Summary of Learning Outcomes

While I understood this at the beginning of the quarter, I have a new understanding of what it means for environmental justice to be considered a human right (Capeheart & Milovanovic, 2007).  Without a clean and safe environment, it is impossible to learn, live, and grow.  I used to not care about this issue as passionately because I was not directly affected by many of the negative consequences of climate change or pollution. This was why I decided to focus on social justice action project on environmental justice in order to push myself to see it from a new perspective.  I learned that I am affected by environmental racism because my actions are partly to blame, and I share a collective responsibility to fight environmental racism (Young, 2013).  While I still have a long way to go, I feel passionate about creating change in my life and the communities around me to stop climate change and ensure that everyone can live in a healthy environment.  Sometimes this feels like an impossible task and I feel incredibly guilty for my previous actions, but I know now that I can create small wins by challenging myself to limit my consumption habits, reduce pollution, and advocate for distributive environmental justice (Weick, 1984).

To summarize, for this project I took two types of action: proactive and reactive.  I was proactive by monitoring my consumption habits and donating and procuring supplies.  I was proactive by monitoring my trash, recycling and compost levels, trying to generate less each week, donating a variety of lightly used clothes and houseware to Goodwill, tracking my use of public transportation, and running a local supply drive for colleges serving homeless and/or low-income students.  I was reactive by calling politicians, signing petitions, and speaking to my friends and family about the importance of caring about not only our earth, but those who live on it.  I signed the petition to allow the water warriors to continue protecting their water and land.  I also called local and federal politicians to advocate for the Affordable Care Act to ensure that if you are harmed by your environment, you can heal.  Then, I spoke to friends and family to make sure that they would act too, showing my own actions by taking part in Facebook protests and sharing relevant articles that said things better than I ever could.  This way, I wouldn’t just create a quick fix solution, but I would use small wins to begin to institutionalize change on a micro and macro level (Weick, 1984).  By engaging in transformative justice, I am not only responding to the immediacy of the injustices or harm caused by climate change and pollution, I am addressing the structural issues that caused them to negatively affect certain communities of people (e.g. low-income people of color) (Capeheart & Milovanovic, 2007).

As a student affairs professional and social justice educator, I learned that I cannot only pay attention to the issues that affect students similar to me, but I must also address injustices that affect those who are different than me.  Since we live in a social world and cannot separate ourselves from society, so we have a moral requirement to learn to exist together and advocate for each other (Capeheart & Milovanovic, 2007).  I must use my experiences of privilege and oppression to fuel my actions and empathize with wide range of students of multiple levels to help them understand that in order to advocate for social justice, we just advocate for environmental justice as well.

References:

Capehart, L., & Milovanovic, D. (2007). Social justice: Theories, issues and movements. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Weick, K.E. (1984). Small wins: Redefining the scale of social problems. American Psychologist, 39(1), 40-49.

Young, I.M. (2013). Responsibility for justice. New York: Oxford University Press.

Change

I've been thinking a lot about how I can change. Change from being a passive bystander to accepting the "collective responsibility" that I have to stand up for the environment, and use my privileges to speak up to help those who are directly affected environmental racism or oppression of any kind (Young, 2013). While I get overwhelmed with guilt at times, and worry that my individual actions cannot solve the entire problem, I am starting to understand that I must keep taking my own actions, large and small. I have to change how I consume, call politicians to change laws about the Affordable Care Act and the Dakota Access Pipeline, and start conversations with my friends who agree and disagree. I have to work with environmental agencies and help plant trees, and talk to both those in power and my loved ones about the importance of these issues.

While I am overwhelmed with guilt enjoying my Thanksgiving vacation and days off work, I have been thinking a lot about the people risking their lives to save others to continue to push my actions (Young, 2013). The 5000+ water warriors and other allys who are risking their safety to keep water clean and communities and cultures alive (Sylvester, 2016). During my vacation, my family and I spend time on Whidbey Island. While there, I had the privilege of hiking through the South Whidbey State Park where I saw a tree that was over 500 years old. I was struck in awe, and the only reason it is still standing is because people wrapped themselves around the tree to save it form logging. It took only a dozen people to save this tree, and because the logging company couldn't cut down this tree, they decided to leave the entire forest up.

This promoted my wife to tell the story of an Indian man who single-handedly replanted and created a lush new forest ecosystem of 1,360 acres, thus saving the island he lived on (Lum, 2014). In Norther India's Assam region, Jadav "Molai" Payeng buried seeds to stop the world's largest island river Majuli from flooding and sinking the island, threatening the lives of over 170,000 people. In recent years, "flooding has become a problem intensified... due to the effects of climate change and earthquakes, leaving the river's shape and flow altered after seismic activity" (Lum, 2014). It took him over 30 years, but his single actions created a big change, which gives me hope that my small actions matter and I can use the "small wins" mentality of reducing huge problems to "mere problems" (Weick, 1984).  By doing this, it not only increases the likelihood of achieving some amount of success when addressing seemingly insurmountable issues, it also helps me process mentally and understand that it is possible for me to create change in the communities and world around me.

