Climate Justice: Moving to a Fairer World

Climate Justice: Moving to a Fairer World

Violence is a tricky thing to pin down, when you think about it.  Do we consider it merely to be if one person physically harms another?  What about psychological or other forms of abuse that harm, but leave no immediate physical traces?  And then there are things like systemic level violence, such as racism, sexism, xenophobia.  Yes, as with most Philosophical subjects, you can spend a lot of time navel gazing and not really coming to any conclusions.

One thing that I have concluded, in my studies, is that I believe in objective right and wrong, knowable truth that is reached incrementally, and the creation of meaning by people, for themselves and their communities.  These may seem basic in terms of common sense, but can also be hotly debated around academic tables.  Why do I bring up such seemingly fleeting and transient things as simple ideas?  Because ideas have power.  Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come, goes the saying.

I define violence to mean anything that hinders the future potential of an individual or group, done by another individual or group.  This is why something like systemic racism, which certainly has more direct expressions of violence, is also considered a form of violence when it leads to a drop in SAT scores on average when a Black American student simply ticks the box saying that they are Black, as opposed to when the question isn’t present.

The bulk of my work, both academic and professional, has been on what was first called global warming, then climate change, and now more recently the climate crisis.  In recent times, I joined Nonviolence International to work on things related to peace and nonviolence, but also continue my work on this specific issue.  How does this work?  As I define violence to include large, systemic, cultural, and organizational issues, which can span decades, and the economic and political systems which have produced, nurture, and protect them, the people on the receiving end of the effects of the climate crisis are, in my opinion, experiencing violence done to them by others.  The people who put the carbon in the air may be temporally removed by generations, or geographically removed by thousands of miles, but this matters little.  It is still one group of privileged people doing active harm to another group of marginalized people.  This is at the heart of the growing climate justice movement, an outgrowth of environmental justice, which is itself the intersection between social justice and environmental issues.

Another key issue at play here is the current relationship between the high income and low income countries.  The USA and Europe want India and China, for example, not to use a carbon-intensive industry, and transition as quickly as possible to renewables and carbon neutrality.  Of course, from their perspective, this makes sense, because their populations, and economies, are growing exponentially, and projected only to continue until at least the 2050s, perhaps beyond.  How can these developed countries, however, credibly argue such a thing, when their entire economic growth and industrialization, since inception, was predicated upon the unlimited use of carbon intensive fuels?  Does it not seem somewhat hypocritical to argue that now, given what these countries have done, other countries can’t do the same?

I’m not saying that China, India, and other developing countries should emit whatever they like.  Far from it.  I am saying, rather, that we must appeal to a new, and different, argument, when considering this issue at a systems-level analysis.  We must make the cost of renewables so cheap that they are the first choice for powering our economies and growth.  We must encourage research and development, and share this freely around the world.  We must understand that many of those on the receiving end of the climate crisis’s worst impacts are those who contributed the least to it.  And we must help these marginalized people as much as we can.  I consider it not just good policy and in line with the science, but a moral obligation.

For more information on the growing Climate Justice movement, particularly among the youth, check out Fridays for Future:

https://www.fridaysforfuture.org

Greta Thunberg’s movement (@gretathunberg on twitter), 

and Extinction Rebellion:

https://rebellion.earth

References:

[1] “Climate Justice.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 10, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_justice.

[2] “Structural Violence.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 10, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_violence.

[3] “Peace and Conflict Studies.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 10, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_and_conflict_studies.

[3] “Greta Thunberg.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 10, 2019.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Thunberg

Self Defence and Nonviolence: A Personal Perspective

Self Defence and Nonviolence: A Personal Perspective

I’ve studied a number of things, over the years.  As an undergrad, one of my minors was Peace Studies.  One of my majors, Philosophy.  As a result, I was exposed to some of the thinking of Nonviolent activists and thinkers relatively early on.  I was also, from the start of my sophomore year until graduation, the president of the Japan Karate Association Karate Club of my undergrad school.  I chose to do this because I had always had a fascination with Japan, from an early age.  Perhaps it was growing up in the 80s and 90s, or having Japanese friends as a child, or loving comic books and cartoons that were meant for an adult before it became ‘a thing.’  Whatever the reason, the interest was there for a long time before I began undergrad,

Martial Arts generally always appealed to me.  In High School, I was on the wrestling team.  There was something about being part of a team, but also training, and then competing, entirely on your own, that made sense on a deeply intuitive level to me.  By the time I got to undergrad, and joined the JKA Karate Club from its founding at the start of my second year, this seemed a natural extension.

