Week 4 Reflection

This week, I saw that the goals of the modern environmental justice movement mentioned in the Unger article, Women, Sexuality, and Environmental Justice in American History , and the goals of the modern environmental justice movement, environmental justice movement mentioned in the Taylor article, “American Environmentalism: The Role of Race, Class and Gender in Shaping Activism 1820-1995” both strive for change that results in the equal treatment, care, and maintenance of the environments, and those who inhabit them, regardless of race, creed, religion, age, etc,  as well as the equal opportunities to advocate concern and cooperate with the individuals and institutions that decide in the use of such environments. I wholeheartedly support the holistic goals of both environmental movements mentioned, yet I was able to see how these goals are eclipsed and left unheard in the “The State of Diversity in Environmental Organizations: Green 2.0 Report.”

From “The State of Diversity in Environmental Organizations: Green 2.0 Report” it was blatant that the desire for diversity, inclusion, and expansion of thought and opinion was vital, and in some cases desired, however the institutional efforts to commit and do so are lacking. A lot of this has to do with the fact that the institutions themselves are not practicing or enforcing the diversity and changes requested by those already involved. In these large environmental organizations the patriarchy remains intact, people of color are underrepresented and not included, civilians are silenced, and efforts to do the bare minimum, such as promote female employees, are amounted to “sufficient change.” However, through the article,  “American Environmentalism: The Role of Race, Class and Gender in Shaping Activism 1820-1995” I can see how exclusion has been perpetuated, while  whiteness has been preserved over the span of more than a century, which has resulted in the structure and function of the environmental organizations that remain at large today.

On a different note, I enjoyed how this week’s readings addressed local women in Louisiana who sparked environmental change. Again, prior to this class I knew very little about the environment, let alone the role local Louisianians played in its preservation across time. This prompted me to look into the individuals in my hometown, Baltimore, Maryland, who have made environmental impacts and sparked change; which I am not sure I would have looked into otherwise.