GOLD GOES GREEN:Understanding the USF Lens of the

Environmental Movement

Presenter: Kelly Cook

Traditional Views of Environmentalism

• Hippies• Idealists• Putting trees

before people

What is Social Justice?• A People Issue!

• Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being.

Are environmentalism and social justice related??

Humans and Environmental Impacts

• How does environmental degradation ultimately affect people?• Air Pollution• Water pollution• Hazardous waste• Food and nutrition• Climate Change

• Are some people affected more than others by environmental degradation?

San Francisco Income Distribution

San Francisco Waste Management Facilities

San Francisco Stormwater Treatment Facilities

Group Exercise: Community Stakeholders and Decision-Making

Instructions: Everyone get in groups according to the title you are given, either Government, Business, Upper Class, Middle Class, or Lower Class. Listen to the scenarios given about your relationships to other groups. Then have a discussion: What is your reaction to thse relationships? Who is responsible for fixing the inequities?

Conclusions for Sunnytown

• Environmental degradation is a visible problem in Sunnytown

• The lower class, a community made up of low income households and ethnic minorities, is affected by this environmental degradation more than other parts of the community

• Environmental inequities should be fixed• BUT, assigning responsibility is difficult – shared

responsibility of other 4 stakeholder groups makes creating a change very difficult because no 1 party wants to change their behavior

What about on a Global Scale?Climate Change is happening due to an excess of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, causing our global temperature to increase.

What are Greenhouse Gases from?

Sources of Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Hardest Impacts of Climate Change:

South/Central America and Africa will be affected the most by climatic changes, just based on temperature

Traditional Views of Environmentalism

Implications of Climate Change for Developing Nations

• Temperature will rise, causing heat waves• Seasons will change, disrupting agriculture and food security• Lack of money to provide infrastructure that may defend against climate change impacts, especially natural disasters• Thus, countries that do not share historical responsibility for climate change will have to suffer from the worst impacts of it

Developed Countries Need to Take Responsibility in Order to Attain Environmental Justice

BUT, who’s responsible? Governments? Corporations? Communities? Individuals?

This argument currently makes up most of the political debates about climate change, weakening the global response.

Our Response?A collective effort to lessen our carbon footprints

in order to achieve a more equitable future for those countries bearing the burden of climate

change that they did not cause.

What can we do?

BE THE CHANGE:Encourage USF to develop a climate action plan TODAY