The Truth About Environmental Justice and How You Can Support the Movement

When most people are asked to imagine the face of environmentalism and the climate action movement in our modern day, a particular group of images may arise: anti-plastic activism and metal straws, Greta Thunberg and “Fridays for Future,” or perhaps tear-jerking viral videos of polar bears slipping on melting ice sheets. Indubitably, these all ring true—our planet is undergoing a vicious cycle of environmental degradation. A study by the University of Connecticut predicts that nearly 8% of our current species will die out due to climate change. Unfathomable amounts of trash float in the great blue and every day, our planet warms just a little more. 

But what many neglect to see is the human face of this degradation: the millions displaced by climate disaster, the thousands of Black and Brown folks exposed to toxic waste and harmful living conditions due to environmental racism, and the pervasive systems of oppression behind climate change that remain unseen. Climate justice, therefore, requires more than simply anti-plastic advocacy and sustainable habits. It requires comprehensive anti-racist organizing and legislation. It requires empathy: to see your neighbors and to recognize their suffering and their humanity, too. 

Below you will find a list of vital organizations (a few of many) that are out on the frontlines doing this work. I hope that you can learn from them and support them. 

1. Earth Guardians

   1. Earth Guardians is a youth-led organization working to train our generation to use art, storytelling, music, and legal action to create an equitable and climate-just world. From Line 3 organizing to their Indigenous Youth Leadership Initiative, Earth Guardians is doing the work that truly matters. 

2. UPROSE

   1. UPROSE, based in Brooklyn, NY, is a grassroots and women-of-color-led organization that rallies for sustainable urban policy and community resiliency via organizing and education. UPROSE was founded in 1966 and is Brooklyn’s oldest Latino community organization. 

3. Indigenous Environmental Network

   1. Indigenous Environmental Network (or IEN) is a unified alliance of Indigenous Peoples with the mission to “Protect the Sacredness of Earth Mother from contamination & exploitation by Respecting and Adhering to Indigenous Knowledge and Natural Law.” With campaigns from carbon trading to creating a regenerative economy, IEN is certainly an organization you should dedicate time and resources to. 

4. Environmental Justice Organization

   1. Environmental Justice Organization dedicates themselves to producing compelling films, documentation, and securing legal protection for the millions of climate refugees across the world. Their films “Land of Rivers” and “No Place Like Home: Rising Waters” shed light on the plight of climate refugees, and bring their stories to government officials.