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A couple weeks ago, me and my family were watching Queer Eye (definitely would recommend if you have Netflix), and in one of the episodes the Fab 5 were helping out a young anxiety-filled environmentalist interning for the Sunrise Movement. Throughout the entire episode, you can see that this young girl is really feeling the pressure of the world, and I could totally relate to that.

Being an environmentalist is a lot. It takes a lot of energy. It takes a lot of knowledge. I mentioned in one of my first blogs that environmental issues and social issues cross paths in many different scenarios so juggling all that is a lot of work. Anxiety is most likely something that we have all experienced at lease once and there is a specific type of anxiety that many environmentalists deal with. Thinking about the effects that climate change currently has and will have can lead to a lot of worry and anxiety. Eco-anxiety became the official word to describe this phenomena and according to the American Psychological Association this can really affect one’s mental and physical states. In a 2017 article from the APA, they discuss the individual affects that it can have as well as the communal affects. Some of the effects listed in the article were “loss of personal and professional identity, loss of social support structures, and a loss of a sense of control.”

I am a big advocate for taking care of one’s mental health. And this is no different. Here are some tips that I personally have and also learned from some research:

Try to adopt practical and safe environmentally friendly lifestyle choices. According to that same 2017 APA article, walking/biking to work or using public transportation is associated with “an increase in community cohesion and a reduction in symptoms of depression and stress.” There is a possibility that many of you are already doing the most environmentally friendly actions that are physically possible, so this may not apply to you. But to those that are so anxious about the state of the environment that they do not do these actions, this may help your state of mind!

One thing that I noticed about my state of mind while I was in Australia was that I was at peace. I was super happy. And I think that was because of my extreme exposure to the outdoors. We went on hikes at least once a week, saw different environments and looked for different species. Taking advantage of the outdoors and breathing in the air near a beautiful green space is a great way of decreasing anxiety levels. To me, it made me feel more human walking through the forest and touching the dirt covered trees and grass. This connection with your surroundings can put your mind at ease.

The last tip I have, is remembering that there are people fighting with you and for you. One thing I wanted that girl to know on the Queer Eye episode is that she wasn’t the only person to feel that stress and pressure. There are active environmentalists across all four corners of the earth that are trying to do the best they can to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The weight of the world is not on your shoulders. Even though the environment is important, what is even more important is your life. Enjoy it.

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

Do you guys remember what you were doing in December 2015? I think I was stressing out about doing the best I could in my junior year of high school and thankful that I just got my braces off. In other parts of the country, the Dakota Access Pipeline was starting its journey. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers drafted and approved the 1,172-mile pipeline route in less than 7 months. Mind you, I will probably be prepping for law school applications for almost that long, so that seems like an extremely short amount of time for such a big project. Even after being advised to consult with the tribal leaders whose land would be affected by the pipeline, the Corps decided to avoid the advice and approve the plans on their own.

After the initial approval by the Corps in July of 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe soon sued the Corps for failing to consult with the tribe and violating the National Historic Preservation Act. A week later the company that was building the pipeline countersues the Standing Rock Sioux because the protests apparently have delayed construction. To me, this is pretty funny because it shows that the people are mad about the situation and are willing to be out there protesting against it. Mid-late 2016 was the time of increased media exposure of what was going on in North Dakota and there was an increase in protestors. This is when the violence started to ensue due to the private security guards. If you read through the events that happened in late 2016, the events seem super confusing and extremely oxymoronic. For example, in early September 2016, Judge James Boasberg temporarily halted construction on a portion of DAPL and two days later the governor of North Dakota put the North Dakota National Guard on the protestors (are we seeing some parallels between what’s going on now and what happened in North Dakota? Most definitely). Throughout 2016 and 2017, you can see that the justice system was siding with the money aka the corporations that wanted to build the pipeline.

After the inauguration of Trump,

the DAPL process was expedited and authorities were pushing out protesters at the Standing Rock camp in February 2017. In mid-2019, Energy Transfer Partners tried to double the pipeline capacity from the previous 500,000 barrels/day to 1.1 million barrels. After three years of the original start of the DAPL usage, a federal judge finally orders a complete and expansive environmental review, and there was the final shut down and removal of oil from the DAPL on July 6. This was a huge win for the tribes that were impacted.

