Environmental Studies: Ethics, Ideas and Nature: Environmental Justice

In this article written by Stacia Ryder, the connections between environmental justice and disaster vulnerability are discussed. Starting her argument discussing the background of environmental justice, Ryder brings the concepts of environmental justice to her discussion of disaster vulnerability and its origins. She connects the two ideas using the concept of class and money. As money is an extreme indicator of environmental justice, as well as the lesser discussed disaster vulnerability. Ryder’s main argument shows that disaster vulnerability is a part of environmental justice, where those who suffer from injustice are also most predisposed to suffer from disaster vulnerability.
This article adds a different idea of environmental justice that is often not talked about. Environmental justice issues most often center around access to clean resources, not as much about disaster vulnerability. Ryder makes an incredibly strong argument through her use of highly publicized environmental justice events. Drawing her argument from all aspects of environmental justice; social, economic, political, etc, brings more strength to demonstrating the connections between environmental justice and disaster vulnerability. She draws relationships between systems of oppression, appealing to ethos, pathos and logos. I recommend this source for those interested in expanding their perception of environmental justice. - Annotation by Anonymous, Spring 2023

Luke W. Cole provides a historical overview of the implementation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in advocating for minority rights in the grander issue of environmental justice. Cole argues that the Title VI complaints process, which allows individuals and groups to file complaints with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when discrimination isn’t properly addressed in federal activities and programs, hasn’t been used nearly enough in environmental justice efforts. Cole traces the construction and growth of Title VI complaints, from their origins in the 1970s to their more recent use in environmental justice cases and examines the challenges and limitations of this approach. This article offers useful insight into the potential for legal tools like Title VI complaints to advance equity and justice to bolster solutions proposed by intersectionality ideologies and draw connections between the evolution of civil rights and environmental justice. This approach can be related to the works of Cezar Chaves, Beverly Wright, and Robert Bullard, who have advocated for the rights of minority groups and their communities. - Annotation by Gabe Effiong, Spring 2023

This source from Stanford University explores the importance of understanding environmental justice wholly. The source argues that it is of paramount importance to understand the systemic oppression of minorities is a vital aspect of the producing effective environmental justice projects. A quote from the source reads: “‘The irony is that given the climate destabilization that we are orchestrating, the response that would preserve the international order is one that fundamentally reexamines the relationship between the Global North and South, attends to the needs of the most vulnerable, and understands the development of just responses in international law as part of this endeavor,’ said Burkett” (Stanford University). The quote exemplifies what the article explores, that being the intrinsic relationships between humanity and the environment. Frequently we make environmental “sacrifices” in the name of progress, similar to how we thrust marginalized communities to the fringes through colonial processes (perceived progress) and how this decision-making process or value system is systemically entrenched in our current sustainability framework.
This source explores the intersections of racial/equitable justice and environmental justice. In regards to class content, the source is especially beneficial in the context of the Hawai’ian fish ponds as it illustrates how the colonial process destroyed sustainability in the name of “progress”, or rather, subjugation of the native Hawai’ian people and how it continues to have essentially the same effects on the local communities centuries later. The source can also help derive more from the movie Okja; Okja explores animal cruelty in the name of progress or sustainability. In the movie, Okja and its species are subjugated to poor living conditions and an extremely dehumanizing life. Both the source and Okja help viewers understand how green-washing and perceived sustainability often come with a hidden cost - the mistreatment or systemic oppression of marginalized groups. Overall the source reinforces the understanding of systemic environmental injustice and counters the idea that environmental justice does not affect humanity. I recommend this source as it provides valuable insight into environmental justice and the necessary intersections to consider. - Annotation by Noah Jensen, Fall 2024

