Climate Mental Health

Climate Justice

I long for the day when low-income, black, Indigenous and people of color do not suffer disproportionately from the irresponsible stewardship that we all contribute to.

Dr Jalonne White-Newsome

People from marginalized communities disproportionately feel the impacts of climate change as they often live in communities that experience more natural disasters, higher air pollution, or higher temperatures. Exposure to these hazards may lead to increased damage to or loss of infrastructure and homes, health issues and possibly even forced migration. Due to these disproportionate effects, climate justice should be at the center of every discussion about climate change and its impacts on health. Climate justice is not possible without racial justice.

Know people from under-resourced and overburdened communities are disproportionally impacted by climate change and that they experience climate grief more deeply than the majority population

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Under-resourced and overburdened communities have fewer opportunities, training, and means to act in response to natural disasters, and often face political, social, and economic barriers to mitigating impacts and adapting to a changing climate. White people and those with more wealth are often able to secure more federal recovery aid after a natural disaster. Hurricane Katrina is one of many examples in which climate change has disproportionately impacted minority populations. In the aftermath of the hurricane, the mortality rate among African American residents of New Orleans was four times higher than that of white residents, and, due to lower insurance rates, the reconstruction and return rates to New Orleans in the first year among African Americans were much lower (42%) than of white people (70%). Navigation of these challenges, in addition to the pain experienced through historical oppression, has led to people of color experiencing climate grief more deeply than white people.

Resources:

An Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators has a variety of resources that explore decolonization, intersectionality, and eco-emotions within the lens of climate change.

Include diverse sets of voices, especially those most impacted

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Resources:

How Black Joy Farm Fights Food Deserts in the Bronx is a video that talks about...
9 Climate Activists of Color You Should Know provides examples and interviews with climate activists.
Young Activists Working at the Intersection of Environmental and Racial Justice highlights a diverse group of climate activists.
Young Voices for the Planet includes a variety of examples of youth around the globe who have taken action to make a difference.

Include other ways of knowing

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Resources:

Check out NASA's Living Landscapes Project, a set of climate-science educational resources designed to integrate traditional knowledge (Native science) about the climate with current climate science research.
The Tribal Climate Tool provides maps, graphs and reports that summarize projected changes in climate for specific tribes in the Pacific Northwest and Great Basin
This Witnessing Environmental Changes video examines the issue of climate change from the perspective of Native Americans.

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