This took almost 5 years for a win by these Native tribes in North Dakota and surrounding areas. I remember in 2017 when there seemed to be no hope for Standing Rock. I was prepared for the worst, but here we are. Although this might not be the end, it seems like this is one giant step in the right direction. Native Americans are the original caretakers of this beautiful land we all appreciate and love, and recognizing their efforts and our contribution to their oppression is important. Even though we cannot go back in time and change the mind of the people in power that pushed out Natives from their homeland, we can try to make them feel seen and heard now.

Sources:

https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/dakota-access-pipeline-timeline-FW2gTraDsE2Jn3tCXYjIyg

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/22/514988040/key-moments-in-the-dakota-access-pipeline-fight

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

The third installment of the media series. In 2017 Puerto Rico was hit hard by Hurricane Maria, and there are a lot of things to be learned by our response.

In late 2017 Hurricane Maria hit the Southeast hard. I remember it clear as day. I just started college the month earlier, my parents were taking a trip to Toronto, and my brother and dog were still back home in Florida preparing for the storm. Luckily Northern Florida was not hit as hard as suspected. But, Puerto Rico wasn’t so lucky.

In late 2017, I remember President Trump praising himself on how successful his response was to Hurricane Maria. However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency struggled to keep up with all of the disasters of the season. In late August, Texas was hit with Hurricane Harvey, a category 4 storm, and according to the FEMA Report, 80% of the houses hit by the hurricane did not have flood insurance. In early September, Hurricane Irma made its way through the Atlantic becoming the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic to date. Hurricane Maria was a category 5 hurricane as it passed by the U.S Virgin Islands and landed in Puerto Rico as a category 4. Soon after these hurricanes, there were intense wildfires in California. These three hurricanes combined with the wildfires affected 57 million people and caused over $265 billion in damages. According to the same FEMA Report, there were 4.8 million households that filed for assistance by May 2018, more than the previous 10 years combined!

So now that we have a little bit of the background, many of you might remember when there was a lot going around about the state of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. I have always thought that Puerto Rico has been fed the shorter end of the stick. They are owned by the United States, who prides itself on being the land of the free. Yet, Puerto Ricans are classified as U.S. Citizens but do not have the ability to vote for the President, only for the primaries. And they were not put under priority after Hurricane Maria. FEMA was not prepared to aid Puerto Rico. As stated earlier, the U.S. Virgin Islands were hit hard during Hurricane Irma, so much of the supplies that were in the FEMA Warehouse in Puerto Rico were used to help the Virgin Island residents. Once Maria came to Puerto Rico, FEMA did not have a good number of supplies to successfully aid the island. After Maria, there was an influx of people getting hurt and needing medical attention, but there were several clinics that did not have access to the emergency power that FEMA was supposed to provide. In the FEMA reports, the organization claims that they did the best they could with what they were given. They gave many people in Puerto Rico meals and aid. However, many Puerto Ricans disagree with this, stating that the “meals” provided were not meals at all and mainly boxes of candies and snacks. Also, the entire island wasn’t restored power until a year after Hurrican Maria hit. If you look up the death toll in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, you will find many different numbers ranging from the official toll of 64 to 3,000.

Every couple of years there is a stronger storm than the last, and we as a country and a community need to be prepared. Puerto Rico is surrounded by water in one of the most intense oceans in the world, and as a country, I believe that we need to protect them from what they may experience in the future. I think that there may have been a chance that FEMA tried to do the best they could in aiding Puerto Rico after the hurricane, but if they couldn’t successfully help them 3 years ago, who says they will be able to when hurricanes like Hurricane Maria become way more common and more severe. America let Puerto Rico down, and I think we need to change that.

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

The second blog in the blog series about previously popular media subjects that continue to affect our world today.

Like I’ve said before on this blog, I had the opportunity to *shortly* study abroad this semester and before I arrived in Brisbane to start off one of the best trips of my life, I could not get away from the posts about the intense fire season that seemed to be never-ending.

By February, people seemed to be more distracted by the then potential threat of Coronavirus than the continuing fires, so when I left to go to Australia on January 30th, I thought that they were done. But this definitely was not the case. New South Wales, one of the six states, was one of the hardest-hit states in the country. NSW is home to almost a third of all Australians and this bushfire season caused 25 people to lose their lives and 6% of the land, over 13 million acres, were put in flames. The fires started in September and the last fire did not end until March 2, making the Rural Fire Service of NSW announce it to be the worst fire season in history. And as most of us know, it’s only going to get worse from here on out. But maybe we can learn from this past fire season to prevent what we hope is not inevitable.