The article stresses the importance of urban green spaces because of their heavy benefits within communities. In addition to this it emphasizes the need for equality because of the inherent connection between happiness and these green spaces. There is a significant need for equity because often times higher social classes are those who live in close proximity to green spaces. While marginalized groups or low income communities don't have easy access. This study is super important in terms of policy changes and overall more awareness toward these benefits.
This is a lot like some of the readings we have done in class and some of the readings posted on the lib guide. Alongside the others this article discusses environmental justices faced by low income residents. Though, This article offers a more urban perspective on environmental justice rather than more rural. It reinforces the idea that being in close proximity to the environment has a multitude of benefits. I would recommend this source because I think it is information I believe everyone should know and get accustomed to. I think that overtime there will be a rise in green spaces because of their benefits and this article emphasizes the importance of equity in green spaces. - Annotation by Anonymous, Spring 2025

Kyle Whyte’s article “Indigenous Climate Change Studies: Indigenizing Futures, Decolonizing the Anthropocene” provides an in-depth account of the role of indigenous climate knowledge in fighting climate change. Central to indigenous climate change accounts according to Whyte is the displacement of indigenous communities from both the land and their histories of knowledge in radically altering living conditions. This displacement thus makes indigenous communities especially vulnerable to climate change while minimizing their voices at finding solutions. Reaffirming these knowledges instead provides communities with resilience in the face of climate catastrophe and tools to adapt to climate displacement. Furthermore, Whyte highlights the need for these knowledges to be incorporated into the global climate fight to imagine indigenized futures rooted in the shared knowledge of apocalypse from colonialism and applying it to the potential apocalypse of climate catastrophe. This incorporation though should not be taken as merely filling in gaps for scientists though, but a full collaboration to utilize rather than exploit indigenous voices.
This article is especially important in understanding how different understandings of knowledge can be crucial in the face of climate disaster. Understanding knowledge and climate as not only scientific, but also potentially communal and society-shaping reframes who gets a say in climate action and what is valued in that discussion. This also reinforces the concept of climate change affecting different groups in unique ways, by highlighting the double displacement of indigenous communities in America in both their homes and environments. I believe this source is important because it grounds climate change in existing power structures while also providing undervalued insights into how to envision a decolonized future for climate activism. - Annotation by Catherine O'Lear Spring 2024

Cora Freire’s article ‘The International Environmental Responsibility of States under the Perspective of the International Court of Justice’ analyzes and critiques the international environmental responsibility and protection policies of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Freire discusses how, since the 1970s, environmental protection has been a significant global issue. However, the international environmental justice system, dominated by the ideals of already developed Western countries, hasn’t established effective policies to hold states accountable without hindering their right to industrialization. Freire explains how developing countries, in South America, Asia, and Africa, are hesitant to adopt environmental protection policies because they fear it may limit their right to industrialize and pursue economic growth, just like Western countries did in the past with great detriment to the environment. Freire also talks about the lack of clear international environmental regulations and a lack of standardized laws, leading to inconsistent ICJ rulings. Freire also mentions several case studies to show the inconsistent legal outcomes in the ICJ. Freire's article demonstrates how these issues with Western environmental protection policies prevent efficient and successful global environmental
protection and laws. Overall, Freire argues for international policy and regulations to incorporate environmental justice policies that don’t prevent the industrialization of developing nations. The article also concludes by stating the need for sustainable development, that accounts for both environmental protection and industrialization through sustainable methods, without ignoring how developed nations have previously damaged the environment on a global scale.
In class, our readings on environmental justice often focused on injustices that have occurred in the United States, especially in marginalized communities, and how environmental protection policies need improvement. Although very important topics to learn about, one topic mentioned a few times in class discussions and readings, but only briefly, was the impacts of mainly Western environmental protection movements on still-developing nations. This topic was something I found very interesting, and I wanted to learn more about it because it looks at environmental justice from an ethical perspective of how environmental protection policies could be harmful in some cases. I firmly believe that environmental protection is of the utmost importance and that we need to increase protection efforts, but I also believe that underdeveloped nations have the same right to industrial development and economic growth as Western countries. For these reasons, I believe this source reinforced the idea of the need to improve environmental protection policies in a just and equal way, but in a way that is different from what we have covered. This source sparks a conversation about how environmental protection policies can be unjust and looks at environmental justice from an angle we haven’t covered as much. This topic goes into the intricacies of environmental justice law and how it falls short globally, and considering it can help us better understand the ethics of environmental justice in our modern world. I’d suggest this source because it doesn’t counter the need for environmental protection
that this course promotes, instead, it shows how environmental justice isn’t a one-dimensional concept of injustices, as a result of hurting the environment. Furthermore, the source adds a new perspective to what we must do to achieve successful environmental protection in our future. Overall, I think this is a really important source for us to read, especially as Americans, to gain a better understanding of why environmental protection movements fall short globally and how less developed countries may have a very different perspective on the subject. - Annotation by Jake Staab, Spring 2025

