Environmental Studies: Ethics, Ideas and Nature: Environmental Activism

In this article, Thom Davies, an environmental and political geographer, examines the connection between marginalized communities and environmental injustice resulting from structural and slow violence. Through an exploration of the concept of slow violence—the delayed form of violence typically unaffiliated with its original causes—Davies presents an interesting look into how environmental injustice and afflicted communities also connect through historical and structural violence. Issues of toxicity and contamination that affect low-income and marginalized communities are heavily ignored by society. Davis offers an insightful look at slow violence using the example of "Cancer Alley," an 85-mile area in Louisiana filled with petrochemical plants and oil refineries. Despite evidence of high cancer rates and illness, the afflicted communities (predominately African-American/low-income) continue to fight against issues of environmental racism, social inequality, and lack of societal awareness.
Davies's work offers an effective framework of slow violence and activism by challenging the notion that structural and slow violence are entirely invisible. By suggesting that diverse point-of-views and perspectives on slow violence exist, but lack mainstream attentiveness and inclusion, Davies encourages that knowledge and direct experiences from marginalized communities should act at the forefront in writings of violence and slow violence acknowledgment. - Annotation by Cherin Russell, Fall 2023

In this article, Armin Yeganeh, an Asian-American Professor at Michigan State University, speaks on job accessibility and it’s influence on salary. We are in a place where refurbishing an aging highway system is no longer sufficient. Refurbishing the highway may address physical issues with the highway, but it does not address the larger issues. Congestion and air pollution would still be an issue, and more importantly, it would not address the equity and accessibility needs. The highway system negatively impacts poor people and people of color, and investment in it starves public transportation of funding. In the past years, people have sought to move from a focus on mobility to a focus on accessibility. This article took data from transportation use in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) to figure out the trends and equity issues in the transportation sector. Accessibility is based on proximity to jobs, frequency of jobs, and amount of time it takes to get to jobs. An equation that was weighted on population found that white people have the lowest mean job accessibility (MJA), as in they have the highest travel time/distance; however, they make up most of the higher-paid workforce. Of the people making a salary of 225,000 or above, 79.6% were white, 10.6% were Asian, 5.5% were Hispanic, and only 1.6% were black. To give more context, white people only make up 50.4% of the total documented workforce. There are systematic hindrances, ones that go beyond transportation, on people of color that give them less access to jobs. Even in Kansas City, where transportation is free, only 2.2% of the population uses transit to commute. Free transport, while a step in the right direction, does not guarantee job equality. - Annotation by Aidan Dillon, Spring 2023

This environmentalist podcast hosted by Daniel Rami featured Dorceta Taylor in a discussion of the absence of diversity in the movement to combat climate crises, and her personal experiences as an activist. Dorceta Taylor is an environmental sociologist who is not only Senior Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Yale School of the Environment but can be credited for much work in environmental justice and its connection to racism. This podcast summarizes the early origins of the environmental movement, people focusing on deforestation, the first Earth Day, etc; but she mentions the ignorance of race, sex, and class in the movement and the lack of real analysis of the historical roots of environmental issues. Taylor talks about the lack of inclusion for people of color, especially in the 1960s and until the environmental justice movement in the 1990s that questioned the structures of environmental issues. The perspectives which Taylor presents in this interview are critical of the flaws of environmental activism and environmental justice movements, allowing for more sociological analysis of current environmentalism.
Understanding the connection between racism, misrepresentation, and systematic oppression in all aspects of society is key to uprooting issues like environmentalism. The activism and justice movements to combat climate crises and enforce sustainability are weakened by a lack of inclusion and are actually portrayed in some climate injustices which have occurred. In Robert Bullard and Beverly Wright’s “How the Government Response to Disaster Endangers African American Communities” in The Wrong Complexion for Protection, they mention various incidents of slowed and insignificant government responses to environmental issues in underprivileged communities and communities of color, and the disregard for the health and welfare of underrepresented groups when it comes to climate and sustainability issues. This is exactly what Dorceta Taylor is analyzing from a sociological perspective; the United States’ origins are rooted in white supremacy and the inferiority of people and women of color, which has not only weakened the environmentalist movement but made some issues worse in these areas. Taylor’s perspectives and experience allow the audience to grasp another view on environmental activism, and potentially encourage them to adopt another level of social justice. - Annotation by Anonymous, Spring 2023

This article, written by Genevieve Fox at The Guardian, is about the young environmental activist, Mikaela Loach. Mikaela was born in Jamaica in 1998, and during her early life, her parents made sure she knew about her heritage and encouraged her to advocate for what is right. Mikaela has never been one to be afraid of getting her hands dirty when it comes to activism, even if it might affect her life negatively. She has encouraged a lot of change in the environment through her actions. These actions range from small things like bake sales to raise money for tsunami victims and also chaining herself to the XR stage during the Extinction Rebellion Scotland’s Autumn Uprising. The article also talks about Mikaela’s early life and how the bullying in her early years has affected who she is today. With this article, it is interesting to see a modern perspective compared to some of the other readings from class this semester.
This source is very effective at conveying Mikaela Loach’s attitude concerning some aspects of the environment movement indirectly, as well as showing how her life has influenced her decisions when it comes to activism. This source along with Mikaela’s podcast “Yikes Podcast” and her new book “It’s Not That Radical” work together to create a view into the modern environmental movement. Overall, this source summarizes her activism into bite-sized pieces and allows people to see some of the inner workings of her mind. - Annotation by Gavin Klaassen, Spring 2023

“Wake Up Calls” is an indie baroque pop album by English musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, Cosmo Sheldrake. Sheldrake used field recordings of birds native to the United Kingdom who are on the red and amber lists of endangered birds in conjunction with his own voice and outside instruments to blend man-made music with nature’s music. The album, consisting of thirteen songs, includes birds such as the Bittern, the Cuckoo, the Short Eared Owl, and the Nightingale. Sheldrake also uses recordings of a Sheldrake, adding a personal connection to his family name and the bird, which is also on the amber list.
By creating such an album, Cosmo has created a conversation within popular music about endangered species and allows people to enjoy their calls while they still can. Sheldrake says he “hope[s] that this music may serve as a wake up call: to help us become more aware of the glorious polyphonic soundworlds that surround us before many of these voices become extinct in Britain, and to remind us not to take any of these creatures and the music that they make for granted.” Sheldrake also donates 50% of the royalties of the album to conservation organizations working with the birds featured in the album or the habitats they reside in. Aldo Leopold states in "The Land Ethic" from the Sand County Almanac that an ethical relation to land cannot exist without love, respect, and admiration. This album is composed of thirteen songs that are dedicated to the love of the land and nature we inhabit. It reinforces Leopold’s statement and many of the topics discussed in class of the mutual respect that must come with relationships between humans and non-humans. I am recommending this source because I was immediately taken with it when I first listened to it in 2020, when I was majoring in music. It was a wakeup call for myself to understand the gravity of the situation regarding endangered animals and prompted my involvement in conservation and protection efforts of wildlife. - Annotation by Elly Masteller, Fall 2023