This most recent fire season was in the midst of the hottest and driest summer season in Australia. Many Australians honor themselves by stating that their country barely contributes to climate change, contributing to only 1.3% of global emissions. But what many do not know is that Australia only accounts for .3% of the global population and Australia being of the largest coal exporters, accounts for approximately 4% of global emissions according to a study completed by Beyond Zero Emissions in 2012. Looking at the data in collaboration with other statistics such as the global population and global exports creates a better picture for how much a country actually contributes to global emissions.

One of my assignments in my study abroad program was to interview my homestay mom about how the fires impacted her. Through that interview, I learned that even people that weren’t directly affected by the fires were still scared that they weren’t going to be able to protect their family. On social media, we are able to post articles and memes that show our support for a cause, but I wasn’t able to fully understand the threat until I talked to someone affected first hand.

These bushfires will definitely not be the last of its kind, but I hope that the damage seen and the knowledge learned through and after this cycle helps push for more mitigation and adaptation policies in the future.

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

Sources:

This is the introduction to a new blog series about social and environmental issues that were once unavoidable on media platforms

We are surrounded by media, what seems like, all the time. News media, Social Media, and the occasional Print media. It is not surprising then that our life and society revolves around media. What we think about, what we prioritize, what we care about, what we fight for. It is all impacted by what we see.

Earlier this summer when I was brainstorming a few blog ideas, I started to think about how we interpret information and retain it in the environmental and social world. There are so many things being called out. Maybe there was a new oil spill that we are now focusing on. Or there is a new video of a police shooting. As activists and change-makers we have to digest this information rapidly while trying to remember the issues we were fighting for previously.

To engage with this interaction between media and social and environmental issues, I thought I should remind myself and you all about the social and environmental problems that were very popular at a point in time but are now on the sidelines due to external factors. Some of these previously popular issues will include the hurricanes that impacted Puerto Rico, the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Australian fires that happened late last year.

Living in the fast-paced society we live in, the fact that we are surrounded by media and our attention spans are allegedly getting shorter every year does not aid us in being able to focus. Recognizing this, I hope that this new blog series reminds us of all of the social and environmental issues that continue to persist even though they are not in mainstream media at the moment.

Third blog in the blog series about the intersection between race and the environment.

What does it mean to be an activist?

This past semester I took a class with a workshop on social justice. At one of the sessions, the professor asked my classmates and I.. “Do you see yourself as an activist?” This was an environmental study abroad program, so I assumed that everyone would definitely say “yes”… but this was definitely not the case. To my surprise, it was actually pretty 50/50. When asked why those that said no believed such, they answered things like “I don’t really get involved in much. I don’t really go to protests or call up local government officials.” I, on the other hand, was quick to say, “of course I am an activist. Like most people in this program, I am passionate about the environment and other social issues and I go out of my way to educate people about those issues and advocate for solutions.”

Why was my response so different than half of my peers?

Right when you look up the definition of an activist, the words “Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct, or intervene in social, political, economic, or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good.” automatically come up. So that active college student on your Facebook page that posts those intriguing news articles would be an activist according to this definition. Maybe this is why I thought I was/am an activist. Going off of that definition I wanted to talk about how to be an activist for more than one issue.

One of the things I hear from a good number of environmental activists is that fighting on behalf of the environment is a hard job and even though Black Lives Matter and other social justice campaigns are important, environmentalism is a lot of work and takes a lot of energy. So how can they become activists for more than one cause? Well, as an environmentalist, especially an intersectional environmentalist (previous blog post on this topic here) you are already fighting for so many different issues. A big part of environmentalism is economic change, since climate change is mainly a result of political and corporate focus on economic growth, so you are already indirectly fighting for economic change already!

When push comes to shove, environmentalism is important but we cannot fight for the environment when we allow racial and social injustice. The possibility of doing both is definitely in your grasp and as an activist, you have the ability to facilitate change on the big and small levels. Believe in yourself!

Written by Dominique Agnew, Cornell University Class of 2021 and Climate Justice Now Intern.

The final installment of a blog series of 13 sharing art, articles, and abstract ideas that spark a contagious conversation.

