Everyone everywhere feels the effects of climate change. Destructive weather, damaged infrastructure, and the increased threat of natural disasters are a widespread concern of people all over the globe. However, not everyone affected by climate change will be hurt the same way. A major aspect of the dangers of climate change is the idea of climate inequality. Certain groups of people, especially poorer households, people of color, and the disabled are affected by this problem more than others. For example, food insecurity in poor third-world countries is exacerbated by a drop in the output of farms. Poorer countries also tend to lack the resources necessary to mitigate the damages associated with climate change.
On top of that, climate disasters such as wildfires or destructive storms tend to be more deadly in less developed areas than they are in rich countries like the United States due to the lack of resources available to officials.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, research shows that the challenges associated with climate change have already hurt the growth of their respective economies, which in turn makes them increasingly vulnerable in the future.
Climate
change also has been shown to make social issues like inequality worse within individual
countries as well, not just between them. For example, climate change affects men and women differently due to the deeply held social norms of affected
communities. According to Voré Gana Seck, who is the founder and executive director of Green
Senegal, “Climate change affects women because they are usually the main food
producers of crops like rice, millet, vegetables. Because of no rain, climate change
affects them, and girls have to drop out of school because they need to start
working for their families.”
Climate inequality is also apparent
in issues of race in the United States. Environmental Racism refers to “the unequal access to a clean environment and
basic environmental resources based on race.” In fact, people of color are much more likely to be living near hazardous waste
and tend to have much lower access to resources concerning health and the
climate. These inequitable living conditions also include increased exposure to
carbon emissions leading to higher risks to health including cancers and
chronic conditions like asthma. Climate disasters also tend to cause more damage and lead to worse outcomes for primarily
black neighborhoods. All of these inequalities can be traced back to racist discriminatory
practices from the redlining of neighborhoods to the comparatively low funding
of health services and infrastructure. There are many more details on racial
climate inequality in the two links above, and I highly recommend you read them
for more information.
Due to
the inherent inequalities associated with climate change, it’s absolutely essential
to go about addressing them in an equitable manner in line with the specific
needs and cultures of the affected communities. There already are organizations
in the United States dedicated to this specific issue such as the NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program and the Natural Resources Defense Council, as well as
international ones like UNEP and the IPCC. These groups all work
towards similar goals of solving the problem of climate change in an equitable way.
Together, we as a society must push for the phasing out of fossil fuels as
well as mitigation of the destruction that the problem causes.
It is devastating to think that there are so many people are suffering across the globe. I always feel like a speck on the planet when I see maps showing everyone's struggles. It makes my own everyday struggles not seem so bad.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting post especially after our discussion in class last Thursday. When we were discussing how climate migration would leave many people unable to move and unjustly favor those with the means to migrate.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post prompted me to think about a statistic provided in Nomad Century, it states that predominantly African American and Latino communities are on average 2.8 degrees celsius hotter than higher income communities within the same cities. It is clear that the immediate results of the climate crisis are impacting low income areas where some individuals are already struggling to survive without these mitigating circumstances.
ReplyDeleteThe way you connected climate change to systemic inequalities, both globally and within the US, really highlights the urgency of addressing these issues in a way that prioritizes vulnerable communities.
ReplyDeleteNicely done Andrew, this is a really tough subject to discuss. Thank you for opening my eyes to the Natural Resources Defense Council and NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice program.
ReplyDeleteClimate change will not affect everyone equally. With the ultra rich being able to relocate and adapt easier than the lower class. It just seems wrong that the people struggling the most are going to be impact the most too.
ReplyDeleteThinking about how the Earth's climate has been changing, i've been only thinking about the United States, but never really thought about third world countries and how they are the real ones to be taking the beating from all of this.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post, Andrew! Climate inequality is no joke, and it’s wild how the most vulnerable communities get hit the hardest. The link between environmental racism and past discrimination is seriously eye-opening. Do you think the government’s doing enough, or is it gonna take a bigger shake-up to fix this?
ReplyDeleteI recall learning about redlining communities in my Human Geography class. I had never heard of it before and thought it was interesting how certain communities were places on the map and how the environment effected then and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteThis is an eye-opening topic, since it demonstrates how the people that are already suffering the most will feel the impacts of climate change quicker and more disastrously. I worry about the livelihood of countries that cannot economically recover from hurricane damage or forest fire destruction. This is especially apparent if they are already struggling to afford basic necessities.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post, it is scary to think of how all the countries and the world are impacted by climate change, especially 3rd world countries. After our class discussion on migration, it's great to see how this has been implemented into our blog posts.
ReplyDeleteClimate change disproportionately harms marginalized communities, exacerbating existing inequalities in both wealthier and developing nations. Addressing climate justice requires equitable solutions that prioritize vulnerable populations and promote sustainable change.
ReplyDeleteI found your use of graphs particularly compelling in this post, to truly see this inequality visualized is deeply striking. I feel like considering the social impacts of this phenomenon are incredibly important. The inequalities of climate-change are just as human-made as climate change itself.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post. The effects of climate change keep growing in this class. I hadn't thought of the health effects it could have on us if we breathe in too much CO2. It's a scary thing to think about knowing that cancer is a possibility even when it doesn't run in the family.
ReplyDeleteHow do you think we can better support these communities in the fight against climate change?
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. One part that I found interesting was the section about the economic impacts of climate change. How will the global warming continue to work to degrade the global economy?
ReplyDeleteThese cases of climate inequality and the rate of climate injustice against certain minority groups is infuriating. I hope that the insights from the newer generations can hopefully drive out the traditional mindsets of those currently in power, these inequalities already seem dated and are completely unfair to continue to be occurring at this rate.
ReplyDeleteI know we are concerned about ways the Trump administration. is undoing efforts to address the climate - and especially climate and environmental justice! What climate change says to me is that we have only one planet and we must work together and support each other, especially the most vulnerable, to preserve it. And shut down fossil fuel plants which in and of itself would be a step of environmental justice for reasons you explain.
ReplyDeleteClimate change does not care about borders by any means, but for some reason, our nations do, and our foreign policy reflects that for better or worse. Usually worse, in this case. This post reminds me of US AID- which is responsible for distributing aid to disadvantaged nations- and how the Trump administration is actively gutting it faster than the lawsuits can come in. We're never going to succeed in the climate justice fight if we try our isolationist approach. There's always value to helping those in need, even if it doesn't line the ulta-rich's pockets.
ReplyDeleteRacism is a weakness in every way possible, policies are to keep a countries order (and separates nations from others. If pollution is going everywhere it would behoove countries to work together to help fix a problem we globally have
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