Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy Highlights Climate Justice

To highlight the important issues of global climate change and social justice, IATP’s Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy (CEED) organized a week-long series of events in Minnesota.  On September 10, Dr. Cecilia Martinez and Shalini Gupta outlined how U.S. and international climate change negotiations effect issues of social equity (read this report of the event). 

The next day, Amy Roe and Manu Mathai of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Delaware, led a Knowledge for Power workshop which empowers people to become educated and active on influencing their own energy consumption and their energy system.  Participants, who included activists, scholars and community leaders from both urban and rural Minnesota, received a four-part Energy Savings Workbook that can be shared with other community members.

On September 12, a full-day Climate Justice Retreat was held at Wilder Forest with special guest Bill Gallegos, Executive Director of Communities for a Better Environment (CBE). Mr. Gallegos, who heads one of the largest environmental justice organizations in California, spoke from his years of experience working on issues at the nexus of social justice and the environment, as well his leadership working on state and national climate policy from an environmental justice framework. Participants at the retreat represented the wide-ranging racial and cultural and diversity of the Minnesota community, and included community organizers, academics, policy analysts and land use planners interested in social justice and climate change.

The climate justice events were done in conjunction with Ananya Dance Theatre’s world premiere “Ashesh Barsha, Unending Monsoon.” The piece was the culmination of a trilogy on environmental justice—the dance theatre had been collaborating with CEED’s Dr. Cecilia Martinez and Shalini Gupta for the past three years.

CEED is planning follow-up meetings and will continue to work with communities interested in climate justice issues. By linking local activists with climate justice activists nationally, CEED is building a network for Midwestern communities committed to climate justice that is linked with national and international efforts.

CEED's Climate Justice Retreat Videos

            

For updates and to find out more about our work, visit CEED's Web site.

Reflections on Climate Change and Social Justice
August 2009 | Cecilia Martinez, Shalini Gupta | Commentary | PDF

Climate Justice Working Group Response to the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group (MCCAG) Final Report
April 27, 2008 | Cecilia Martinez | PDF

The Production of Unequal Nature: A discussion of how nature and society intersect.
December 2002 | John Byrne, Leigh Glover and Cecilia Martinez | PDF

A Brief on Environmental Justice: Environmental justice within a global perspective.
December 2002 | John Byrne, Cecilia Martinez and Leigh Glover | PDF