{"id":33491,"date":"2021-02-10T11:30:43","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T11:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grist.org\/?p=498679"},"modified":"2021-02-10T11:30:43","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T11:30:43","slug":"the-generational-rift-over-intersectional-environmentalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/02\/10\/the-generational-rift-over-intersectional-environmentalism\/","title":{"rendered":"The generational rift over \u2018intersectional environmentalism\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
New eras are often marked by changes in language.<\/p>\n
Whereas the Trump administration was calling natural gas \u201cmolecules of freedom<\/a>,\u201d the Biden administration has gone all-in on \u201cenvironmental justice<\/a>.\u201d President Biden made it a primary theme of one of his first executive orders and created a new council for addressing equity, on top of nominating North Carolina\u2019s Department of Environmental Quality Secretary, Michael Regan<\/a>, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. This is a new emphasis for the White House, and it has contributed to increased mainstream media coverage<\/a> of the environmental justice movement.<\/p>\n But much like Biden\u2019s oft-used catchphrase, \u201clisten to the science<\/a>,\u201d his vocabulary on equity might not be translating quite how he means it to — especially when compared to the way young climate leaders are currently talking about injustice.<\/p>\n \u201cRacial justice, economic justice, immigration justice — it\u2019s all climate justice,\u201d wrote Nikayla Jefferson, a Sunrise Movement organizer and graduate student, in a November op-ed titled \u201cIt\u2019s our party now<\/a>.\u201d \u201cThis isn\u2019t just the white climate kids\u2019 movement anymore — this is an intersectional movement for justice.\u201d<\/p>\n Intersectional environmentalism<\/em> — yes, it is<\/em> a mouthful — rings true with many young environmental activists today. The uptick in its use<\/a> goes back to this past spring, shortly after the death of George Floyd. Eco-influencer Leah Thomas, commonly known as Green Girl Leah, posted on Instagram<\/a> last May, asking environmentalists to step up and acknowledge the racial disparities in their own organizations. \u201cI\u2019m calling on the environmentalist community to stand in solidarity with the black lives matter movement and with Black, Indigenous + POC communities impacted daily by both social and environmental injustice,\u201d she wrote. \u201cPlease swipe to learn more about intersectional environmentalism and take the pledge.\u201d<\/p>\n