The evening of Thursday, April 17, a group of folks came together at the Third Street Center for Roaring Fork Methodist Churches’ third event in its Justice Dinner series, this time discussing Earth Justice. After some White House Pizza and socializing, organizer John Stroud introduced the discussion and the panel.
He read an excerpt that explained how John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, included social justice in his preachings, and entwined a Native American proverb: “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”
The Earth Justice panel included: Delia Malone, wildlife chair of the Colorado Sierra Club; Hannah Berman with Aspen One’s Sustainability Team; Alan Muñoz Valenciano with Voces Unidas de las Montañas; and Sharon Morris, the chair of New Castle’s Climate and Environment Commission.
During introductions, Berman pointed out that the Aspen ski resorts have lost a month of winter since 1980, and that climate projections anticipate the area’s soil moisture levels will be the same as “folks [experienced] during the Dust Bowl.” While this would certainly affect skiing, she said that the concern is about people’s homes that will be impacted by natural disasters and drought.
“We are a multi-issue organization,” said Valenciano of Voces Unidas, a Latino advocacy group, “but I will say that environmental justice … is an underlying factor for a lot of the work we’re doing — especially when it comes to policy.”
How are your goals being impacted by federal policy changes?
Morris said that, luckily, the Town of New Castle has some autonomy when it comes to environmental policy, but conceded that some federal grants may become unavailable. “We’ve decided already that we’re going to do this work,” she assured, “whether we get support from the federal government or not.”
Valenciano pointed to policy concerning workers’ exposure to extreme temperatures. “We’re going to continue to see those impacts of climate change on workers every single day,” he said, “[and] deregulation at the federal level is not going to contribute positively.”
The White River National Forest is the most visited National Forest in the country, enticing 11 million visitors annually, said Berman. She added that cuts drastically affect the maintenance of public lands, and that it will be incumbent on the state, nonprofits, municipalities and other community organizations to “make sure that we’re not going to love these public lands to death.”
Malone stated that efforts to delist wildlife, such as wolves, as endangered species would affect the overall ecosystem. Without a natural predator, ungulates, such as deer and moose (the latter which is not native to Colorado), overgraze vegetation that otherwise stores carbon “to prevent over warming.”
How do we protect more vulnerable populations?
Valenciano said that oil and gas companies aren’t going to drill near affluent suburbs, but will next to an apartment complex or mobile home park where low-income and marginalized community members reside. “We’re going to see those effects not only just through climate change, but on health,” he said. “We’ll see an increase of children having respiratory issues.”
“I live in Rifle,” he continued. “I can tell you that the air smells different up here in Carbondale … noticeably.” Valenciano said that it comes down to making policies to prevent such inequity.
Berman brought up a push for polluter pay legislation in Colorado, and that like policy has been passed in Vermont. “It’s a pretty simple idea. Any kindergartener in this country can tell you that if you make a mess you clean it up.” Big oil should pay for its share for its pollution, she said.
How does climate change exacerbate environmental injustices?
Climate migration is something that hasn’t been discussed enough, Valenciano stated. People often leave their home countries due to natural disasters or droughts and come to the U.S. “where they’re still looking for that American dream, as all of our ancestors were.” He added that anti-immigration rhetoric misses the point about what causes migrations — including climate change.
Malone tied in wildlife migration. “It’s not only people who are attempting to escape the heat and extreme drought in the [south],” she said. “But we have this little barrier, called ‘the wall.’” She said that jaguars, for instance, once were present in Arizona and New Mexico, and are trying to move back into suitable northern habitat but can’t get through.
“We have all of these migrants — human migrants and wildlife migrants — that are subject to our impacts. Subject to what we have done to the planet,” she stated.
Closer to home, we’re seeing the impacts of less and less water each year, added Morris, which has pushed wildlife down from the high country. Due to this unavoidable circumstance, she said that communities need to learn to be good neighbors with local wildlife.
What can we do at the individual, local and state level?
Big picture, according to Berman, communities need to transition to electricity — including transportation — and make sure all of that energy comes from clean power sources. She added that she ran for Basalt Town Council, successfully, to try and push electrification and clean energy infrastructure policy in her home community.
Valenciano kept reiterating that policy change can be achieved by the collective power of the masses, which has the numbers to advocate for policy change.
Morris said that the individual can make a difference by properly recycling, planting native flora, etcetera. “We make choices every day that impact everything around us,” she stated. “And the more we’re alert to those things … makes us present [with] our connection with everything.”
“I’m going to agree with everybody,” concluded Malone. “Because policy is critical, personal responsibility is critical, looking at the big picture is critical. And I’m going to add volunteering and showing up.”
Morris added a plug that New Castle will celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, April 26, 11am to 2pm, at Burning Mountain Park.