The unequal distribution of environmental goods and bads intensifies inequalities. What is further needed to understand the extent of environmental injustices is the element of coloniality, and,...Show moreThe unequal distribution of environmental goods and bads intensifies inequalities. What is further needed to understand the extent of environmental injustices is the element of coloniality, and, subsequently, decoloniality. In Latin America, scholars have noted indigenous groups make use of decolonial thought and praxis to advocate for their rights. While countries like Bolivia and Ecuador have advanced in implementing a pluristate – wherein indigenous livelihoods and epistemologies are recognized by the state – Brazil is described as incohesive and regressive when regarding indigenous rights. In the Amazon specifically, where natural resources attract business and development projects, indigenous groups have severely suffered from environmental injustices. This research focuses on studying how and to what extent is decoloniality employed to advance environmental justice for indigenous groups in the Amazon. In specific, the research focuses on the Munduruku people of the Tapajós Valley. In analyzing letters, demands, and public statements by the Munduruku, this study was able to infer strategies of decoloniality used to attain justice. Self-determination efforts are made through local governance structures, opposition to central government, and mobilization amongst themselves. Likewise, the Munduruku make use of their epistemologies, knowledge, and connection to their ancestors to press for epistemic justice. Finally, the Munduruku assert that justice for them is also justice for nature, breaking down the hierarchical notion of human/nature. Thus, this study showed that through decolonial strategies, the Munduruku empower themselves, their narrative, and their fight towards attaining a pluristate. With this in mind, this research showcases the need to further integrate indigenous knowledge within national frameworks and the need to confront the underlying structures of oppression that maintain groups like the Munduruku in environmental injustice.Show less
Between 1933 and 1945, the New Deal period of the United States brought with it an extensive overhaul of the body politic. Federal powers were strengthened, governmental agencies expanded across...Show moreBetween 1933 and 1945, the New Deal period of the United States brought with it an extensive overhaul of the body politic. Federal powers were strengthened, governmental agencies expanded across rural and urban country, and most importantly, it invigorated the hearts and minds of its citizens with a certain need to care for the environment. Environmental politics became a staple of the government, with agencies such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Farm Security Administration. Large-scale environmental workers projects were meant to bolster the nation’s economy during the Great Depression while conserving natural resources and providing sustainable environments. However, the benefits of the environmental and social programs of the New Deal were not enjoyed by all. African Americans received the short end of the stick, and were generally excluded from or discriminated within relief programs. The Conservation Corps segregated its worker camps and subjected many Black workers to menial tasks. The Tennessee Valley Authority often times provided no work to its employed Black workers. Farm relief did not apply to the majority of Black farmers, since they virtually owned no land following Emancipation. Within the nation’s capital, several prominent Black federal policy advisors, known as the “Black Cabinet,” attempted to incorporate Black Americans into New Deal relief. Amidst a political landscape indifferent to their plights, they enjoyed several victories, especially concerning ecological problems. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether the Black Cabinet were concerned with contemporary notions such as ‘environmental democracy’ and ‘environmental justice.’ Ultimately, this thesis is to find out whether the actions of the Cabinet hindered or favored processes of an environmental democracy.Show less
Cities are becoming increasingly hot places to live. This reality is promoted by climate change as well as by Urban Heat Island effects, which in turn promote higher levels of heat stress in urban...Show moreCities are becoming increasingly hot places to live. This reality is promoted by climate change as well as by Urban Heat Island effects, which in turn promote higher levels of heat stress in urban areas. Yet how these heat stress levels are felt across the city is not uniform due to the unequal distribution of public space, vegetation, and coping mechanisms through the city fabric, consequently promoting social vulnerability. Based on the literature and examples from North American cities, the purpose of this thesis is to establish if an unequal distribution of heat stress and consequent social vulnerability occurs in the city of The Hague. To do so, a linear regression was used to establish a relation between income and temperature levels, followed by a mixed methodology approach based on the framework of Harlan et al. (2006) where social conditions, thermal environment and coping mechanisms are analysed. The findings of this research show that in the neighbourhoods of The Hague there is a correlation between income levels and temperatures. Furthermore, low temperatures neighbourhoods follow a trend of high income, high vegetation levels, high coping mechanisms in the public space, and low levels of impervious surface. On the other hand, high-temperature neighbourhoods show lower income levels, low vegetation levels, low coping mechanisms and high levels of impervious surfaces. This scenario shines a light on the social inequality of public spaces through The Hague and draws parallels to the Environmental Justice issues of vulnerability found in the North American Cities. These findings are important for policymaking and the promotion of more integrated approaches between urban planning, urban design, climate mitigation strategies, health officials and the Municipality when proposing interventions at the local level.Show less
The Sustainable Development Goals of the UN aim at promoting initiatives that aid in fighting climate change and creating a more prosperous future. One project that has been greatly celebrated by...Show moreThe Sustainable Development Goals of the UN aim at promoting initiatives that aid in fighting climate change and creating a more prosperous future. One project that has been greatly celebrated by the UN is Morocco’s Solar Plan and NoorO, which is the largest CSP plant in the world. Yet, the case of NoorO can be said to be an example of green grabbing, which is a puzzling environmental justice issue, that on the surface may seem to be beneficial to climate change mitigation efforts. However, the project led to communities losing their land and livelihoods, so as to create space for the construction of NoorO. By investigating the following research question, “How do the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals facilitate green grabbing, specifically, in the case of the Noor Ouarzazate Solar Power Complex?”, this paper shows how the SDGs enabled green grabbing to occur under the guise of Goals 7 and 13. It is argued that by using language that is both ambiguous and narrow, the SDGs allowed injustices to fall upon marginalized communities in the Ouarzazate area. As such, effective climate change mitigation has to take into account the realities of all individuals, in order to be successfully achieved.Show less
This paper researches the way in which the Dutch GroeneKerken movement invokes ecotheology in its promotion of environmentalism amongst Christians in the Netherlands. Exploring the movement’s...Show moreThis paper researches the way in which the Dutch GroeneKerken movement invokes ecotheology in its promotion of environmentalism amongst Christians in the Netherlands. Exploring the movement’s appeal to ecotheology will tell us something about the way in which Christian communities in the Netherlands have been adjusting to the rising awareness of the gravity of the environmental crisis. The paper relies upon an interpretative research method. Larger theoretical ideas about ecotheology have been used to make sense of the way in which the GroeneKerken movement promotes environmentalism amongst Christians in the Netherlands. This involved qualitative analysis of the movement through the lens of three different hermeneutical keys for interpreting the Bible ecologically: ecocentrism, environmental justice and environmental stewardship. It will be demonstrated that the GroeneKerken movement implicitly and explicitly invokes the ecotheological notions of ecocentrism, environmental justice and environmental stewardship in its promotion of environmentalism.Show less
Economic sanctions have frequently been used as a foreign policy tool against the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The consequences of these sanctions have been...Show moreEconomic sanctions have frequently been used as a foreign policy tool against the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The consequences of these sanctions have been investigated for instance in the context of basic human rights. However, the quality of life for Iran’s local communities is also largely defined by trends of environmental change, particularly those relating to water, such as more frequent droughts and flooding. As economic sanctions have, directly or indirectly, led to diminished resources at the national and local level, the capacity of local communities to adapt to environmental change is also hindered. An analysis of these international-national-local relations through the lens of environmental justice suggests that such community-level indirect effects should be better taken into account in evaluating the consequences and justification of economic sanctions.Show less