This blog series was created as a way to archive the current pandemic and its connection to the climate crisis. We have grown together and learned about what defines a crisis, next was the common ground shared between COVID-19 and climate change. We’ve analyzed the cost-both human and financial – of these crises. We learned about community mutual aid networks and cultural perspectives. This blog series doesn’t stop here, and neither does climate change or the impact of COVID-19. 

Here are some of the key take-aways from this 13 blog series:

-A crisis is any event that is going to lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community, or whole society.  

-The similarities between how the public has responded to COVID-19 and climate change are striking. “First, one denies the problem, then one denies its severity, and then one says it is too difficult or expensive to fix, and/or that the proposed solution threatens our freedom.” Sound familiar?

-Those who are the most impacted by environmental racism are also those who are hit the hardest from this pandemic. 

-GDP, stock markets, and rates of unemployment will be impacted by both the coronavirus and climate change.

-When circumstances change for millions of people and every country all in a short period of time, the social ramifications should be considered just as critical as the economic ones. There is a major social cost to climate change and COVID-19. 

-There is a strong link between the countries that have taken quick action against climate change and the countries that have controlled the spread of COVID-19. 

As each of these crises continue to evolve and develop, more commonalities and connections can be made. With the information that we gain from COVID-19, we must take action to prepare ourselves better for climate change.

Written by Tatum Eames, Western Washington University Senior and Climate Justice Now Intern.

The twelfth installment of a blog series of 13 sharing art, articles, and abstract ideas that spark a contagious conversation.

Lummi Nation’s first physician from its own community, Dr. Dakotah Lane knows exactly how important culture is when handling crises. 

Dr. Lane came back to Lummi Nation in 2016 to practice family medicine after getting his medical degree from Weill Cornell Medicine at Cornell University in New York. It was a switch for him after starting out as an electrical engineer with a degree from the University of Washington (UW) in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE).

He felt called to serve his people.

Protection is what Lummi has been all about as the tribe has taken strong measures that began in February – and they’ve gone further than many governments to protect their people. 

“At first in January we were just watching it, and didn’t expect anything,” Lane said. “There was a lot of doubt when we first started, there was a lot of disbelief,  ‘Are we overblowing this, are we crying wolf?’ But in February, it became clear to us we need to start acting right now.” The Lummi Nation also has taken steps to bring medical care and support to their community, right to their homes. The tribe purchased iPads and Wi-Fi hot spots, dropped off at patients’ doorsteps for in-home, door-to-door telemedicine. The tribe also has drive-thru testing for anyone who meets the criteria for it.  The tribe even set up a medical tent outside, for people who need hands-on examination.

All dental appointments have been canceled, and the dental staff, other than a skeleton crew for emergencies, has been repurposed to help with the virus response, including testing.

The tribe, before the state or federal authorities, called for extreme social distancing. To make sure elders and others have what they need, food is being distributed door to door, and drive-ups to distribution points are available for people still able to leave their homes.

We reached out to Dr. Lane in order to get some more information about Lummi Nation and its fight against crises. His responses are below: 

What is the Lummi Nations relationship with health? What are the biggest health concerns facing the Lummi Nation?

The health of the community is very important and our clinic seeks to view the ‘whole’ person which includes the medical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being. Many of our chronic health conditions are the result of poverty which includes obesity, type 2 DM, and substance abuse. Like the rest of the USA, we face a high level of heroin overdose, narcotic abuse, and alcohol abuse.

Our health conditions closely related to multiple socio-economic and environmental factors. Many of our Lummi community members no longer have access to our traditional foods. At family gatherings, my grandparents would always say “when the tide is out, the plate is set”. Much of these shellfisheries continue to have red tide due to runoff from the farms which limit are ability to gather shellfish.

How does the Lummi Nation respond to climate change? What facets of climate change have the most impact on the Lummi Nation?

Climate change has had a huge impact on our way of life. Particularly our ability to traditionally hunt and fish – when I was growing up, I spent my childhood fishing on the banks of Lummi Reservation and throughout the Puget Sound. Today there is limited salmon fishing with decrease fisheries.

How often do you hear issues of climate change discussed within the Lummi Nation? Is it an issue addressed head on, or avoided?

All the time. While I don’t speak for the Lummi Indian Business Council, I do know they are taking climate change seriously. I frequently hear our council advocate for thinking how our decisions today will affect our children tomorrow including designing buildings that are ecofriendly, investing in the education of our children, and fighting for the protection of natural resources (i.e. speaking out against aquafarming).

