This class will ground participants in the history and current state of environmental & climate injustice in the US and around the world, challenge the view that stopping the destruction and injustice of climate change simply requires reducing and reversing emissions, and discuss how wealth inequality and climate change are inextricably linked in both cause and effect.
For homework, there are a few required readings, and then there is a collaborative assignment that you will work on with other members of your hub. Most of our class time will be spent hearing from each group about what they discovered while working on their assignment.
The Environmental Movement Needs to Reckon with Its Racist History
The Environmental Justice Movement
(*Linked resources are optional)*
With Trump's deregulation agenda, we've seen a rise of environmental injustice in America. When people stand up to the slow, often invisible violence environmental injustice, they risk direct violence from the hands of police who serve corporate interests. Protestors are beaten by police, bit by dogs, and suffer permanent injuries in addition to receiving lengthy prison sentences and designation as "terrorists" by federal agencies.
Around the world however, environmental injustice is also flaring up, but with much deadlier consequences than the United States. More than 160 environmental defenders were killed around the world in 2018. As you're reading and watching, consider what role the United States & our economy may have in perpetuating this deadly violence around the world. Also, keep in mind that renewable energy projects can perpetuate the same displacement & injustice as fossil fuel infrastructure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR_IzODZ0Xs
When it comes to climate change, we know it's an inherently unjust phenomenon. The wealthiest countries and individuals are responsible for the vast majority of emissions, yet the poorest countries and individuals will face the harshest impacts. We also know that just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of emissions. While climate change is exacerbating wealth inequality within and across countries, we also know that the opposite is true: economic inequality perpetuates climate change, as more unequal societies inflict more environmental damage than more economically equal societies.
We know we want and need a "Just Transition", and the Green New Deal attempts to be just that. We'll talk more about how it attempts to do that in 2.3, but for now, take a look at this overview of what Just Transition is and consider what parts of a Just Transition are going to be hardest to accomplish.