There is more to the environmental movement than angry vegan hippies and snowflakes afraid of the world ending in a few short years from climate change.
The environmental movement is more than hippies and snowflakes.
It’s more than vegans and save the bee enthusiasts.
It’s more than avoiding plastic at all costs.
It’s also more than concerns regarding greenhouse gases and our carbon footprint.
The environmental movement is so large and diverse in its goals, dreams, fears, plans, and solutions.
One of the most profound things I have learned from my short journey into the environmental movement is that environmentalism is connected to EVERYTHING.
Which means that the environmental movement is for EVERYONE.
When I was entering adulthood I recognized that other adults had their “thing” that they were passionate about. Not in terms of a job or hobby but a societal issue or injustice that they were forever talking about on their social media platforms and dedicating their time, energy, and resources in attempts to offer solutions and raise awareness. I knew enough to know that while I might agree and fully support their work, I could not possibly be passionately sold out to every single issue in modern society.
But I could not for the life of me decide what my one burning passion was.
Fast forward to the year 2021 and I am a music teacher in an urban school district who loves being outside and learning new things.
Am I passionate about education?
Yes.
Am I passionate about music?
Yes.
Am I passionate about music education?
Also yes.
Do I see the effects of poverty, crime, lack of resources, and systems of oppression in my classroom?
Yes.
But again, I cannot possibly divide myself amongst all the issues and maintain the little bit of sanity I do possess.
Or can I?
A phrase we use often in education is “life long learner”.
No matter who you are, you can learn something new.
Don’t know much about _______ (inset the last controversial meme or political article you saw)? Take a little bit of time and learn from someone who is an expert in that field.
Realize that the topic interests you and you want to learn more?
Welcome to my life.
But back to the interconnecting of all things.
In my first year of teaching it did not take too long to see that some narratives I had always heard were not completely accurate.
I had always heard and believed in the American dream. If you worked hard enough you could do anything, go anywhere and be anyone. Natural conclusion, if your life wasn’t so great you either weren’t working hard enough or didn’t believe in yourself enough to want to work hard enough.
That narrative only rings true if you were “lucky” enough to be born with this little thing called privilege.
In our society, privilege is the winner’s product of the long established systems.
In every story and every game there are winners and losers.
I once heard the phrase “history is written by the victors”, and while true, I think the present is written by the privileged, the current victors, whose narrative becomes the historical account.
Privilege does not mean your life has been easy or without hardship. No amount of privilege can save you from natural disasters in life. Having privilege just means you are more likely to have the resources to recover from life’s natural disasters such as fire, flood, disease, auto accidents, and theft.
What does all this have to do with environmentalism?
Those benefiting from systems of privilege are 1. The greatest contributors to destructive environment issues, and 2. The last to be touched by environmental destruction.
There will come a day when no amount of privilege will save one from the effects of environmental destruction.
Today, the communities that are the most at risk to suffer (and are already suffering) the destruction of climate change are racial minorities and/or those living in poverty.
This includes children.
The children who show up in my classroom.
The parents, relatives, and neighbors who care for the children I see in my classroom.
There is a reason why so many of my urban students have asthma.
It’s not a mystery to those who see an imbalance and wonder why.
Environmentalism is connected to every single social issue.
Just as every system of society is connected.
Resources such as housing, transportation, fresh and nutritious food, water, clean air, medical care, and education are established systems in our society that interconnect. Each system influences and is influenced.
We can’t discuss environmentalism without discussing racism, poverty, education, medical care, and government. They all intersect to form the mess we have today.
You can’t try to fix one without fixing the others.
The future of environmentalism is also the future of racism, poverty, education, medical care, and government.
Where is your place and passion in the interconnected systems?
I'd love to hear your thoughts, leave a comment or slide into my DMs.
This is not at all the path I intended for this post to take.
I intended to discuss more in depth about the microplastics found in umbilical cords and breast milk or the lack of basic needs such as shelter, water, food, and clean air to those living in poor urban communities.
Perhaps another time.
For now, I challenge you to learn something new and consider how it is tied to other systems.
If you are looking for a place to start, check out the resources tab here on my website. I recently updated it with some Instagram accounts that address environmentalism and its intersection with other components of society. At the top of the list I highly recommend Leah Thomas at Intersectional Environmentalism.
Leah Thomas started Intersectional Environmentalism as “A resource hub + community, exploring the intersections of social + environmental justice” (Intersectional Environmentalism Instagram bio)
Until next time,
A.F.
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