equivalent to 1.8x covid-like contractions each year for 80 years. — Graphic from Mantle

Coronavirus and climate change have a lot of things in common. They both impact people of color and people in the lower income strata more often. They also have a lot of scientific knowledge and experts that are being ignored every day, causing lives to be lost and greatly impacted daily. I remember in the beginning of the pandemic there was an intense drop in gas prices, which made me happy considering that this probably meant that the fossil fuel industry was struggling and could be pushed to transition to more environmentally friendly sources of energy such as wind and solar. Then everything else started to be greatly affected and the economy plummeted. When events like this happen, everyone starts to freak out and push for the growth in our global economy by any means possible. This is not a new phenomena. I think that one of the main reasons the climate crisis is so important today is because of this push for economic growth. But what many need to understand is this push for economic growth is what has set up this depression in the first place. It is the reason that those 614 billionaires have profited during this scary time. When we push for economic growth we are not looking at the other quality of life factors that can lead to a great economy. When we support people of color and give them the resources to get an education and comfortably live, the economy benefits. When we recognize that an industry is failing, ie. the fossil fuel industry, and we switch toward a more sustainable alternative, the

Opinion | Cartoon - NEASE - Environment vs. Economy | Simcoe.com

economy benefits. When we invest in communities, the economy benefits. One of the main reasons we have so many problems today is because we focus too much on benefiting the money makers and the big businesses compared to the people and the societies making those businesses and people so profitable.

A very broad solution I see when I look at those interconnected crises is investing in people and caring for people. Wearing a mask, not because you are in fear, but because you know that it could save someone’s life is how we care for people. Investing in communities instead of pushing for economic growth that only benefits the top 15% is how we loosen the system of systemic racism and classism that exist in this country. I am not saying that these are the only solutions to these problems, or that they are the easiest, but I do think that if we want a long lasting, sustainable economy and society we have to start investing in our people. We have to start caring about each other and the people around us.

Featured Image: Art by Fei Fei. Retrieved from Zora Medium

Written by Dominique Agnew, Senior at Cornell University and Climate Justice Now Intern

Let’s Talk About the Tough Stuff

Dominique Agnew Uncategorized August 2, 2020August 2, 2020

Currently we are in a very contentious time. I see debates happening on Facebook every single day or an intense conversation in the comments either about politics, racial issues or Covid-19. I am a big advocate for having effective and challenging conversations, but are these social media debates the most effective? My answer would probably be no.

In this blog, I wanted to talk about how to engage in those difficult conversations either online with strangers or in person with friends and family. There are many things going on right now, and we need to listen and effectively talk to one another about those difficult topics. These are some tips that I have learned throughout my conversations with people and also have researched on my own.

57 Best Difficult Conversations images | Difficult conversations ... — Source: Pinterest

The first tip I have is listen to the person. Fully. And try to refrain from casting judgement. One thing I have learned from the difficult conversations I have engaged in is that people cast assumptions about what you are going to say far before you even utter words. Doing this, makes the conversation more hostile than it needs to be. Learning about why someone believes something is really valuable. Ask questions about where they got that information or why they believe a certain thing. It allows you to further understand different viewpoints and it can also make you think more about why you believe a certain thing. Go into the conversation with a goal. Don’t just talk to someone with an opposing opinion just to make them feel stupid or degrade their position.

Second tip refers to talking to family and friends. Now, this is something that a lot of people struggle with, and there are good reasons on why it is so difficult to do. For example, you don’t want to ruin the relationship you have and you don’t want to start something that may end in a bad way. Having these difficult conversations take a lot of bravery and what I like to call “training.” Talking to someone you care a lot about about a topic that affects you can be draining. So, listen to your body and mind and take care of it but also be brave and don’t be scared to ruffle a few feathers. According to Ijeoma Oluo, the author of So You Want To Talk About Race, gives some great tips in a NPR interview about how to engage in conversations with families and elders about a contentious topic. One great thing Ijeoma mentions is that it is a great idea to say upfront why you want to have this conversation, is it because you want your family to start using their privilege for good? Is it because your Aunt or Uncle or whoever seems to say racist remarks often and it makes you uncomfortable? Being upfront about it makes the purpose of the conversation out in the open. Those assumptions I mentioned earlier die down a bit. Another great tip she says is to talk about your own former ignorance and how you came to educate yourself and the adjustment it took. Even though we hate to admit it, something we are super passionate about now is something we probably did not care much about prior. Mentioning that transition is super valuable.

The final and most important tip I want to give is to recognize your limits and take care of yourself. There are going to be a lot of people out there that you want to talk with on Instagram or Facebook, but if you do not have the mental space for it, it is more than okay to just let their comment go unchecked. I also want to emphasize that it is not your responsibility to educate people. You are not their mother nor their teacher. They are (most likely) grown individuals that can look up important things on Google just like the rest of us, so do not think it is on your shoulders to go out of your way to talk to and educate this person. But on that same note, I want to repeat that these conversations require bravery and if you think that you can get passed the short-term discomfort to maybe achieve long-term change you should engage in that conversation!

tips for healthy conversations — From VeryWellHealth

I am one of the only people I know that actually enjoys engaging in conversations where I know the person on the other end thinks the exact opposite of me. I think I enjoy these conversations because they challenge me and they challenge the person I am talking with. I believe that some people think a certain way because they have never been confronted by someone with an opposing view. People hang around others with similar point of views. We live in regions that have similar political opinions as us. We are raised in families that instill certain ideals and values. So when I engage in these conversations I love to ask people questions on why they believe something and see if they are more than just a product of their area or upbringing. I like to see if they think for themselves. I also like testing my faith and my beliefs. If I am not challenged on what I believe in then how do I become confident in my passions and my opinions. These difficult conversations are not easy, however, there are personal and external benefits that can come out of them. Try to challenge yourself!

Written by Dominique Agnew, Senior at Cornell University and Climate Justice Now Intern

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