This Source highlights a key determining factor in how and why rare earth minerals are being mined so heavily in Africa. As well, they outline the potential hazards and environmental impacts such mining operations can have on surrounding populations and wildlife. This source serves as a potential guideline for policy reformation and a reallocation of mining privileges to get away from the corporate control that plagues many African countries today. According to the article, this rampant mining possesses not only serious pollution risks but risk of infectious diseases through habitat loss as well. This article proposes Spillover-Emergence-Spread risk analysis alongside other technological analysis when conducting Environmental Impact Analyses.
This source not only builds on the core ideas of the course through looking for the root causes of issues, and understands and represents minority voices in discussions about the environment. It also parallels the work of Wangari Maathai and Ken Saro-Wiwa, two Important Environmental activists and African natives. This source highlights issues of global inequality, environmental degradation, and labor rights in African countries dependent on these corporate mining operations. I would recommend this source as it gives unique insight through data, and expresses risk through infectious disease because of habitat loss, and its argument for a more holistic and sustainability-oriented government. - Annotation by Torin Wilson, Spring 2025

This article discusses the impact of emerging chemicals on the health and well-being of indigenous Peoples specifically indigenous women, girls, and future generations. The article describes that the states and industry knowingly permit, produce, release, store, transport, export and dump hazardous chemicals that can damage the endocrine system, the immune system, neurodevelopment, reproduction, and cause disease including all forms of cancer. This is a complete violation of environmental rights and risks the safety of indigenous people. This is an issue that calls for environmental justice as more than 85% of the chemicals that these indigenous people are being exposed to have never be assessed for possible effects on human health. This article conveys the need for immediate action on this issue and states community led organizations that are working to help solve this environmental disaster.
The author emphasizes the importance of recognizing the traditional knowledge and practices of indigenous people when addressing this environmental issue, as well as the need for stronger regulations and policies to protect the health of these communities. Overall, the article calls for accountability and urgent action to address the serious health and environmental consequences of exposure to emerging chemicals for the indigenous community. I found that this article is a perfect source for the discussion of environmental justice as the author is a member of the indigenous community and brings an experienced unique perspective to the conversation. This article also is based on extensive research and uses both educational and policy/legal sources that helps support its arguments and brings expert information on how these chemicals are affecting indigenous people, specifically women. It also states that this issue of pollution affects the indigenous community because of the lack of authority and lack of involvement of indigenous women in the decision-making processes around environmental issues. I think this article gives a new perspective into the conversation of environmental justice than that of what we have discussed in class as it draws attention to reproductive and women’s health issue and rights within pollution. - Annotation by Samantha Horning, Spring 2023

