Title: Ecological justice is social justice too | UCSB Sustainability
Headings: Ecological justice is social justice too
Ecological justice is social justice too
Dylan Ruan, Living Lab Intern, UCSB Sustainability

Content: Academics often feel pressured to remain impartial, data-driven, and objective. David, however, believes that they can participate in community conversations, make arguments for change, and act in roles usually reserved for activists without losing the merit of being an academic. The environmental justice movement–and certainly the environmental movement as a whole would benefit from researchers of all disciplines coming forward to discuss issues concerning the planet. David argues that although great strides towards a cleaner planet have been made in the past through laws such as the superfund and Endangered Species Act, the environmental movement as a whole has failed to live up to its purpose in a social sense. Taking an environmental justice approach to tackling issues requires us to examine how we structure the movement and whose voices are heard in its chorus. In many ways, the movement has excluded marginalized groups such as people of color and individuals living in low-income communities. These are people who have been pushed down the ladder of social justice. The lack of diversity and voices heard are holding the environmental movement back. If our society is to truly become sustainable, we will have to incorporate David’s conclusion that we must never separate the ecological from the social. This makes the case for environmentalists to incorporate a variety of worldviews into their campaigns.