Equity & Environmental Justice
Introduction:
Equity and environmental justice (EEJ) is an approach to social-ecological systems that centers the experiences, knowledges, and histories of marginalized communities with regards to their access to land, healthy ecological communities, the goods ecosystems generate, and disproportionate exposure to environmental contaminants and hazards. Some EEJ scholars co-produce knowledge and action in collaboration with communities, organizations and institutions. Others focus on structural inequities and work with political and economic tools to distribute environmental goods and services more fairly. Faculty working in this area draw on diverse scholarly traditions, including community-engaged methods, ecology, economics, Indigenous studies, labor studies, political ecology, public policy, and social movements.
Faculty active in this research area:
- Professor Patrick Christie
- Professor Nives Dolšak
- Professor of Practice Phillip Levin
- Associate Professor Anne Beaudreau
- Assistant Professor P. Joshua Griffin
- Associate Professor Sunny Jardine
- Assistant Professor Erendira Aceves Bueno
Please see individual faculty web pages for more about their work in this area.
Related SMEA courses:
- SMEA/ENVIR/JSIS 103 Society and the Oceans (NW/I&S)
- SMEA 201 Climate Governance: How Individuals, Communities, NGOs, Firms, and Governments Can Solve the Climate Crisis (NW/I&S, DIV)
- SMEA 550/AIS 475: Indigenous Sovereignty and Environmental Justice
- SMEA 474/574: Environmental Justice in a Changing World
- SMEA 572: Environmental Justice and Political Ecology Field Course: Indigenous Perspectives, Coalitions, and Activism
Examples of what MMA faculty and students do in this research area:
- Critically evaluate how environmental change and natural resource policies impact diverse communities
- Examine the impacts of structural inequalities (i.e. racism, colonialism, class, and gender) on communities’ access to natural resources, land, and their exposure to pollution and natural hazards
- Work collaboratively to support the intergenerational ecological relationships and desired environmental futures of diverse communities
- Co-produce knowledge to counteract socio-ecological inequality and support capacity building
- Assess effectiveness of policy instruments addressing environmental racism and inequity
Examples of related MMA student theses:
- Hasan, Farrah Naz. 2024. Resilient Destination Cities: Climate Migrant Resettlement in Mongla, Bangladesh.
- Martinez, Reuben Justus. 2024. Seeking Energy Sovereignty: Pacific Northwest Tribal Engagement in Proposed Offshore Wind Energy Development.
- Clemens, Jessica Margaret. 2024. Environmental Justice in Ecosystem Restoration Frameworks.
- Liou, Jennifer. 2024. Writing the Climate Crisis as Skeptical Romance.
- Barlow, Anny. 2022. Informing Practical Pathways to Combat Forced labor in the Offshore Commercial Fishing Industry: A Research Agenda for a Transdisciplinary Task Force.
- Lewis-Smith, Bryce. 2023. Grounded Constellations: Networks of Nourishment and Support Amongst Indigenous Resurgent Movements.
- Huff, Leah. 2022. Migrants with dignity: impacts of climate change-related disasters and adaptation strategies on the U.S. Filipino Migrant Community.
Examples of related MMA student capstones:
- Eison, Tanya. 2022. Capstone: Climate Change, Salmon Recover, and Environmental Justice in Washington State Floodplains.
- Hiserman, Luke; Rose, Jessica Megan. 2023. Capstone: Finding Common Ground: Communicating Across Borders to Restore the Salish Sea.