Moving forward, as a student affairs professional, educator, and person, I want to promote these values in my everyday life, and encourage moral development in those around me. I can do this by using disequilibrium, or cognitive conflict, which "occurs when individuals are faced with situations arousing internal contradictions in their moral reasoning structures or when they find their reasoning is different from that of significant others" (Evans et al., 2010, p. 103). Kohlberg's Theory (1981) outlines this type of conflict and states that exposure to conflict in both opinions and reasoning leads to moral development that embraces equity and fundamental human rights and values (Evans et. al, 2010; Walker, 1988). I can keep doing this by repeating the actions I've already taken. I can keep encouraging people not to waste and dispose food and products responsibly. I can keep encouraging people to call politicians and those in power to create change. I can keep helping those who are negatively affected, whether they are living in sacrifice zones or experiencing food deserts or pollution, by supporting food drives and donating clothes and speaking up (Yerman, 2015). For those who do not believe that climate change or other environmental issues are not real or damaging, I need to help create a cognitive dissonance that encourages people to think from a new perspective and learn to embrace change that promotes equity.

Still, I know I can do more. Everyday, I learn new things and I find new ways to create change and evoke action in higher education with an focus in environmental justice. As long as I keep challenging myself, I know I can create change over time, just like Molai.

References: 

Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., & Guido, F. (2010).  Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd edition).  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Weick, K.E. (1984). Small wins: Redefining the scale of social problems. American Psychologist, 39(1), 40-49.

Young, I.M. (2013). Responsibility for justice. New York: Oxford University Press.

Frustrated

I'm just so frustrated that I'm not doing enough. My wife and I have been talking a lot about what more we can do to get past the stage of caring and move towards action. Real action. We can change ourselves but we need to help other people get to the same point as we are starting to get to. Maybe my frustration, anger and sadness is fueling my action, and maybe that's not a bad thing.

I also haven't volunteered in way to long. I helped run a supply drive for NASPA WRC but I know I need to do more. I'm going to start volunteering for clean up crews around Seattle, doing small actions when I can because I don't want to use being busy as an excuse anymore. There's a organization called "Watch the Wild" where I can track the nature around me to serve a database to get data around what we can change and fix. And since we cant donate my wife wants to volunteer to write policy for environmental laws. Because our small actions are nothing without others. A team of people working towards the same goal, each person using their strengths to contribute the best way they can.

However, with our new president-elect, I am scared all of this won't even help. He wants to remove what he calls "job-killing restrictions" on oil and gas companies, including "shale energy and clean coal, creating many millions of high-paying jobs." In other words, he's going to improve our country by "by poisoning our air and water [and] getting rid of healthcare, including Obamacare and Medicare. So, when we're all sick from polluted air and water, we can all use our life savings to pay off our medical bills." (Badash, 2016) Fracking and the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline would have serious consequences on our environment, that are eventually going to be irreversible. Small individual actions, or small wins, are a great place to start, but we need to take responsibility, create large, group actions to create real environmental change, and address the issues it has already caused to both people and our earth (Weick, 1984).

As we all travel to our family and friends for Thanksgiving, I want to leave you with this article from the Huffington Post called "On Thanksgiving Week, Native Americans Are Being Tear-Gassed in North Dakota," about how we are celebrating food and love while protesters and activists are being tear gassed.

References:

Weick, K. E. (1984).  Small wins:  Redefining the scale of social problems.  American Psychologist 39, 40-49.

Reducing My Carbon Footprint

One habit that has been hard to break has been how much I consume and how much trash I produce.

This is my trash over 2 weeks. When I collected it and saw it all at once, it was disgusting. Almost everything I buy comes in wrapped in many layers. I get a lot of packages that I just recycle. I've started to compost over the last year (not pictured) and I know this helps but I am still producing too much trash that ends up in someone's neighborhood poisoning people, or is dumped in a landfill poisoning the earth.

With this in mind, I have also been trying to reduce other aspects of my carbon footprint. My wife and I just purchased a hybrid car (Note: we wanted a fully electric one, but it was out of our price range and we do not have the resources or home to charge an electric car) and I already use public transportation to commute to work and school, so I wanted to find other ways I could reduce how much I consume. 

I started with a quick one created by Conservation International Calculator that calculated aspects of my household, driving, and commuting/travel habits. I live in a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment for 2 people, I drive a hybrid car but rely on public transportation, and take 1-2 flights a year. We have central heating and gas, and no washer, dryer, or dishwasher. We also tend to eat mostly vegetables, grains, soy, fruits and nuts, and try not to eat meat unless its local, fresh, and organic. 

Based on these habits, the calculator suggested I donate $187 to offset my consumption to save the environment, specifically focusing on rain forests. It didn't say for how long, or how many times, so while this wasn't the best tool it confirms that if I don't do something to offset what I consume, I will just keep taking more resources than I need, thus taking away resources from others. Also, while I would love to  donate money, it's just not something that is in my budget right now as a newly wed and grad student. This is why I always donate things I'm not using anymore to Goodwill, and when possible, purchase new things I need from there as well. It might not offset everything, but it is another way I strive not to produce extra trash.

