Environmental Justice House Course
Year Initiated: Fall 2020 Members of the UEU, Duke Climate Coalition, and Environmental Alliance as well as other passionate students across Duke have come together to create a house course focusing on environmental justice issues within North Carolina: HOUSECS 59 -10, GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Available Fall 2021, this house course aims to provide students with a strong understanding of the connections between environmental justice internationally and within the United States. This course is set up as a series of guest lectures given by prominent academics and environmental justice advocates as well as small group discussions. It is a deep dive into the relationship between people, culture, justice, and the environment. It touches upon environmental racism in infrastructure, agriculture, health, and imperialism in the hope to amplify the voices and experiences of the diverse cultures, races, and identities fighting on the front lines to address these issues globally.
Class sessions meet on Wednesdays from 7:00-8:30 PM EST.
This class doubles as an environmental justice webinar series open to all students, faculty, staff, and community members. Webinars take place on Wedne sdays from 7:00-8:00 PM EST. A schedule for the series is available below!
Register for any and all webinars here: https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8J7iVlauWHgNhpI
For those who are not available at the scheduled webinar time but would still like to learn from our speakers, webinar recordings are available below or here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF0DNaSNetzSEkLWAysAV_w/videos
Global Environmental Justice Webinar Ser...
John Paul Jose | Global Environmental Justice and Agriculture in India In this talk, we will hear from activist and organizer John Paul Jose on the connections between justice, climate, and agriculture in India. John has been a Fridays For Future youth leader, a member of the Generation Climate Hub through the New York Times, and served as a Youth Ambassador for the High Seas Alliance. In his presentation, John will dive into the history of environmental justice in India, current conflicts creating injustice, and how climate change exacerbates these issues.
Bruce Lindsay | Water Rights and Traditional Owners in Australia At this webinar, we hear Dr. Bruce Lindsay share his work on water rights for First Nations peoples and efforts to expand the concept of land management to include cultural and spiritual connection to land. Bruce is a senior lawyer and ecosystems program lead at Environmental Justice Australia. Since 2015 Bruce has advised Indigenous peak bodies and Traditional Owners in relation to water rights, especially in the Murray
Darling Basin.
Global Environmental Justice and Health Panel with Diana McCaulay and Dr. Bill Pan We will hear from Dr. William Pan and Diana McCaulay in this Global Environmental Justice and Health Panel, sponsored by Duke's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Diana McCaulay is a Jamaican writer and environmental activist. She is the founder of the Jamaica Environment Trust, one of the island’s strongest non profit organizations, now in its 30th year. William Pan is the Elizabeth Brooks Reid and Whitelaw Reid Associate Professor of Population Studies and Global Environmental Health at Duke University with joint appointments in the Duke Global Health Institute and Nicholas School of Environment. He leads research that addresses human, environmental and health dynamics, including artisanal gold mining and mercury exposure, and climate/land use change and malaria.
EJ House Course Resources
Racial Discrimination And Environmental Justice Camden has the second highest cancer rate in New Jersey, and the eighth highest in the nation thanks to over 100 toxic waste sites. When the St. Lawrence Cement Company tried to build yet another polluting factory in Camden, citizens banded together and convinced a district court to halt construction. Then the Supreme Court ruled in Alexander v Sandoval that citizens could not sue based on discriminatory effect. In order to block the construction of yet another polluter, citizens would need to show that there was intentional discrimination.
This clip is part of a video made by award-winning documentarian Stanley Nelson, which exposes the negative consequences of a federal judiciary that is increasingly opposed to civil rights protections. Mr. Nelson puts a human face on what has come to be known as the "rollback" of civil rights. The full film is 22 minutes and is an excellent teaching tool for those interested in educating friends, family, and neighbors about these issues.
What It's Like to Live in Cancer Alley | NowThis People are dying of cancer at an alarming rate in this county — and their own hometown is killing them.
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In this cancer documentary, NowThis News tackles the important issue of environmental injustice. Factors in our environment might lead to cancer. Louisiana residents in 'cancer alley' discovered this first hand. They're feeling the effects of environmental racism and the illness brought on by living in cancer alley. Mississippi River factories, the Petrol corridor specifically, might have made them sick. This cancer alley documentary explains how residents feel about it all.
#CancerAlley #Louisiana #EnvironmentalInjustice #EnvironmentalRacism
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One reason why coronavirus hits Black people the hardest Toxic air can weaponize the coronavirus.
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Across the US, black people are dying from Covid-19 at disproportionately high rates. While there are many different factors at play behind the stark racial disparities — there’s one possible reason that’s been lurking in the air for decades: pollution.
The long history of segregation and housing discrimination has long put black people at greater risk of living near chemical plants, factories and highways, exposing them to higher levels of air pollutants. These pollutants have had a chronically negative impact on health, leading to conditions like hypertension and asthma. Now, those same diseases are associated with severe cases of Covid-19, and showing that where you live can determine whether you survive from Covid-19.
