What is Intersectional Environmentalism?
A term that you may have only recently heard of, but is more important than ever, is intersectional environmentalism. But what is it?
Did you know that advocating for a cleaner and healthier planet also means advocating for social justice? It may not seem like it on the surface, but these two concepts are linked.
Leah Thomas describes intersectional environmentalism perfectly:
“This is an inclusive version of environmentalism that advocates for both the protection of people and the planet. It identifies the ways in which injustices happening to marginalized communities and the earth are interconnected. It brings injustices done to the most vulnerable communities, and the earth, to the forefront and does not minimize or silence social inequality. Intersectional Environmentalism advocates for justice for people + the planet.”
Check out this video for more:
Intersectionality, as mentioned in the video, was first defined by Kimberlé Crenshaw. It’s the belief that based on various identity characteristics, individuals may be differently impacted by “a combination of interconnected social structures.” There are multiple aspects to humanity including race, gender, class, sexual orientation, age, body type, and many more, and these aspects don’t exist separately from each other. They are inextricably linked, meaning that individuals whose identities overlap with a number of these minority classes will face many more threats of oppression in their life.
Simply put, people and the environment go hand in hand. Taking a look at how we can protect and preserve our environment means looking at how it affects and may not be accessible to everyone. It’s complicated and multi-layered. The common recommendations to help our planet aren’t a one size fits all solution for everyone.
For example, where you live has a major impact on your quality of life and health. Communities that were redlined often have more waste, pollution, and urban heat islands because of a lack of greenery and proximity to industrial facilities. On the other hand, more affluent neighborhoods have more tree canopy, cleaner air, and access to green spaces such as parks. All of this was done by design and disproportionately impacts poor, Black, Latinx, and Native communities. Such solutions involve more inclusive zoning changes, investments in green infrastructure, and equitable policies that protect all people.
We see differences in the climate movement as well. The language that is used and the way we talk about climate change does not always center communities of color - the people who are most impacted by environmental injustice. Quite often, the focus is on the science of climate and mitigation efforts to reduce our carbon footprint instead of existing disparities that are being exacerbated because of climate change. This, too, is a complex issue in how we talk about health, housing, the economy, and even food security for the future. Unfortunately, we haven’t done the best job of educating, engaging, and empowering our communities on these issues.
Let’s take recycling, the last resort when you’ve made efforts to reduce and reuse materials. It’s great to think that if we all can recycle, then we can limit waste. That seems simple enough, right? But many towns, especially in rural areas, don’t provide recycling options for families in addition to underfunded communities that don’t have the resources to educate residents on the importance of recycling. The lack of accessibility compounded with a lack of cooperation from corporations to reduce packaging makes reducing landfill waste a challenge.
Another example is the push to ban straws. Sure, taking away straws can reduce the likelihood that they’ll end up in the ocean, where they’ll never break down and harm our wildlife. That’s cool that there are new innovative lids that allow you to enjoy your drink without needing a straw. But now you’ve isolated people who need straws to live. Maybe they can’t pick up a drink, so the straw is their means to eat and drink. Reusable straws would be a nice alternative, but now you have to consider that there are people who don’t have the means to buy and care for them.
These examples illustrate how environmentalism alone doesn’t always consider how certain environmentally-favorable movements can exclude people who don’t have the same privileges. That’s not to say we should stop doing these things, but to consider how we can make these actions more accessible to everyone. Intersectionality is crucial to environmental activism because we have to be aware of how environmental issues affect people from all walks of life if we want real, solid change.
If we’re going to create a better future for everyone with legitimate and lasting change, then environmental activists need to check their privilege and listen and engage with communities across the identity spectrum. Ethical Unicorn puts it really well when they said, without an intersectional approach “activists may think they’re moving towards important social change, but they’re really only creating progress for a very small, very limited number of people.”
Learning that environmentalism is intersectional is just the start. We highly recommend diving deeper into these resources:
Intersectional Environmentalism: A Crash Course by Back to Zero on Medium
Intersectional Environmentalist - loads of downloads and resources to learn and take action
Intersectional Environmentalism: Why Environmental Justice Is Essential For A Sustainable Future by Leah Thomas on The Good Trade
Intersectionality Is Important For Environmental Activism Too - Ethical Unicorn