Yale Environment 360 with interviewer Jeremy Deaton speak with Beverly Wright a leading voice in environmental justice and activism as well as an advisor to the white house about her thoughts on where we are going wrong when it comes to environmental justice but also how we can improve in the future for not just one but all communities as a whole. As she states her concerns on where we are now, having to do with the level of attention and finances we are putting into the conversation and act on environmental justice and at the moment there is simply not enough people or resources to really give it all we’ve got. Wright also states the facts that when it comes to liquefied natural gas the majority of those emissions ends up in poor and minority communities which is detrimental to those communities and their hopes of moving forward and not having to deal with these harmful gases. Her hope from the Biden administration is to create a way for any project of importance that will “not harm any communities”, “will not contribute to the climate crisis” and “will not perpetuate racially disproportionate burdens of pollution” and if we can manage to do these three things then we can avoid making the same mistakes all over again. I think that this interview adds a lot to the conversation as it shows where we stand today and especially with the current administration we are working with, this is really important for those who are looking for a way to relate but believes there is nothing they can do, and I think that Beverly Wright gives them a clear solution and an entryway into the conversation. I would also recommend this interview as a source as it is clear in its goal and statement and is an incredibly trusted source by its academic review. - Annotation by Anonymous, Spring 2023

A main focus of modern sustainability literature is the politics of intentionally accelerating transitions to sustainability. Community and coalition-building efforts can have a powerful effect on decarbonization efforts. The main goal of this text is to identify synergies between the on-the-ground environmental justice movement and environmental justice literature. Fitzgerald addresses this by examining three key areas of overlap: “the praxis of building coalitions, understandings of power and appreciation of justice”. Just and sustainable practices are increasingly important in the world we find ourselves in. Thus, this paper strives to outline the groundwork for more significant dialogue between academic research and practical efforts within the environmental movement.
In the same way that Cesar Chavez's "Wrath of Grapes" boycott speech is a passionate call to action for the farmworkers' movement, this text emphasizes the power of collective action. I would recommend this source to anyone looking into coalition-building surrounding environmentalism. This source will play a key role to support the argument that there is a disconnect between scholarly literature on the environmental justice movement, and the actual movement itself. In order to effectively tackle the climate crisis and fight for environmental justice, we must ensure there is greater collaboration. - Annotation by Allie Burch, Spring 2023

In Young People’s Care-ful Environmental Action in the UK they are striving to understand what gets the youth into environmental justice. They want to find the range of the types of youth that want to be a part of the movement. Throughout this though they do make attempts to fully understand the struggles youth have and the pressures put down by those older than them. They also use this to show the other parts to environmental justice, including portions of social justice. This follows with understanding what gets the youth out to a movement.
This source takes on the ideas of the justice movement. What gets you out and what makes a movement worth it. It is important to understand because without it you will be fighting for a cause only a few people care to make any progress. While this does not mean do not fight for what you believe in, it does mean understanding a way to get others in and help make a real change for once. We have been discussing all of the important topics of the environment this semester, but this shows genuine action that can be taken. - Annotation by Kaylyn Reed, Spring 2025

Powaqqatsi is an immersive, emotionally evocative experimental film by Godfrey Reggio that uses non-narrative cinematography to shed light on the injustice caused by industrialization in the Global South. Through visual juxtaposition and Philip Glass’s score, the film reveals how global systems of extraction displace traditional lifeways and deplete ecological and spiritual balance. The title, Powaqqatsi, comes from the Hopi language and describes what Reggio calls “a way of life that consumes the life of others.”
The film’s message is intertwined with the arguments in Moore and Nelson’s chapter, “Yes, Because All Flourishing Is Mutual,” as well as other course texts such as Lynn White Jr.’s The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis, Garrett Hardin’s The Tragedy of the Commons, Roderick Nash’s The Value of Wilderness, Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, and John Grim’s “Native American Religions, Bioethics In.” Much of our class discussion focused on the challenge of engaging people who feel disconnected from environmental issues. This is what makes Powaqqatsi so effective. Many individuals may ignore news stories or data, but they will engage with film. This format becomes a powerful tool for shifting not just opinions, but perception itself. - Annotation by Tierney Shaw, Spring 2025

