Intersectional Environmentalism

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I'm at a summit today in Detroit, Michigan on environmental justice--specifically looking at climate change. It's an issue that I'm learning more and more about thanks to one of the amazing subjects for my book, Nia Robinson, who is the Executive Director of the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative.

In short, the environmental justice movement (formally born in the 80s, traced back to indigenous Americans by some people), is aimed at calling attention to the ways in which low income people and people of color have been disproportionately affected by environmental issues (toxic power plants are often built in low income areas, those most vulnerable to the effects of global warming are in the Gulf South etc.). Hurricane Katrina was the most obvious recent example. Like feminism, environmental justice is based on looking at intersections--race, class, gender, environment, economics etc.

The whole community is really excited. A new report out by the Obama administration takes climate change seriously and a climate change bill is in the works. All of this is in anticipation of Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December.

One of the sponsoring organizations of this summit is WEDO--Women's Environment & Development Organization. An excerpt from their mission statement:

Today, WEDO recognizes that policy commitments alone are not enough to improve women's daily lives. That is why WEDO is collaborating more deeply with Southern partners on implementing global policy gains at the national level and holding governments accountable to their commitments on women's rights.

Climate change is the talk of the town today in Washington as the American Clean Energy and Security Act is up for a final vote in the House of Representatives.

Posted by Courtney - June 25, 2009, at 03:13PM | in Economy , Environment , Race , Racism

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