Then I went and got a job in Japan for immediately after undergrad, teaching and doing ‘grassroots internationalization’ in a poor, rural, isolated region of Japan’s most traditional and conservative prefecture (the equivalent to a state in the USA).  I did karate there for a good half a year to year, and was there for a total of two.  I stopped doing karate during that time, however.  I had reservations about meeting force with force that were borne of my understanding of nonviolence, and peace studies.  I did not continue it for some time.

Recently, I began again.  The ‘dojo philosophy’ is a series of five statements.  Seek perfection of character.  Be faithful.  Endeavor.  Respect others.  Refrain from violent behavior.  For the intervening 13 years between stopping and starting again, I did not know how I could defensibly pursue the art of Karate while identifying as a pacifist, and someone who wanted to encourage nonviolent actions.  Recently, after joining Nonviolence International New York, I was introduced to the idea of ‘negative peace’ by Johan Galtung, or that in some situations, the use of force is necessary to prevent immediate greater harm, whether it be the police tackling someone who is harming others, or America’s intervention in WWII.  This squared with work I had done on nonviolent thinking as an undergrad, studying King and Gandhi.  King, at times, put his followers in greater danger because he knew it would better serve the growth of his movement.  While he wasn’t directly responsible for the violence done to them, he used violence strategically.  Gandhi, in his younger days, participated in WWI as an ambulance driver, if I remember correctly.  Negative peace is not a long term solution.  For this, we have ‘positive peace’, or ‘peace building’ as the UN describes it, to prevent future violence, and make a better world for all.

In Karate, force is used as an absolute last resort.  First and foremost, you always seek nonviolent resolution of conflicts.  Really, you try your best to avoid all of these scenarios that could precipitate violence.  What Karate, and most other martial arts, are about, is developing skills that help not just in stressful situations, but for life.  You develop discipline, short term and long term goals, mindfulness, dedication to something greater than yourself, meditation, focus, and a sense of community and involvement, as well as the obvious physical benefits.

Perhaps I am too old to ever truly master Karate, as an art form.  And perhaps I am too nonviolently inclined to ever use it, should the scenario ever come up.  All I know is, it felt good to give it a fresh start.  And I am hopeful I can keep with it, moving forward.  Defensibly, philosophically, and defensively, physically.

References:

[1] “Japan Karate Association.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 09, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Karate_Association

[2] “Japan Karate Association.” JKA. Japan Karate Association, October 09, 2019. http://www.jka.or.jp/en/.

[3] “Johan Galtung.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 09, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Galtung.
[4] “Peace and Conflict Studies.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 09, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_and_conflict_studies.

Geography, History, and How We Remember

Geography, History, and How We Remember

My father was a history professor.  His mainstay course was Western Civilization.  He passed before I could discuss world events and my experiences of them and different countries with him.  He was a Goldwater Conservative, and I am an Obama Liberal.  What he instilled in me was an understanding of our place in history, and to treat how we view the world and its events with a sense of ‘historical detachment,’ enabling a broader understanding of what is happening, putting things in context, and removing ourselves from painful world events.  I have difficulty doing this.  History is lived through the experiences of generation after generation, and we cannot remove ourselves from its import, or legacy.  How a country deals with racism, xenophobia, systemic oppression, and authoritarianism is easy for those who don’t experience its impacts to remove themselves from.  Living these things sweeps you up in the immediacy of the issues, and makes you confront them.

While I was living in Berlin, Trump was elected.  After this the debate about removing Confederate statues began.  Pithily, someone tweeted that Berlin had no monuments to Nazis – only the Holocaust Memorial.  This made me think.  I had lived in the South.  I am from the NYC area, did undergrad in DC, then went to Japan.  After this I lived at home, then NC, then home, then Berlin, then home again.  I did an internship that took me to Raleigh, the capital, while in NC.  There I pointed out a statue of a Confederate leader to others, expressing how baffling I found this.  Common among cities in the South, this is how History is chosen to be remembered.  A fellow intern said, ‘I can be proud of my ancestor’s service without necessarily agreeing with him.’