Against the Current | A Short Documentary about the Culture of Indigenous People is a film that features 17-year-old Daunnette Moniz-Reyome as she shares her experiences living on an Indian reservation and how she connects with her culture. The film was made to highlight the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples as they face the challenges that come along with centuries of mistreatment from the United States government. The documentary also touches on themes such as determination, and systemic racism, and explores Indigenous cultural traditions and their relationship with the land. It is a sort of coming-of-age story not only for Daunnette Moniz-Reyome but for young Indigenous peoples across the country. The goal of the video is to express the hardships that Indigenous peoples have struggled with but also to showcase the community and resilience that they have established and built through that trauma.
This film is a good source for an environmental justice class because it allows the audience to feel the sense of sadness but also hope that Indigenous peoples have experienced. It reinforces the idea that certain communities have been put at a disadvantage when it comes to fair treatment and equal allocation of resources. The film also adds a perspective that emphasizes looking backward is the only way to move forward. Without understanding the past and current challenges that Indigenous peoples go through then true justice will never be achieved. The reading from class "The Wrong Complexion for Protection" is similar to the video in the sense that it calls attention to the mistreatment and abuse that minorities have been forced to experience at the hands of the United States government. I would recommend anyone to watch this source because it truly touches the soul of the Native culture and what it means to be an Indigenous peoples in North America. - Annotation by Anonymous Spring 2024

In this post to “Medium” leading climate writer Mary Annaïse Heglar shares an emotional prose piece that speaks on Black Americans' experiences throughout history. As a Black woman born in Alabama, she feels a connection with the soil and the history it shares with the generations before her. A central idea delves into similarities between the treatment of her race and the environment in this country. To express this shared trauma, Heglar points out that the system that relied on bringing her race to disrepute for slavery is the same one that fueled the vast disregard for the environment for economic growth. Evelyn White’s “Black Women and the Wilderness” publication conveys that this generational trauma is also deeply felt in wilderness spaces. This outlines a pattern of societal reconfiguration that reconciles this system’s egregious maneuvers in the name of economic hegemony.
To this day, Black Americans feel the centuries of abuse and intolerance that linger in both the soil and the sustained disregard apparent in the countless instances of environmental injustice, especially in the South. Though this piece doesn’t address cases of environmental injustice specifically, it is a poignant read that offers context for the U.S. Environmental Justice movement. - Annotation by Bronwyn Combs, Spring 2023

In Children of the Poisoned River, journalist Jody Porter documents the enduring public health crisis in the Grassy Narrows First Nation, where mercury dumped by a paper mill in the 1960s continues to poison the local river and food supply. The interactive article combines maps, archival photos, and personal interviews to trace the multigenerational consequences of this contamination. Porter highlights the devastating toll on Indigenous families, many of whom suffer neurological symptoms consistent with mercury poisoning, and details how both government and industry have failed to address the crisis fully. Through its immersive format, the piece brings attention to the lived experiences of affected residents, including youth and elders, emphasizing the physical and emotional burden of environmental harm on Indigenous communities.
This source powerfully complements our course’s exploration of environmental racism and slow violence, particularly as discussed in works by Robert Bullard and Rob Nixon. While Bullard focuses on systemic neglect in policy and infrastructure, Porter’s reporting gives that neglect a human face, offering firsthand accounts of illness, loss, and activism in Grassy Narrows. The article reinforces Nixon’s concept of slow violence by showing how mercury poisoning has quietly devastated a community over decades, without the media urgency of a sudden disaster. Unlike traditional scholarly articles, this interactive piece uses visual storytelling and personal testimony to immerse readers in the daily realities of environmental injustice. The interactive elements like clickable maps, timelines, and layered photographs deepen the reader’s understanding by allowing them to engage with the community’s history and trauma at their own pace, making the experience more immersive and emotionally resonant than a traditional article. I personally recommend this source due to its interactive elements; it kept me engaged during the reading process, but for the class, I recommend this source because it makes abstract concepts like intergenerational harm and institutional failure feel immediate, intimate, and ethically applicable to our lives. - Annotation by Anonymous, Spring 2025