When I have some more time, I want to go do one that asks more questions, so I can get a better idea of areas of my life that I can improve in. I already strive to reduce my trash, recycling, and water consumption, but I'm sure there are other websites could help me see environmental justice from a new perspective. Especially because this website does not show the entirety of environmental racism or injustices, or the voices of those who are affected by my trash, but that is a post for another day.

Now What?

Something I have been struggling with since the election last Tuesday is how to use my privileges to continue to fight for environmental justice. In a time where so many people fear for the lives, I tend to forget about the needs of the environment and it feels more urgent to address the needs of those who are being hurt and killed. Hate crimes have spiked since Trump has become the president-elect, and it feels more important now than every to stand in solidarity with those who's rights are being threatened: LGBTQIA*, POC and undocumented folks, people who are disAbled, Muslims, women or any other marginalized person.

However, engaging with the Dakota Pipeline Access protests, talking to family members who live in Flint, MI who don't have clean drinking water, along with reading resources such as "Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental Quality" by Robert. D Bullard (1990) and "The Right to the City: Social Justice and the Fight for Public Space" by Don Mitchell (2003), helped reinforce the fact that environmental justice is a race issue. It is a class issue.  It cannot be separated from social justice because environmental justice is social justice. 

We cannot forget about the environment in the fight for equality because it is so closely tied to one another. 

NASPA WRC

Today was the last day of the Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education (NASPA) Western Regional Conference (November 9-12). This was my first regional NASPA conference, so to get more involved and meet people (AND work towards my social justice action project) I decided to volunteer with the Socioeconomic and Class Knowledge Community's Supply Drive. I coordinated with another student affairs professional from South Seattle to organize, manage, and deliver supplies to local organizations, including Evergreen State College, Thurston County Food Bank, and the University of Washington, Seattle campus. 

These are the supplies that I donated to the drive. Often times, supply drives are missing fresh foods, fruits and vegetables. Other items that are often needed in Seattle include rain and camping gear, baby foods and sanitary and personal hygiene products. Instant amen noodles tended to be one the most popular items because of its low price and ability to be adapted into so many different meals. 

My NASPA badge and the marketing we used to advertise the supply drive to conference attendees from both Region V and VI. We really wanted to help local organizations get the supplies they actually needed, so we called each one to see what their most popular items are and included those in our marketing efforts.

This is me sitting at the table to answer questions and collect supplies during the 4 days of the conference. While I didn't get the most visits because I didn't have candy or free pens to give away, people would stop by from time to time to drop off items. Many people gave monetary donations because they were unable to travel with other types of supplies, which is great so the local organizations can directly purchase what they need most. I also encouraged people to grab the shampoos and soaps from their hotel rooms if they weren't planning on using them, and those were the items we actually got the most of.

We didn't collect as much as we expected, but we got a good amount of monetary donations and lots of mini hotel hygiene products which we divided equally between the 3 organizations. We learned a lot about how to orchestrate a successful supply drive since ours didn't go as planned, and will hopefully be able to collect more supplies at the next conference. It wasn't spectacular, but I always tell myself that every little bit counts. Even if 1 person benefits from what we donated, it matters. It was a small win, in a bigger fight to end hunger and help those who are currently homeless or struggling to provide for themselves or their families.

Proactive and Reactive Actions

As I fight for environmental justice, I don't want to create a "band-aid" solution, I want to institutionalize change. This made more sense to me as I learned more about transformative justice in chapter 6 of Social justice: Theories, issues and movements because I am not only trying to “respond to the immediacy of the conflict or harm but also to situate it in a broader framework addressing structural issues” (Capeheart & Milovanovic, 2007, p. 61). For this social justice action project, I plan on being both proactive AND reactive to environmental injustices.

In terms of being proactive, I plan on monitoring how much trash I generate on a weekly basis and donating clothes and other items to charity. By doing these two things, I am limiting the amount of waste that ends up in low-income communities on a small scale. I am being reactive by engaging in protests that target the land and resources of marginalized communities because I want to fight against those in the government (and elsewhere) who think it is okay to engage in environmental racism and target those who do not have power and/or the voice to advocate for clean natural resources.

Over the last 2 weeks, I decided to get more engaged with the Dakota Access Pipeline protest in North Dakota. I stand in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in protesting this oil pipeline because it presents a threat to their lands, scared sites, water, and would destroy their way of life.

Unlike in the past, distance does not stop me from joining this protest despite the fact that I live in Seattle. I have been involved by signing the Move On online petition, and by checking in at Standing Rock on Facebook to confuse the local police officers who are using Facebook check-ins at Standing Rock to target protesters in attempts to disrupt the prayer camps.

While these passive behaviors often feel unimportant or unable to create real change, at the least I feel as if I am keeping the conversation about the Dakota Pipeline Access Protest alive. Many of the major U.S. news channels are refusing to cover the protest, so I believe this makes it even more important for me to continue to talk about it. I carry the belief that one person CAN make a difference, even if it takes a long time for anyone to listen, so I will continue to use my privilege and my voice in situations where others are not able, and in this case, it is the Sioux Tribe.

References:

Capehart, L., & Milovanovic, D. (2007). Social justice: Theories, issues and movements. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.