Can you, though?  

I have a deep love of Japan.  It is the country that took me in and gave me my first real job, a community, and a sense of international exchange and purpose that remains with me to this day.  Some of my greatest friends were made there, and, both before, while there, and afterwords, I have maintained Japanese hobbies that provide my sense with a sense of meaning, balance, and purpose.  Also, living in Japan taught me much of teamwork, respect, manners, and basic decency.  Japan, like any country, is not perfect, however.  Similar to Germany, the country of my ancestors and self, Japan has a past that is difficult to acknowledge, and deal with.  The general public does not know much about things Japan did during WWII.  Like students in the American South in the past, students are taught a selected version of history, and not of war time activities in China, or Korea, or the Philippines.  Prime Ministers lay wreaths at Yasukuni Shrine, to the frustration of other East-Asian countries.  This is a complex issue.  There is a deep respect for one’s elders, and especially for those who fought or gave their lives in battle.  This is established in history, culture, and norms.  In Japan, elders are revered.  

In Berlin, things were again different from what I had experienced previously.  Every corner had a monument, memorial, or museum.  Places with names like ‘Topography of Terror’ litter a tourist’s map.  There is no escaping the dramatic history Berlin’s inhabitants experienced throughout the 20th Century.  Its people were forced, on a daily basis, to remember the past, acknowledge it, and attempt to move on.  This felt different from the cities I had been to in the South, perhaps because the overall tone of the city and its museums, monuments, and memorials felt so apologetic.  Things like institutional racism, nationalism, bigotry, and xenophobia are not dealt with overnight, nor even in decades.  To successfully vanquish these foes, generations must work tirelessly to overthrow the systems and structures that keep them in place.  Only then can a country, or population, truly move on from their past.

And America?  I left America for Japan in part out of interest in the culture, and in part because I was fed up with domestic politics.  Bush had just been reelected, and I wanted out.  I came back to the country with the desire to work on the Obama campaign, which I did.  I remember, after the election, talk of our entering a ‘post racial’ era.  I lived happily in the US for the subsequent eight years.  During the Presidential campaign of 2016, this sentiment was to come crashing down.  With the advent of dog whistle politics, and outright rebirth of Nazism, it was quite apparent that the issues of race and History in America had simply gone underground, and festered.

Perhaps it is best to view History with a sense of detachment.  This is easy to say when you aren’t on the receiving end of its consequences.  I wonder how my father, an immigrant and naturalized citizen, would’ve dealt with Trump’s attitudes and positions, and the conversations we could’ve had.  I hold them in my head from time to time, and try to keep a sense of intellectual detachment from my work.  Perhaps this is the only way to make sense of the world.  

I don’t think so, though.  As my father himself must have found throughout the 20th century in America, you cannot remove yourself from History, or its impacts.  Attempt to not let events affect you too greatly, sure, but allow them to be a source of motivation, inspiration, and a rallying cry to work for the greater good.  If we forget History we are doomed to repeat it, so the phrase goes.  If we remember it too closely, perhaps we can be equally blinded.  How and why we do this, when dealing with things like racism, informs not just our inner life, but the lives we live in society.  I carry my experiences with me.  I use them for fuel.  And I hope that my father would’ve understood that, even if he wouldn’t agree.

For more information on the debate over memorialization, history, and facing racism, see Harvard-trained Philosopher and Ethicist Susan Neiman’s new book: Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019.

References:

[1] “Removal of Confederate Monuments and Memorials.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 01, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_Confederate_monuments_and_memorials.

[2] “Structural Violence.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 01, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_violence.

[3] “Institutional Racism.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 01, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_racism
[4] “Susan Neiman.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 01, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Neiman.

