GEO 162

4 ways to see climate

1. Climates have physical realities and cultural meanings. 2. Climate is frequently used to carry and convey ideological assumptions and projections 3.When looking at climate change over time both physical climates in places and ideologies are associated with climate. 4.The story of climate change and human civilization and the way the story has been told has changed over time.

3 themes of environmental justice

1. concerned with documenting unequal patterns of exposure to different groups to hazards 2. aims to explain the causes of the patterns, often taking the stance that some groups are relatively dis empowered compared to others. 3. take an explicit stance of activism aimed at mitigating or removing the hazards.

making a difference (2ways)

1. creating socially relevant research that informs action 2. use insights and knowledge in applied professions.

Ken Saro Wiwa

Nigerian writer and journalists who wrote about the Nigerian military and petroleum company causing environmental damage to his land.

uneven water provision and consumption

US consumes the most water in the world.

Letter to the Big 10

a letter to the Big 10 conservation groups during the 1990s. charged these groups with racist and exclusionary practices, a lack of in-house diversity, an failure to support environmental justice efforts.

public scholarship

a sharing of academic knowledge gleaned from our research with the public

procedural equity

about the fairness regarding how govt rules, regulations, evaluation criteria and enforcement are implied in non-discriminatory ways. unequal protection can result from nonscientific practices and undemocratic decision-making. excluding certain groups through language and time.

public intellectual

academics who are proactive about engaging the public on important questions.

sociopolitical equity

all communities don't have the same social capital or political power. there are that have access to decision makers and those who don't.

theory of scholarship and the "real world"

an explanation of how the world works, sometimes involving generalizations or simplifications that cut across contexts.

environmental racism

asserts that racism underlines the variation in the distribution of environmental burdens. can be realted to geographic and social equity b/c certain races are segregated to and restricted to live in certain areas.

biodiversity hotspot

biological environment that is home to a diversity of species endemic to a region. human constructed idea.

keystone species

biological individuals that are vital to entire habitats. used to decide what species and areas get protected.

BANANA

build absolutely nothing anywhere, near anybody. reduce waste and environmental hazards everywhere. all communities have the right to healthy environment. leg to the globalization of industrial hazards.

economical inequity

business/ industries want to see money and try to do so by location facilities where it is cheapest to do so

Globalization of Environmental Justice

businesses go to countries to find path of least resistance b/c of cheap labor and lax environmental regulation,

cores

centrally important ecosystems.

wildness of nature

climate is seen as repository of what is natural, pure, and pristine as it should be?

racial factor

communities of color can be seen as least resistance. housing segregation also makes it difficult for people to move away from hazardous wastes.

health issues of EJ

considers the lack of access that certain communities have to green spaces and healthy food.

generational equity

creating legal frameworks that brings justice to future generations.insures that society doesn't mortgage the environmental future for present short-term gains.

biocentrism

every species has the right to exist. thinking centralized around nature and living things.

economic scarcity

exists when financial or institutional factor limit people's access to water even though enough water exists to meet everyone's needs. Saharan Africa, Central America, and parts of Asia and South America. an unequal distribution of resources and is caused by a lack of investment in water infrastructure, mismanagement, corruption, or privileging one group over another.

environmental justice

focuses on the inequitable distribution of environmental qualities and risk exposure among various human groups. disadvantaged groups bear the least responsibility for causing environmental degradation while they bear the brunt of its negative consequences.

3 levels of biodiversity

genetic, species, habitat.

mastery of nature

humans have long believed that climate is a physical manifestation of Nature and that we can control nature.

system instability

if climate is to be valued, then maintaining its stability is of prime importance

water footprint

illustrates the consumption of water in relation to population. indicates the amount of water needed to sustain population and includes: volume of consumption, consumption pattern, climate condition, agricultural practice.

environmental equity

implies an equal risk of burdens or equal protection of under environmental laws. enqaul protection undermines: geographic, social, procedural, and generational equity.

tragedy of commons

individuals act according to their own self interest and behave contrary to the common good of all users results in the depletion of resources.

conservation biologost

interested in connecting populations in larger habitats to ensure that genes and species are conserved over the long term.