NowThis News is a progressive news organization that was founded in 2012, which typically posts videos online about current news events. In this video, environmental impacts on communities of color are discussed with a focus on the communities in south Memphis, which is a predominantly black community that has suffered countless issues from environmental injustice. Throughout the video, community members are interviewed including Justin J. Pearson—co-founder of the Memphis Community Against the Pipeline, Dr. Reginique Green—a local doctor, and other locals from the area. The video discusses issues of toxins produced from nearby industrial factories, increased death and illness rates, a proposed pipeline that would run through the area, and the redlining that has occurred for generations. The Wrong Complexion for Protection by Robert Bullard discusses how issues like these arise due to a lack of enforcement of laws and regulations when it comes to environmental degradation in minority communities. This video highlights countless examples of why environmental justice is needed, since those living in this area are suffering and dying due to a lack of action. This video also gives concrete examples of how the environmental justice movement is being driven by community leaders and the importance of community in the fight against environmental injustice. - Annotation by Anonymous, Spring 2023

Just a Kid From Baltimore, is a film that follows athlete Evan Gill on his journey climbing all 58 Colorado mountains with elevations of at least 14,000 feet in 2020. The difficult undertaking provides Gill with a space to reflect upon his upbringing in an impoverished area of Baltimore, while highlighting the lack of opportunity in the field of outdoor recreation and education for his community. Gill reveals the inequities in access to wild areas and opportunity to such places as an underrepresented outdoor athlete of color.
Outdoor athletes have more recently come to the forefront of the environmental canons with various films and projects that highlight the impacts of climate change and other environmental issues. However the majority of these voices tend to be white and affluent individuals who were able to choose to have experiences in the outdoors as they were financially able to. Just a Kid From Baltimore begins to fill this void as Evan Gill exposes the inequities that exist between different groups of people based on financial and racial status in relation to outdoor access. The literature currently under the Wilderness category of the LibGuide highlights diverse voices that are similar to Gill, while Just a Kid From Baltimore highlights the power that outdoor recreation can have on communities. - Annotation by Aden Ray, Fall 2023

Sally Khalil’s article discusses the neglect and inequality that women face in the Middle East and North Africa. Khalil does so by stating the conditions under which women are expected to live and follows with the effects that climate change has had on women. Her main argument is that women should be treated as equals and seen as humans as well as allowed to help the fight against climate change. I see a large contrast of perspectives between Khalil’s article and Brittany Wray’s “Generation Dread”. Khalil’s article adds a perspective of a woman who is smart enough to know that women are needed to help fight the climate change crisis in the Middle East and North Africa, however she is faced with the inequality of not being allowed to help. On the other hand, Wray’s writing focuses on and even recognizes her privilege as a white woman that is a science writer and graduate of a biology program, yet she is occupied with her mental health and emotions. Khalil reinforces the potential and need of women of color in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) in terms of climate control while she also counters the current notion that women could not be useful. I recommend this article, for it gives an accurate narrative that is not often heard: women of color on climate change in the Middle East and North Africa. - Annotation by Greg Booker, Spring 2023

This source by Giulia C.S. Good Stefani really shows the impact indigenous people are making on the earth. The blog is from a website that is about indigenous people and is run by indigenous people. This article also talks more in-depth about injustice. They don’t just gloss over it and push it aside. They talk about it in depth and bring up four different points that one would not think about while also raising voices in a minority group.
From what I remember what we learned about environmental justice it was more of in a broader sense. We didn’t necessarily look at it with rose-colored glasses but not through the full scope of things. Yet, what we did look at and read about was minority groups be it African-Americans or women but, there was still a lack of talk about indigenous people. Throughout the whole course in my opinion we did not talk much of the indigenous people of not only the United States but the whole world. - Annotation by Kaylee Duggar Spring 2024

