Are You Practicing Environmental Racism?
By Lily Jialun Li and Jialin Fan
This post is part of a series in diverse mediums focusing on the theme “How do we envision equity in global health?”. These submissions are by McGill students who were part of the course, Fundamentals of Global Health, in Fall 2023.
Climate change is exerting a multifaceted impact on human health, manifesting through a spectrum of adverse effects, including rising mortality due to increasingly frequent extreme weather. However, the problem of climate change has always been reduced to cutting emissions and improving health outcomes, rather than a holistic examination of the systems of oppression and inequality that contribute to these issues (1). The government’s focus on emission analysis has overshadowed the differential impacts faced by people worldwide. For example, the Indigenous communities, whose lands are rich in oil and gas, are among the first and most severely affected (3). Boat Harbour, a First Nation estuary in Nova Scotia, endured environmental degradation and toxic pollution due to hunting and fishing activities. Similarly, people of Niger Delta, a frontline community of the fossil fuel industry, experience a drop in life expectancy of 10 years compared to other Nigerian communities. Research indicates that the top 10% of global income earners generate nearly 50% of total CO2 consumption-based emissions, whereas the bottom 50%, who tend to face more direct impacts, generate merely 7% (2). Such environmental racism, perpetuated by unjust policies and practices, exacerbates existing inequalities, such as low income and poverty (4).
Living in an urbanized city may insulate us from the direct effects of climate issues, but we must not overlook the ongoing extractions and the inaction of people in power. The cartoon illustrates three extractive practices and everyday actions, such as wasting natural resources and generating excess carbon footprint, that indirectly contribute to the extractive process. Such behaviors result in Indigenous and marginalized communities being disproportionately burdened by toxic exposures. In the world of polycrisis, if we stay silent about the issues, we risk exacerbating a cycle of climate degradation and inequalities. Hence, it’s a call for action, especially for the youth, who can readily adopt more sustainable behaviors and advocate for equality.
References
1. Howard C, MacNeill A, Hughes, Alqodmani L, Charlesworth K, Almeida R, Harris R, Jochum B, Maibach E, Maki L, McGrain F, Miller J, Nirmala M, Pencheon D, Robertson S, Sherman J, Vipond J, Yin H, Montgomery H. Learning to treat the climate emergency together. [Internet]. 2023 March [cited 2023 December 4]. Available From: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(23)00022-0/fulltext
2. Deivanayagam T, Osborne R. Breaking Free From Tunnel Vision For Climate Change And Health. [Internet]. 2023 March 9 [cited 2023 December 4]. Available From: https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0001684
3. Lau J. Fossil fuel extraction is harming Indigenous communities, say experts. [Internet]. 2022 April 20 [cited 2023 December 4] Available From: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/fossil-fuel-extraction-harming-indigenouscommunities
4. Waldron I. Environmental Racism in Canada. [Internet]. Ottawa: Canadian Commission For UNESCO; 2020 July [cited 2023 December 4] Available From: https://en.ccunesco.ca/-/media/Files/Unesco/Resources/2020/07/EnvironmentalRacismCanada.pdf