Environmental Justice: Why Intersectionality Matters
Fedora Liu ’24
Christine Wu ’25
Environmental issues, such as air pollution and over-industrialization, are not unfamiliar to the modern individual; it’s a consensus amongst most that we face problems created and persisting due to destructive, man-made decisions. But who exactly is affected, and to what disproportionate, unethical degree?
This is where the purpose and importance of environmental justice and intersectionality become apparent. Environmental justice, broadly speaking, is a framework that considers a meaningful and ethical relationship between people of all backgrounds and their involvement with environmental strides. In other words, it examines how certain groups of people have been affected and targeted by environmental issues, often due to their socioeconomic or racial background. On the other hand, intersectionality focuses on how an individual's identifiers and background affect them differently. Although contentious in application, the intention in examining and defining intersectionality is not; in its purest sense, intersectionality seeks to understand the truthful, multifaceted manner in which a particular experience, identity, or issue manifests. Environmental justice, which bridges the gaps between different pursuits, provides just one example of the importance of intersectionality.
This is especially important in environmental justice, which is deeply connected to environmentalism and cannot be separated from its focus on nuance. Examples of contentions that environmental justice workers seek to address include the destruction or unwanted industrialization of indigenous lands, such as the Dakota Access Pipeline, or excessive pollution in low-income or minority communities (a form of environmental racism), which can be seen in South Los Angeles. Notice that all these issues are, without a doubt, environmental issues: constructing systems that promote the accessibility of light, sweet crude oil - a fossil fuel and possible contaminant of the Missouri River, and introducing unnatural and harmful substances into the air that may harm not only humans near the direct source but also the local ecosystem as well as further, transboundary areas.
But let us remember why these issues continue to matter: most fundamentally, it's because of the people they affect. The “environment” we speak of cannot be separated from the people, and vice versa. Thus, all “environmental” issues are human issues. While identifiers (such as those listed above) are essential in emphasizing distinctiveness and uniqueness, they are also divisive, and perhaps we forget that they are interconnected with and touch other parts of our lives. And, as long as issues within seemingly disparate sectors of human sustainability persist, the intersectionality between such frameworks must be considered. Thus, any work that strives to protect the environment must also acknowledge the people who define and call such environments home to ensure a comprehensive understanding of these issues and provide truly inclusive solutions.
References
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Asmelash, L. (2023, April 19). “intersectionality” has become a hot-button topic in recent years. here’s what it means. CNN.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/19/us/intersectionality-feminism-explainer-cec/index.html
Levin, S. (2016, November 3). Dakota Access Pipeline: The who, what and why of the standing rock protests. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/03/north-dakota-access-oil-pipeline-protests-explainer
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https://www.nrdc.org/stories/environmental-justice-movement
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