Within this article posted to the Illinois Environmental Council, authors Harris and Simba, both women of color, discuss the injustices that still face black communities in the city of Chicago. Mayor Lightfoot and the city of Chicago have been making great strides towards building a cleaner city and mitigating climate change. However with all this new investment, many black communities are still heavily impacted by pollution, causing increased rates of asthma and cancer and little is being done in support of these people. This has been a common theme discussed in class where minorities and people of color are disproportionately impacted by climate change and the issues that come with it. Both authors do a great job going over the issues related to land use and water access and have a great expertise on these issues. Another reason I feel this article is so effective is due to the proposed solutions and answers that these women have come up with, all of which I believe are great ideas. - Annotation by Connor Mack, Spring 2023

This video looks at the dangers environmental activists face in Colombia, focusing on water rights in Ibagué. It explains how governance issues and inequality worsen water scarcity and create challenges for low-income communities. The video also shows how some policies favor corporations over local people and examines the risks activists take to fight for fair access to resources. It connects environmental justice to human rights by showing the struggles faced by vulnerable groups.
The video ties into themes from our EVRN-HIST 336 course, such as those discussed in The Battle for Yellowstone by Justin Farrell, which explores power dynamics in resource management. It also relates to Black Faces, White Spaces by Carolyn Finney, which looks at the exclusion of marginalized groups from environmental decisions. This source adds a global example to the course materials, showing how governance can affect resource access and fairness. It would be a useful addition to the LibGuide because it highlights the importance of addressing environmental justice issues worldwide. - Annotation by Nyah Noronha, Fall 2024

The anthology Indigenous Pacific Islander Eco-Literatures assembles an impressive and comprehensive collection of poems, short stories, and essays about a variety of topics from the perspective of Pacific islanders. The subjects covered include creation stories, water, land, plants, animals, climate change, and environmental justice, and there are many different countries, cultures, and people represented by the authors. The work from the anthology that I am recommending for addition to the LibGuide is the poem “Atlas” by Terisa Siagatonu. This poem talks about the slow violence unleashed on island and coastal communities by sea level rise due to climate change. Siagatonu also beautifully explains the grief and loss of identity that comes from losing a country, a culture, a home. Going even further into this idea, Siagatonu explains the conflicting attitudes toward water and home between her birthplace Samoa and her new residency in California.
In class, we talked primarily about environmental justice in relation to African American communities in the United States and the unethical and unequal distribution of environmental good and bads. I think looking at environmental justice from the perspective of Pacific islanders would add a valuable perspective to these discussions. The problem of sea level rise is a phenomenal example of how the burden of climate change often falls to the countries who contribute to carbon emissions the least. This source reinforces the dangers of climate change, the importance of culture and identity, and the current failings of environmental justice. I would recommend this source because it is an artful and proactive example of the effects of sea level rise, an issue that encompasses many of the themes discussed in class. - Annotation by Anonymous, Spring 2025

: In this video, environmental activist Vandana Shiva argues against the controlling idea that industrial agriculture, specifically the Green Revolution, is what is responsible for feeding the world. Shiva claims the Green Revolution has replaced more sustainable farming methods with single-crop systems like rice and wheat that rely much more on chemicals and water. This leads to eventual degrading of the environment and public health crises. She argues that the real base for food security around the world lies in biodiverse farming that is on a much smaller scale, especially in producing more traditional crops like millets and legumes. Shiva claims that industrial agriculture only produces 28% of food around the world while also consuming 75% of the Earth’s resources. On the other hand, small farmers produce 72% of the world’s food supply with only a small amount of the resources, and their more environmental-friendly farming methods have a sustainable framework for the future.
This video relates to what we have talked about in class by providing an argument against more conventional agricultural systems. This strengthens the idea that biodiversity and sustainability are important to food security in the long run. Like our readings in class that have supported more traditional agricultural ways, Shiva’s perspective challenges the idea that genetically modified crops and monocultures are necessary to the environment. It adds a critique of both culture and racial biases that have excluded more traditional farming practices and groups. I would recommend this source because it highlights the costs of industrial and more modern farming, and it also offers a hopeful and optimistic alternative that works to connect plants, people and their planet. - Annotation by Anonymous, Spring 2025