Environmental/Climate Justice
Engage in the Climate Revolution
Climate Change in the American Mind: Climate Justice, Spring 2023
Campaign Lessons from the Fight for the Green New Deal
Supporting grassroots justice-oriented activists around the world: A year’s worth of learnings
How Americans Are Reacting To The Maui Wildfires
Americans are making the connection between natural disasters and climate change and support urgent action on environmental issues. 37% of Americans believed that the recent wildfires in Maui are primarily the result of climate change, while a similar share (36%) said these events just happen from time to time, and 21% said they weren’t sure. But under those topline numbers, there’s a big partisan divide. According to the poll, 63% of voters who supported President Biden in 2020 think that the recent wildfires in Maui are primarily the result of climate change, while the same share of Trump voters just think these things happen from time to time. Most Americans agree that the weather across the U.S. has gotten weirder — and in some cases, deadlier — over the past few years. According to an Ipsos poll conducted in April, two-thirds (67%) of respondents agreed that unusual weather for the season has gotten more frequent in their area than compared to 10 years ago, and a solid majority (60%) thought the weather has also become more intense.
Environmental + Climate Justice Syllabus
The goal of the Environmental and Climate Justice Syllabus is to assemble readings, articles, case studies, and biographies from key writers, scholars, and activists working for environmental freedom. The emphasis, here, is to generate a searchable and citable list of Black, Indigenous, and/or Latinx individuals, organizations, and movements which are indispensably foundational in the continued fight for environmental and climate justice. Just Environments Lab are also expanding the syllabus to represent more non-US/non-Global North scholars. They also provide a few resources from allies whose work is deeply engaged throughout the syllabus.
2022 Climate Solutions Narrative Trends
Continuing the trend from 2021, of articles that quoted or referenced a person, a majority of them quoted a woman. While coverage of natural disasters still dominated many headlines in our 2022 sample, it somewhat lessened in intensity from the previous year. For example, in the water vertical, 59% of articles in 2021 mentioned natural disasters compared with 45% in 2022. The “positivity gap” among the different issue areas lessened, compared to 2021. At the state level, implementation of plans outlined in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act are in full swing, with elements of the legislation appearing in all three verticals, from EV systems to investments in water infrastructure. Coverage trends across issue areas show the federal government has acted on climate change and climate solutions, but also that states, communities, and advocates are calling for more and better effort and investment. As in 2021, articles in our 2022 sample that mentioned communities of color were more likely to focus on solutions than articles that contained no mention of communities of color. In 1,220 articles that referenced communities of color, 52% included solutions, compared with 46% in solutions-focused articles that did not mention communities of color.
Climate Change and Public Health: Building More Resilient Communities
The effects of climate change on public health couldn’t be clearer. The 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 2010. In fact, 2022 marked the eighth year in a row that average global temperatures were 34 degrees higher than pre-industrial (1850-1900) average temperatures. Rising sea levels, compromised air and water quality, and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events all speak to the stark reality that the climate is changing. Drought and excessive rainfall offer stark examples of how climate change affects public health. This can lead to rising prices, which can exacerbate food insecurity and lead to malnutrition. Air pollution can cause temporary irritation to the eyes and respiratory tract and trigger asthma attacks. However, air pollution can have much longer-lasting health effects as well: Once in the bloodstream, these harmful substances can circulate through the whole body, causing inflammation, suppressing the immune system, and disrupting the ability of biological systems to detoxify. Severe storms, such as hurricanes and blizzards, pose immediate dangers to affected communities. Compared to an average of two heat waves occurring every year in the 1960s, today, an average of six occur every year. Education, preparation and monitoring, identification and monitoring, and climate adaptation and resilience plans are key to responding to climate public health threats.
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