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Environmental Justice
What is environmental justice?
Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
“A powerful movement for change is building. We see and feel it, in the Black Lives Matter protests and the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, with hundreds of groups and thousands of people mobilizing with concrete policy demands, and police departments all over the country being re-imagined. This is a time for each or us and each of our organizations to find our role in the bigger picture of what is happening. Although these crises may seem separate - health, unemployment, police brutality, racism, climate disruption, political polarization, wealth inequality - the Pachamama vision reminds us of their interconnectedness. Our society cannot address any one of them unless we are willing to look at their root causes and work for justice in every area of our society.”
–Sue Staropoli, July 2020 Pachamama Alliance Rochester Area Newsletter
To learn more:
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NEW! Register for Pachamama Alliance's CLIMATE ACTION NOW Course - Unlock your understanding of Climate Justice and take meaningful action to address the climate crisis by finding your role to play.
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Read the Environmental Justice Platform: 17 Principles of Environmental Justice - Adopted at The First People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991, this has served as a defining document for the growing grassroots movement for environmental justice.
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Read our Guide to Environmental Justice, which includes definitions, articles, videos, and podcasts
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Check out this blog post from Katie Rygg of Color Penfield Green: Exploring Policies that Address Climate Change and Different Degrees of Climate Justice
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Visit EJnet.org: Web Resources for Environmental Justice Activists
Contact for Environmental Justice: suestar1@rochester.rr.com
Color Your Community Green
Advancing Climate Solutions at the Community Level
Our municipalities are the small but mighty building blocks of our region and state, and also of regional and statewide climate action. These towns, villages, and cities possess a great deal of authority and autonomy in “home rule” New York, meaning that much of the climate progress needed in our region can only happen when municipalities take action.
The Climate Solutions Accelerator mobilizes climate action across the nine-county Genesee-Finger Lakes Region through the Color Your Community Green (CYCG) initiative. Inspired by Accelerator member organization Color Brighton Green, CYCG aims to connect and organize concerned individuals, by the community, to form a network of climate-focused citizen action teams that will:
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Identify locally relevant, high-impact climate solutions
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Advocate for environmental justice and equitable climate solutions to be implemented at the municipal level;
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Determine the best path forward for their community, with support from the Accelerator, fellow CYCG teams, and other climate organizations in the region.