Read the full study on air pollution exposure and Covid-19 mortality: https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/covid-pm
Read the study on historic redlining and emergency room visits due to asthma: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(19)30241-4/fulltext
Read the study on Disparities in Distribution of Particulate Matter Emission Sources by Race and Poverty Status: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5844406/
To learn more about the experiences of residents in St. John the Baptist Parish, check out the Concerned Citizens of St. John website: https://www.ccosj.com/
To learn more about some of the air pollution risks in the Midwest, check out the Environmental Law & Policy Center: http://elpc.org/. They also run an air monitoring site for Chicago that highlights some of these disparities: https://airqualitychicago.org/
Read more about Cancer Alley from ProPublica/ The Times-Picayune and The Advocate: https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_49fe4540-f74a-11e9-8d20-eb0f97323b91.html
https://projects.propublica.org/louisiana-toxic-air/
And The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2019/may/06/cancertown-louisana-reserve-special-report
A lot of our data comes from the National Air Toxics Assessment Cancer Risk map, which you can check out through the EPA: https://ejscreen.epa.gov/mapper/
The Covid Tracking Project also regularly compiles Covid-19 data on race: https://covidtracking.com/race
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A Brief History of Environmental Justice Landfills, chemical waste facilities and power plants are more often built in poor and minority communities, which don't have the power or money to advocate for themselves.
For decades, these communities have called for environmental justice: the idea that people shouldn't be forced to deal with more pollution because they belong to a certain race, national origin or income bracket.
It's a simple notion, but America has struggled for decades to implement any policies that actually protect poor and minority communities from environmental toxins. Now, President Trump's budget seeks to end the Office of Environmental Justice and cut overall funding to the EPA by 31%. What will happen to the marginalized communities that most need a government advocate?
Images:
CNN, Fox News, MTV, AP, The EcoLogic Channel, José da Vede, Chicago Sun Times, St. Louis Public Radio, Leroy Woodson via The Atlantic, Frank J Aleksandrowicz via The Atlantic, Harry Shaefer via The Atlantic, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Julie Dermanksy, CBS News
Music:
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“Falcon Hood Tight” - Podington Bear
Environmental Racism Is the New Jim Crow Communities of color face disproportionate rates of natural disaster and environmental harm. Staff writer Vann R. Newkirk II argues that discrimination in public planning is to blame. “Pollution and the risk of disaster are assigned to black and brown communities through generations of discrimination and political neglect,” says Newkirk II. The environment is a system controlled and designed by people—and people can be racist.
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How Black Lives Matter And Environmental Justice Are Connected "The people who are currently facing the harshest impacts of climate change are people of color."
Why this woman's post about Environmentalists For Black Lives Matter went viral.
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STILLS
Houses next to oil refinery
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Houses next to oil refinery
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Fracking operations along the Front Range of Colorado.
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VIDEO
“Justice for Eric Garner – Fire NYP Officer Daniel Pantaleo” – Protesters in NYC
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Air Polluiton From Coal-Fired Power Station - stock video
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Smoke Bombs and Tear Gas Fired in Streets During Protests in Ferguson
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News Report Offers New Details Of Encounter Between Michael Brown And Ferguson Cop
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Ferguson Protestors Run From Tear Gas and Riot Police
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EXTERNAL CREDITS
Leah Thomas
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Environmental justice, explained We already know that pollution and climate change negatively affect people’s health and quality of life. But we’re not always clear about which people are most exposed and impacted.
The harm that comes with rising seas and contaminated water systems isn’t evenly distributed. To the contrary: Those who are already disadvantaged by race, wealth, and income are usually the most affected by environmental disasters. Without recognizing that inequality, we’re not always solving the problems with our water, air, and soil in ways that serve the people who need it most — which is why environmental justice is a critical part of planning a green future that’s good for everyone.
If you’ve never heard the term “environmental justice” before, or if you just want to know more about it, watch our video above.
Oil, Gas, and the Effects of Environmental Racism Jamali Maddix talks with an environmentalist about how drilling for fuel usually means pushing contamination into the places where lower-class people live.
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**For more information, please reach out to our course instructors or faculty sponsor (see information below)**
Rachita Gowdu
Class of 2023
Rachita is a junior interested in pursuing an interdepartmental major in Environmental Science and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies. She is interested in diving deeper into topics of environmental justice and situating communities of color within the climate crisis and environmental activism.
Leah Roffman
Class of 2023
Leah is a junior studying Public Policy with a minor in Statistics. She is the President of Environmental Alliance and is interested in environmental policy applications.
Ashley Rosen
Class of 2022
Ashley is a senior Mechanical Engineering major passionate about the intersection between engineering, innovation, and the environment as well as supporting women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). In addition to serving as President of the UEU, she is an active member of FEMMES (Females Excelling in More Math Engineering and Science).
Isabel Wood
Class of 2023
Isabel is a junior majoring in Environmental Science and Policy with a certificate in Documentary Studies. She is most interested in climate communication and education and wants to become an environmental consultant to advise corporations, governments, and others how to make change to protect the future of the planet and ourselves. She is passionate about food systems, coastal restoration, and environmental justice policy.
In addition to serving as Vice President of External Affairs in the UEU, Isabel is a peer tutor, a Rachel Carson Council Presidential Fellow, and an undergraduate research assistant at the Wright Lab, an ecology lab focused on climate change and biodiversity. She is helping teach the Global EJ House Course, studying in the Duke Immerse Imagining the Future of Food Program this semester, and hoping to study abroad in her remaining year and a half at Duke!
Fall 2021 Faculty Advisor
Rebecca Vidra
Faculty Director, Duke Environmental Leadership Program
Senior Lecturer, Environmental Science and Policy
Rebecca is a senior lecturer in the Nicholas School, where she teaches survey courses in environmental science and seminars in environmental ethics and restoration ecology. You can find her in traditional classrooms on campus, online classrooms through her role as the Faculty Director of the Duke Environmental Leadership Program , and on beaches as the Program Director for the DukeEngage in Kaua’i Program . She is inspired by her students’ ability to co-create courses and embraces Robert Heinlein’s philosophy of “when one teaches, two learn”.