Key Concepts and The Things That Left Me Shook Week 1

      Pour commencer, as the french would say, there were a bunch of authors this week, while all of them focused on the same general topic each of them brought a little bit of spice to the conversation. From the problems with the Southeastern parts of the United States with Rachel Harris, to the issues of gendered vulnerability with Geraldine Terry it’s extremely clear that environmental justice has a long history across the globe. Environmental justice also has huge ties to the Civil Rights Movement, The Labor Movement, and the American Indian Movement. As Geraldine Terry eloquently stated; “Climate change is not happening in a vacuum” which is why environmntal justice is more than just caring about the environment in a simple way, it’s also about protecting communities and marginalized groups in the process. Environmental Justice is like Bob Ross in a sense, it wants to support everyone in its field. Instead of the field being painting happy little trees, the field is saving the little trees and the people who live by them. The leaders of the Environmental Justice Movement are trying to be the Bob Ross we so desperately need, but in doing so they need to remember to include the citizens instead of excluding them. There is a fine line between including the people most affected and victimizing the people most affected. Terry makes an excellent point about addressing these concerns. It is extremely easy to force someone into a corner, we’ve all seen Dirty Dancing, and once we force someone into that corner they are no longer viewed as human just as a victim.

      I have never really thought about environmental justice as this tangible idea. I used to think it was just the stuff of fiction, kind of like an “as seen on tv” phenomenon. Rachel Hariss’ piece “Gender Aspects of Climate Change in the US Gulf Region” really hit home for me how real environmental justice is. I remember the BP oil spill, I spent half of my life in Pensacola. I remember playing in oily sand as a child and thinking nothing of it only for my mom to yell when she saw my siblings and I covered in oil. I still have a hatred towards BP to this day because of the harm they did to our beaches. The article also reminded me of my favorite movie as a kid Hurricane on The Bayou. I know that a movie about Hurricane Katrina isn’t your typical kid movie, but I was obsessed with it as a kid. I even made it a goal of mine to see Tab Benoit and Amanda Shaw live one day (quick side note they are both playing at Jazzfest and I am sad because I know I won’t be able tp afford tickets but still third grade me is quaking). I also believe that move is the cause of my Meryl Streep obsession since she is the narrator, but that is a tale for a different blog post. I remember watching the movie and thinking about the devastation the people of this city faced, and feeling sad for the baby alligators. Little did I know that the affects of Katrina would still be living on nearly 15 years after the tragedy struck. Reading this article opened my eyes to the big picture of what the environment can do to people when it is combined with the power and social structures we have in the United States.

Key Terms:
1) Toxic Colonialism: The United States and other Western Countries (cough cough England and Canada cough cough) usage of other countries as dumping sites for any and all types of waste.
2) Environmental Justice: Fighting for and protecting marginalized communities and the environment
3) Modern Environmentalists: there are two waves, wave one focuses on preservation and conservation while wave two focuses on pushing laws and using science to try and help out the earth.

Bibliography:

Harris, Rachel. 2010. “Gender Aspects of Climate Change in the US Gulf Coast Region.”

Terry, Geraldine. 2009. “Prelims - Climate Change and Gender Justice.” Climate Change and Gender Justice