16. Standing Up for Environmental Justice

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The guiding principle of environmental justice is that everyone, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income is entitled to equal protection from environmental harms and risks. However, statistics clearly show that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) disproportionately bear the impacts of climate change, from storms to extreme heat, and are more often made to live alongside polluting industries such as refineries and landfills. Today’s guest, Peggy Shepard, has spent decades standing up against environmental injustices and has achieved some impressive wins along the way. The mission of her organization, WeAct for Environmental Justice, is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low-income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. She works to make sure that saving the environment isn’t only about trees and polar bears but, also, protecting people.

Highlights

(3:11) How are BIPOC experiencing environmental injustice?
(5:16) How is this allowed to happen?
(10:22) How is climate change also an environmental justice issue?
(15:23) What is WeAct for Environmental Justice working on now?
(23:23) What still needs to be done to integrate more BIPOC communities in environmental decision making?
(27:02) Why is there still hope?

What YOU Can Do

Be better informed. Read about the social and environmental injustices happening. Have an open mind. Be willing to adjust your actions if you learn that you are unintentionally oppressing other people. If you’re reading this, it’s because you have the best of intentions, but we don’t always know what our blind spots are.
Wherever you are- whether work, school, or your neighborhood- if you see that there is an environmental concern that needs to be addressed, organize people around the issue. There is power in coming together and standing up for what you believe in.
Be sure to assess who is at the decision table. If it doesn’t have a diversity of individuals from different backgrounds and circumstances, the final products produced will likely contain a bias of some sort.
Speak up and stand up for inclusivity, equality, and equity. Be anti-racist.

Resources

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What difference for the world are you going to make today?

Background music by Fearless Motivation Instrumentals: Meaning of Life