Earlier in the semester, I attended the “Climate Change Is Everyone’s Fight—Including Yours” hosted by Rhiana Gunn-Wright. I assumed the event would be a long, tedious lecture on climate change, but I was pleasantly surprised by Wright. She presented herself and her story on climate change in an interesting and engaging manner that felt relatable to the audience. During her speech, she brought up many points about climate change that I had never considered before. Wright even stated in the beginning that she was not going to just focus on carbon emissions because that’s not the only aspect of climate change.
Instead, Wright explored how part of the climate change crisis is by human design. As in the design of local, state, or federal laws and policies has allowed for certain communities to be more affected by climate change, including her own community that she grew up in. She called this environmental injustice. From a young age, she recognized that her neighborhood in Chicago did not receive the same quality education and investments from the government. She explained that she had to travel far from her home in order to receive a good education, and this is how she originally decided to go into public policy. I found it interesting that she wasn’t someone who was an advocate for climate change right away. It was something that she got into later in life after witnessing environmental issues in Detroit, MI. Seeing residential areas right next to industrial plants and oil refineries, water shut offs, and those people paying higher rates for water than those in the suburbs, made her realize that her community was not much different. Later, she found that she grew up in an area that had four times the regular/approved air pollution levels. She felt personally connected to this issue and began to pursue the issue.
Wright went on to say that climate change climate change is connected to many other issues, so it cannot be separated from things such as racial justice. The regulations in Detroit and her home were leading to environmental injustice because they were not considerate of the people living there. Governments and firms went with the easy decision that saved them money but harmed mostly racial minority or low-income communities. In Wright’s own words, these communities were “poisoned legally” and for many years they didn’t even know it. She states that the problem with addressing climate change is that people are often resistant to change. They don’t want to change what has worked for them or means taking the harder path.
To wrap things up, Wright advocated for environmental policies and systems that are equal and inclusive for everyone, instead of ones that exploit certain groups of people. She assertively stated that fighting against climate change cannot be a half-hearted effort. She advised everyone to not be afraid to stand their ground, participate, and be active in the climate change efforts. She told us not to settle for things and that we have the right to be in the room where the decisions are made.
From this event, Wright showed me how important it is to fight for the things you believe in and are passionate about. Placing pressure on the current systems can lead to better things, Even though you will have failures and may not succeed right away, you have to keep trying and push through adversity. Overall, this event was an incredible experience that taught me so much more about climate change and personal confidence in my life.
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