Prior to watching the “One-Night Teach-In on Climate and Justice,” I was quite honestly only familiar with climate change and justice as two separate issues.  Climate change is our global population’s actions that negatively affect the Earth and its ability to sustain life in a safe environment without extreme weather fluctuations (Yearwood, 2022).  The issue of justice is an issue that we are still working on as a nation and a global community; justice is equity and moral rightness (Definition of justice, 2002).   Battles of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or background, origin, or socioeconomic status among many others occur daily.  This presentation highlighted how the issues of climate change and justice, specifically, are deeply interwoven (Yearwood, 2022).  It was eye opening to learn how getting involved on a local level can not only make a significant influence on the outcome of not only the environment but offer justice for communities that live in areas that may experience the brunt of the effects of climate change.

During the presentation, Reverend Lennox Yearwood showed a preview of his upcoming documentary, Underwater Projects.  He discussed how there are certain communities here in the U.S. that are experiencing the negative effects of climate change more significantly than others.  The preview takes place in Norfolk, Virginia, which is a city below sea-level and has a high incidence of poverty (Yearwood, 2020).  One housing community that is significantly at risk for flooding due to global warming is St. Pauls.  St. Pauls’ housing “stops before the flood-wall begins” (Yearwood, 2020, 1:38:50).  While the government offered “vouchers for Section 8 housing” to urge people to move to other locations that would put them at less risk, it was described that “people are running out of places to go” (Yearwood, 2020, 1:39:13).  This preview really highlighted how there are substantial disparities between communities and how negatively affected certain communities are by climate change(Yearwood, 2020).  While there is a tremendous amount of work that needs to occur to address the impacts of climate change and racial injustice, I recognized from these presentations that even small initiatives can have a significant impact. 

These presentations showed how on a local level, getting groups of people together can bridge the gaps between not only healthcare and vulnerable populations, but also address a multitude of issues such as climate change and sustainable, affordable housing.  As we learned from the presentation, these issues are not isolated occurrences, they all relate (Yearwood, 2020).  As a nurse, I hope to help these communities by joining a group focused on climate change in Southern Maine so that I can not only gain a better understanding of ways that we can help improve the outlook of our coastal community, but we can also identify those communities who climate change may be impacting more so than others, and address their needs, as well.  By using the different lenses that Leia Lowery discussed such as “socioculturual, economic, and ecological,” then we can better address how to mitigate these climate changes while supporting our whole communities and not just one portion of the population (Lowery, 2022, 1:28:49).  While I recognize that change takes time, the small steps that we can make today in helping improve our environment and the health and well-being for all communities is a step closer to achieving justice for all.

References

Definition of justice. (2002). Www.Dictionary.Com. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/justice

Lowery, L. (2022). One-Night Teach-In on Climate and Justice. [Panel Presentation]. University

of New England.

Yearwood, L. (2022). One-Night Teach-In on Climate and Justice. [Panel Presentation].

University of New England.

Yearwood, L. (2020). Underwater Projects [Documentary preview]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/universityofnewengland/videos/546199003458964