endangered species act (1973)

legislation that focused on species that were vulnerable to extinction or are in extinction or are in sever decline.

biophilia

love of living things. a natural draw and attraction to life itself, a fundamental feature of human character and human nature.

social meanings of climate change

means "the prevailing attitudes, standards or environmental conditions of a group, period, or place."

quantification of climate

measuring weather. temperature, rainfall, wind speed.

economic value

money value. 1/2 of pharmaceuticals and medicinal products are based on natural compounds derived from plants.

intrinsic value

non-economic value of nature and other species. nature also has this type of value.

physical scarcity

not enough water to meet all demands arid regions. also when water resources are over exploited. pollution also contributes to this problems.

NIMBY

not in my backyards. dealt with the location environmental hazards. those who have power have been more sucessful at organizing to ensure that hazardous waste sites were kept out of certain neighborhoods. one reason for early hostility between environmental and civil rights movements during 60-70.

genetic bottlenecks

occurs when a lack of genetic diversity is apparent in a sub-population. results from long-term isolation and disconnection from other groups of species.

racism

one of the most enduring ideas in human history is that difference races are shaped and determined by climate. people who live in temperament climate are superior the those who don't/

buffer zones

overlapping areas where some human intervention and use is allowed

conservation refugees

people who are excluded or evicted from areas because of conservation efforts.

climate as ideology

racism, mastery of nature, wildness of nature, system instability.

geographic equity

refers to location and where people are located in relation to environmental hazards. The burden of being impacted by environmental hazards should be shared by everyone. not accidental. landscapes of risks.

Warren County

rural area populated by mostly African American and poor. cited as the 1st environmental justice case in US history. unsuccessful? racial chraged

globalizing conservation

spreading the idea of conservation around the world. results in many native people being displaced because there is an endangered species on their land or territory.

virtual water

the amount of water embedded in food and other products.

ecosystem benefits

the collective ecological values we derive from clean water, clean air, and complex and intact ecologies. biodiversity and complex ecosystems produce this.

climate change as EJ issue

the direct and indirect impacts of climate change negatively impact disadvantaged communities more than other communities.

edge effects

the exposure of native species and habitats to outside influences. when new construction is built or city expands limits, plants and animals still venture into city because they a bad bitch and don't live by nobody's rules.

Sardar Sorovar Dam in Narmada River

the largest dam in India and part of the heavily contested Narmada Valley project. Approximately 50 mil people have been displaced in India b/c of dams.

celebrity and environment

the role of fame, wealth and power in conservation promotes consumption of eco-friendly products, comodofies and commercializes certain experiences od nature and ultimately works to maintain the disciplinary regimes of nature of society.

social equity

the role of social and economic factors like race, gender, class, and ethnicity.

Biodiversity and Protected areas

the world's biological diversity. everything that is living.

ecotourism

tourism based on natural environments. could be altered if certain natural feature becomes extinct or is destroyed because of its previous economic value.

Love Canal

toxic waste dump. suburban area. caused cancer and illness in many. charged with class b/c mostly middle class.

extractive research

traditional research that involves a researcher collecting data and doing analysis. distant from community or subject being researched.

global water crisis/ access to water

universal access to water is not happening around the world. water contamination accounts for 80 % of sickness.

social construction of climate (and climate)

using sensory enocunters to create something more abstract. carries both cultural and physical connotations.

geography of water

water is unevenly distributed throughout the world. some places experience rainfall year round, and some places have multiple lakes and ponds, while other places are deserts.

common property resources

water, land, air? resources that are not privatized.

6th extinction

whereas the 1st 5 extinctions were caused by a natural event like climate change or an asteroid, the current extintion "challenge" seems to be one where humans being will be primarily responsible.

participatory research

working together with community members to "do" the research which involves various data-gathering activities and relationship-building. involves community so that it isnt objectified as much through research. acknowledged the dignity and respect of community.

Arundhati Roy (the greater common good)

wrote about how the Sardar Sorovar Dam is seen as a movement towards better for the greater common good of india. b/c is it good for the economy. notes that it displaced millions of people and not good for environment. environmental injustice b/c people who are displaced don't have means to protest dams necessarily.