With COVID-19 the new topic of terror in our world, issues such as climate change have almost become obsolete to the blind eye. But, the fight for environmental justice has not yet been halted. Environmental justice is a movement that encourages the equal distribution of environmental benefits and burdens.
In a positive light, COVID-19 stay-at-home orders have urged many creative and intelligent people to put their talents to work.
My mother, for example, has a passion and skill for fashion and design. She has been able to kick start her business selling recycled material face masks and the business has blossomed. My mother is not the only one who has found light in this new-normal society. Many youth and organizations have been hosting webinars, teleconferences and more to continue the fight for environmental justice.
It is extremely difficult to put a positive spin on the entirety of the situation, but, the fall of more material things such as clubs, bars, restaurants, malls, etc could be the birth of something we as a society have needed this whole time. COVID-19 has encouraged many to return to more sustainable ways of living and come up with new alternatives.
In Atlanta, an extremely industrial city, the idea of home backyard gardening has surged with the virus. Not only is it a safe, stress-free activity, it also is a new method of self-reliance and self-sustainability. The city of Portland has also done the same thing.
The crisis caused by the pandemic has forced a re-emergence of a movement toward self-reliance, self-determination and mutual aid. The African American community has a rich history of sharing resources, cooperatives and mutual aid which Jessica Gordon Nembhard lays out in her book “Collective Courage.”
Relating back to the issue of climate, while some are choosing this time to grow, others are using this time to breakdown the complexity of the climate issue and look deeply into how COVID-19 impacts it. A rather interesting argument is that climate change should be treated with the same sense of urgency and level of seriousness that COVID-19 has received, if not more. In fact, the impacts of climate change on health (including increasing the likelihood of future pandemics), the economy, food supply and the habitability of large parts of the Earth will be far more severe than most of us imagine long before the end of the century.
One of the large but often overlooked connections between COVID-19 and climate is that communities that are more susceptible to pollution are more vulnerable to the virus. Along with that, the connection between the two crises is that these are human issues. Meaning, we all will experience this and it’s going to be uncomfortable, but it will take a lot of work to recover. I encourage everyone to make use of this time, whether it’s gardening or finding a new craft of some sort and remember there is truly a silver lining on every cloud we may face.
Asli Mwaafrika is a climate justice intern with the Kheprw Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on youth development in Indianapolis. She has also traveled around the country as a youth leader engaged in the Climate Justice Alliance.
