Publish at October 23 2024 Updated October 23 2024
Environmental issues are becoming increasingly important as the consequences of pollution and climate change are felt on a daily basis. Heat records are constantly being broken, and the question is no longer how to avoid warming, but how to make sure it doesn't get too bad. This almost willful blindness to the situation is perplexing. Faced with a common challenge, humanity should band together. However, the status quo prevails in general, and apart from a few regulations and initiatives, things are moving very slowly.
Why is this? Could it be a flagrant case of inequality in the perception of environmental problems?
While the question of socio-economic inequalities is not in doubt, we might forget that this is also true of the environment. In fact, the two go hand in hand. Generally speaking, the lowest socio-economic classes are those who suffer most from pollution or climate change. Countries in the southern hemisphere, generally poorer, feel them even more than those in the north. Even within nations themselves, the most disadvantaged neighborhoods often find themselves next to polluting factories or unsanitary waterways. Schools are a striking example of this. A study carried out in Belgium shows that more affluent schools have access to more vegetation than poorer ones.
These realities raise the question of environmental justice. Although the concept is increasingly present in governance issues, it remains unclear to many legislators. All the more so as some question this principle of environmental justice. It is based on the idea of reducing inequalities in access to a healthy environment, but also on the voluntary transfer of a degraded ecological situation. Indeed, in 2020, the climate protest movement , initiated by Greta Thunberg among others, was literally a demand by the younger generation for greater action by public authorities.
A few years later, there are fewer street movements, but there is still a desire to continue the fight. This is based on the search for environmental justice, by demanding action to ensure that the poor and racialized also have access to healthier environments. Because there is, in fact, ecological discrimination against certain groups, including the First Nations.
In a book published in 2020, the Institut du Nouveau Monde, a Quebec organization dedicated to increasing citizen participation in democratic life, published an article on the role of schools as a bulwark against populism. One of these concerns was environmental justice. To better integrate this principle, the authors focused on three aspects:
"In this sense, we establish three priorities for changing the game in school environments:
The idea, then, is for the school system to participate in this promotion by inculcating or reminding students of their rights, ways of defending them, history and so on. This means clarifying the various notions of environmental justice with different resources to better understand current and future issues.
It can also mean raising awareness of the ancestral knowledge of peoples who lived in greater harmony with nature, and whose know-how has long been ignored. The analysis of maps of cities or states and pollution will clearly show the problems of existing inequalities.
The second aspect is to engage learners. Activism can be part of this, but to avoid controversy, it's better to propose concrete projects and actions to improve local environmental injustices. This guide is a perfect example of how to think about the issue, find an important issue for the group and act on it.
The final step is to think in terms of community and intergeneration. Obviously, not everyone has the same opinion on environmental issues. Students need to understand this, get to grips with these other perspectives and come up with solutions that bring people together.
Image created by IA (Copilot)
References
Blanchet-Cohen, Natasha, and Geneviève Grégoire-Labrecque. "Making room for environmental and social justice in schools." Institut Du Nouveau Monde. Last updated May 25, 2022. https://inm.qc.ca/etat-du-quebec-2021-faire-place-a-la-justice-environnementale-et-sociale-a-lecole-blanchet-cohen-gregoire-labrecque/.
"How can you teach students about environmental justice in a meaningful way?" LinkedIn. last updated January 5, 2024. https://fr.linkedin.com/advice/3/how-can-you-teach-students-environmental-justice-5j6me?lang=fr.
"Engaging students in sustainable action projects." LSF-LST. Accessed October 19, 2024. https://lsf-lst.ca/fr/ressources/engager-les-eleves-dans-des-projets-daction-durables/.
"Environmental justice resources for educators and students." California Coastal Commission. Accessed October 19, 2024. https://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/directory/ejed.html.
Gauthier, Catherine. "New Student Coalition Calls for Transition Week." ENvironnement JEUnesse. Last updated February 16, 2020. https://enjeu.qc.ca/creation-de-la-ceves/.
Giovanni, Ambre. "An Environmental Awareness Workshop at Daniel-Johnson School." David Suzuki Foundation. Last updated April 19, 2023. https://fr.davidsuzuki.org/blogue/atelier-de-sensibilisation-environnementale-ecole-daniel-johnson/.
Guyot, Madeleine, Harmony Brulein, Antoine Lecat, Sophie Vanwambeke, et al. "Environmental Justice: Do Students Have Equitable Access to a Quality Environment?" DIAL.pr. Last updated February 2024. https://dial.uclouvain.be/pr/boreal/object/boreal:284797.
"How to teach about environmental justice." SubjectToClimate. Accessed October 19, 2024. https://subjecttoclimate.org/teacher-guides/how-to-teach-environmental-justice.
"Environmental Justice!" Sustainability Classroom Resources at Resources for Rethinking. last updated 2022. https://www.resources4rethinking.ca/fr/resource/justice-environnementale.
"A project to fight environmental racism." Radio-Canada. last updated August 2, 2023. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2000815/projet-windsor-racisme-environnement-communaute-noire.
Yao, Diamond. "We marched for environmental justice: what's next?" Pivot. last updated September 26, 2022. https://pivot.quebec/2022/09/26/on-a-manifeste-pour-la-justice-environnementale-quels-sont-les-prochains-pas/.
"" Who benefits and who suffers?" Educating for social and environmental justice (1/2)." Enseignant.e.s Pour La Planète. Last updated: January 31, 2024. https://enseignantspourlaplanete.com/qui-profite-et-qui-souffre-eduquer-a-la-justice-sociale-et-environnementale-1-2/.
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