Environmental Issues Advocacy
Environmental issues advocacy covers a vast array of activities, from volunteer projects to lobbying. The goal is to protect the environment by influencing business and government decisions.
Working on environmental issues involves research, planning and delivery, then measuring progress and adjusting the plan accordingly. The most important thing is to get started.
Young Women’s Role
Women, especially in rural areas, are often at the forefront of environmental issues. They face the consequences of deforestation and climate change disproportionately as they struggle to care for their land, families and communities. Women are the driving force behind many environmental movements, from the grassroots Chipko movement in India to the Green Belt movement in Kenya.
Grassroot women leaders like Alice Hamilton and Marjorie Richard helped spark the environmental justice movement in the United States by highlighting the high rates of cancer, birth defects, and other health ailments in their communities due to leaded gasoline pollution. Today, young women activists are continuing this legacy by educating the public on climate change and organizing student strikes.
Anastasija, an eco-conscious millennial from Bosnia and Herzegovina, takes it upon herself to read every ingredient label to ensure her food is sustainably produced. She also tries to encourage her peers to do the same. She says that everyone should feel empowered to contribute to the environmental movement, no matter their capacity or knowledge.
Educating the Public
Environmental issues are complex, and it can be difficult to keep up with current events. Educating the public about environmental issues is vital to driving positive action toward sustainable practices.
Media plays an important role in the education of the general public, especially with regard to risk communication and the cultivation of environmental awareness. However, it is also important that media balances its advocacy with journalistic ethics and accuracy.
In addition, there is a need to make information more accessible and interesting to the public. According to one study, both local and national newspapers over-relied on government sources for news about the environment, which tends to present established views of environmental problems.
Educators can also teach students about environmental justice, as it is important to consider how environmental threats affect marginalized populations. For example, pollution and climate change can have the greatest impacts on communities of color and low-income individuals. Teaching these issues can help students understand the need to support activists fighting for environmental justice.
Engaging Professionals
An environmental activist’s goal is to protect the environment and its natural resources. They are concerned about pollution, climate change and natural resource depletion. They may call or write to elected officials, attend public hearings and city council meetings, or join protests.
When addressing environmental issues, it is important to engage with a wide range of stakeholders. Having diverse stakeholders can help to identify, characterize and prioritize pressing environmental issues, develop effective solutions, and improve communication strategies.
It is also important to consider how environmental advocacy efforts impact marginalized communities. Environmental organizations should not paternalistically dominate collaborations with communities and ensure that the community members have autonomy over their participation in research projects.
In addition, there should be a clear and transparent process for connecting frontline communities with mainstream environmental organizations and other allies that can support them. This could include workshops, trainings, mentoring, funding opportunities and networking. This approach can increase the self-efficacy of community members to participate in environmental health research and advocacy activities.
Taking Action
Ultimately, environmental activism is about being a responsible steward of the Earth. This can take many forms, from recycling and donating to protesting the fossil fuel industry. Regardless of the action, environmental activists need to be ready to stand up for what they believe in and be open to working with other like-minded people, whether it’s local grassroots efforts or national campaigns.
In the years that followed the Afton incident, environmental justice (EJ) activists recognized a pattern: corporations, regulatory agencies, and local planning and zoning boards consistently targeted low-income communities of color for polluting facilities like landfills, waste transfer stations, incinerators, garbage dumps, diesel bus and truck garages, industrial hog and chicken farms, smokestack industries, and oil refineries.
Mainstream organizations taking the lead on environmental initiatives should make an effort to engage with EJ advocates. This can be done through community meetings, surveys, and feedback. Incorporating EJ into all aspects of environmental advocacy will help to ensure the voices of frontline communities are heard.