Intersectional Environmentalism: a Framework for Environmental Thought By: Danielle Clarkson-Townsend, MPH, PhD Candidate, Environmental Health Sciences, Emory University Black feminists have long expressed the necessity to consider race and gender together, rather than separately, but it wasn’t until the late 1980’s that the theory of intersectionality was introduced to American discourse through Kimberlé Crenshaw’s work, … Continue Reading →
Dispelling the Myth of the Emory Bubble: Connecting Calls to Action from the Environmental Justice Movement to Campus and Community Change Many who come to Emory, especially undergraduate students, may have heard the term “the Emory Bubble,” which is most often used to describe a feeling of geographic and social disconnect between Emory community members … Continue Reading →
Environmental Justice in Georgia: History, Current Injustices, and Progress By: Thora Middleton, Office of Sustainability Initiatives Intern, July 2020 Atlanta, Georgia is the second largest majority black metropolitan area in the country. The average household income in Atlanta is $98,757, but there is a staggering poverty rate of 21.63% (World Population Review, 2020). Atlanta is … Continue Reading →
Introduction to EJ History in the U.S. By: Thora Middleton, Office of Sustainability Initiatives Intern, July 2020 The EJ movement rose up along with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, when people started to see the public health dangers of environmental injustice. This movement was started primarily by people of color who wanted to … Continue Reading →
The Environmental Justice Movement: Definitions and Distinctions Emory’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives is recognizing July as Environmental Justice (EJ) Month. We would like to start the conversation by focusing on language – definitions of terms that seem the same but all address nuanced aspects of environmental justice. The Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as … Continue Reading →
Partnership Highlight: Michael Chanin, CEO of Cherry Street Energy, Shares about Shine On Workforce Development Program By: Christie Jones, Office of Sustainability Initiatives Intern, June 2020 Emory University recently partnered with Cherry Street Energy to bring renewable solar energy to its Druid Hills campus. Under the Solar Energy Procurement Agreement (SEPA), Cherry Street has started … Continue Reading →
Emory’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives is reflecting on and mourning Tony McDade, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many others whose names we do and don’t know but whose lives have all been taken by recent and historic, senseless police and vigilante violence and systemic racism. We mourn with you. Our words cannot fill … Continue Reading →
2020 applications for Atlanta Metro Chamber’s E3 awards are due on June 30th. Applicants should be companies, projects, organizations, and individuals who are innovating in the following areas: • Efficient building design, smart growth or urban planning • Sustainable solutions in clean tech sectors • Promoting collaboration, community involvement or education toward making Atlanta more … Continue Reading →
As OSI reviewed the legacies of the many impressive faculty retiring from Emory College of Arts & Sciences this year, we were overwhelmed with the reality of two titans of sustainability at Emory, Peggy Barlett and Bobbi Patterson, retiring. The sustainability landscape at Emory and across the nation have been shaped by their tireless work … Continue Reading →
By: Office of Sustainability Initiatives When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Georgia and healthcare facilities rapidly developed protocols and procedures for providing care in the new era of coronavirus, Emory’s medical students were pulled out of rotations in hospitals and clinics to shelter in place at home. Students were left pondering a world where global pandemics, … Continue Reading →