Do you see any parallels between the COVID-19 pandemic and the looming climate change crisis?

I can make some general observations – the global reliance of fossil fuels impacts the tribes’ ability to depend on our traditional way of life. We seek to protect it by passing on our traditional values, strengthening our culture, and protecting our waterways.

What steps has the Lummi Nation taken to combat climate change? What steps have been taken to combat COVID-19? When were those actions taken?

The Lummi Health Clinic is working to improve the health of the entire community. We have put in place to multiple protective measures for the community including monitoring, testing, and quarantine community members. All of these steps and processes were put in place in early late January (our first order for PPE was Jan 28^th).

With regard to climate change, Tribal people have always fought for improved environmental quality – from the early days when they told the Federal government that dams will kill off our salmon (and harm much of our ecosystem) to the present day farmed fish that pollute our waterways.

Is there anything that you wish more communities would do the same as the Lummi nation in addressing the crisis?

Certainly, I wish political leadership would take seriously the necessary changes to protect our waters including the water ways. Salmon is our way of life and the salmon fisheries has strained the entire ecosystem. It starts with protecting the rivers by having thoughtful development that protects the rivers that salmon spawn on for reproduction.

I am grateful to have the opportunity to interview Dr. Lane and share the Lummi culture and their valiant efforts to fight COVID-19 and the climate crisis. This week Lummi Nation’s hereditary chief Bill Tsi’li’xw James passed away and video coverage of his teachings and his service can be viewed here, thanks to Children of the Setting Sun Productions. Taking time to learn from indigenous cultures during this time of learning how to address humanity’s pressing issues may be the just the guidance we need in these uncharted waters.

Written by Tatum Eames, Western Washington University Senior and Climate Justice Now Intern.

The eleventh installment of a blog series of 13 sharing art, articles, and abstract ideas that spark a contagious conversation.

In July 2014, a cell phone video captured some of Eric Garner’s final words as New York City police officers sat on his head and pinned him to the ground on a sidewalk: “I can’t breathe.” On May 25 of this year, the same words were spoken by George Floyd, who pleaded for release as an officer knelt on his neck and pinned him to the ground on a Minneapolis street. As a Black man, he joins a group of countless killed by the police in the United States and a list of each person can be found here. Racism is a crisis. As is climate change, and COVID-19. They all end in the same horrific truth – not being able to breathe.

After news broke about George Floyd’s murder the world erupted in protest. Familiar activists from Black Lives Matter along with White allies showed up in droves, holding signs and wearing face masks to protect from the threat of tear gas and coronavirus in cities such as Minneapolis, New York City, and Seattle. At least 40 cities imposed curfews and National Guard members have been activated in at least 23 states and Washington, DC. In many places the curfews were more strictly enforced than COVID-19 Stay at Home orders.

It is not an accident that all crises disproportionately impact Black people. It is important to remember that our systems are not broken, they were built this way. In the United States, police departments were designed to track people who were enslaved during the Civil War.

The first publicly funded, organized police force with officers on duty full-time was created in Boston in 1838. Boston was a large shipping commercial center, and businesses had been hiring people to protect their property and safeguard the transport of goods from the port of Boston to other places. These merchants came up with a way to save money by transferring to the cost of maintaining a police force to citizens by arguing that it was for the “collective good.”

In the South, however, the economics that drove the creation of police forces were centered not on the protection of shipping interests but on the preservation of the slavery system. Some of the primary policing institutions there were the slave patrols tasked with chasing down runaways and preventing slave revolts; the first formal slave patrol had been created in the Carolina colonies in 1704. During the Civil War, the military became the primary form of law enforcement in the South, but during Reconstruction, many local sheriffs functioned in a way analogous to the earlier slave patrols, enforcing segregation and the disenfranchisement of freed slaves.

Moving forward we must listen to our Black neighbors, friends, and communities. Too many lives are being taken by COVID-19, climate change and racism. The least we can do is take action to protect the most vulnerable.

Please check out this post by former President Barack Obama for ways to make this moment in history count: https://medium.com/@BarackObama/how-to-make-this-moment-the-turning-point-for-real-change-9fa209806067

Written by Tatum Eames, Western Washington University Senior and Climate Justice Now Intern.