A blog on Intersectional Environmentalism by Ruth McLaren, Project Coordinator at Eco Savvy
You may have seen this term on the news or social media recently as it is a relatively new phrase that has come out of the Black Lives Matter movement and focuses on the way that the climate emergency and different marginalised groups come together and how these groups are more negatively affected.
Intersectional environmentalism not only looks at racial injustice but the experiences of all marginalised groups including, non-black people of colour, indigenous communities, refugees, women, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities. It is important to remember that many people fall into more than one of these categories and that their experiences will be varied in different ways because of that.
If you are interested to learn more about intersectional environmentalism and some examples of how some of these groups are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis we highly recommend this article.
Here is also a short video from Leah Thomas explaining a bit about the movement.
On Tuesday 13th October for Black History Month Eco Savvy screened “Cooked: Survival by Zip Code” in collaboration with Edinburgh College Students’ Association. This one hour documentary film looks at the Chicago heatwave of 1995 where 739 people lost their lives, with the huge majority of those deaths being in black communities.
You can watch the documentary for free on Youtube.
We are trying to find ways to proactively address issues of racial injustice and the climate crisis. We asked for suggestions as to how we, both as a society and individuals, can take action:
Here is some general info on Just Transition
Here is what the Scottish Government are saying/doing about Just Transition.
Here is some general info on universal basic income. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_basic_income
Here is what Scotland is doing with regards to universal basic income.
If you have any suggestions of ways we can address issues of racial injustice in terms of climate change we’d love to hear them – please pop a comment at the bottom of the page or email ruth.ecosavvy@gmail.com
I think everyone agrees that pressure needs to be put on our political representatives. There is an event coming up on Wednesday 4th November where we can do just that:
The Big Climate Debate , ‘Politics & the Climate Emergency’ with Patrick Harvie MSP
A representative will give a ten minutes presentation on their parties’ policies and actions, before we open up the session to audience questions. Following the individual sessions, we will gather all the speakers together for a panel discussion on November 18th, at 5PM where they will debate questions asked by YOU.
Join Patrick Harvie Green MSP for Lothians online on Wednesday 4th November from 5pm, to 6pm for an interesting debate on Politics and the Climate Emergency. We will hear from the achievements and proposals from his party to tackle the climate emergency. After the presentation from the party’s environmental actions and policies, we will hold an open Q&A.
Tickets are free and can be booked here.