Climate Migrants: Spreading the Fire of Action

Climate Migrants: Spreading the Fire of Action

The world is rapidly heating. Roughly 97% of scientists agree this phenomena to be anthropogenic, or caused by human behavior, and due to the emissions of greenhouse gasses which have accompanied industrialization from its inception, and only increased as other countries developed and the demand for energy products and services grew exponentially. The reality that these statements of fact are, in this country, partisan, is a sad indicator of our current state of affairs.

So what does this mean? What impact will this have on people in the world?  

First off, these impacts have already begun. The last five years have been the hottest on record, and have only increased as time has gone forward. This was accompanied by fires, droughts, heatwaves, floods, hurricanes, and a seeming laundry list of ways that the climate system has started to respond to the added pressure of more greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, and a hotter world. In addition, there is, as many point out, the start of the next mass extinction of wildlife. One-hundred and fifty to 200 species go extinct every day due to human activity. This is 1,000 times the normal rate. The fact that this is all caused by a single species is both remarkable and shocking. At no time in human history have we faced a greater ecological threat, or posed more of one as a species.

What this means, now and in the future, for people on the ground, is hard to determine completely, but some things can be predicted and are already occurring. Droughts have led farmers to abandon the areas they used to work, as their land proved no longer viable. They move to cities, or to the Global North. The same is true for hurricane victims. These two trends will only get worse as the planet continues to heat. Further, there is conflict over scarce resources, with fresh water becoming increasingly rare. This again fuels mass migration and displacement. According to climate activist and author Naomi Klein, “7 million people in the first 6 months of 2019 have been forced to move because of floods, droughts, disasters, many of them linked to the climate crisis.”

Countries in the developed Northern Hemisphere have been less severely impacted, ecologically and financially, than those in the Global South, and this trend will continue. What the Northern countries have experienced within the last few years is an influx of migrants escaping either economic situations, direct violence, or ecosystems that can no longer support them. The response has rarely been to welcome these migrants with open arms, nor to even abide by the laws of the international community onto which all countries have signed. Often the countries receiving these migrants see an uptick in xenophobia, far-right populist leaders, draconian immigration policies, and anti-immigrant rhetoric the likes of which has not been seen since the run up to WWII. We are witnessing the erosion of international agreements, and increasing difficulty in working collaboratively, across national and international party lines. 

Despite this, there is cause for hope. In the US, states and companies are taking up the call to combat the worst aspects of energy use and the climate crisis. Germany has tried to welcome more migrants than many other Northern European Countries. And countries where migrants first make landfall, such as Mexico, Turkey, Italy, and Greece, are increasingly reaching out to  others, whether they be international organizations or member states of the UN to offer support for a wave of new people.

Further, civil society is rapidly waking up to the reality of a future that includes a new class of migrant, namely ‘climate migrants’, which can cover many of the root causes previously mentioned, if not more. A younger generation has taken up the call for intergenerational equity, and inter-geographical fairness (or rather unfairness), in terms of both claiming responsibility for, and attempting to ameliorate, the problem of the climate crisis. Recently, on September 20th, 2019, more than 4 million people demonstrated and protested for change on this issue across every continent in the world. The desire for action is there and only growing louder and more persistent.

So what can we do, as individuals, against such an entrenched and systemic issue? The same thing that every other group of people facing a major issue change have: organize, advocate, educate, love, express ourselves and our stories, communicate, spread the message, and hold leaders accountable. We live in a vital age that will set the stage for the future of not just humanity, but all life on this planet. While billionaires seek escape holes on other planets, people right here on this one suffer daily, and this will only increase. We have some tools to deal with this, and more will be needed. The first step is like any other: take action, in any way you can. It may seem small, but, as we’ve seen ecologically, when the conditions are right, fires can spread rapidly.

References:

[1] “Environmental Migrant.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, September 23, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_migrant.

[2] “Campaigns: Climate.” Environmental Justice Foundation. EJF, September 30, 2019. https://ejfoundation.org/what-we-do/climate.

[3] “IPCC.” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The United Nations, September 30, 2019. https://www.ipcc.ch/
[4] “UNHCR.” United Nations Refugee Agency. The United Nations, September 30, 2019. https://www.unhcr.org/.

A New Generation Takes Up the Call

A New Generation Takes up the Call

Carl Mackensen

In January 2003, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was born.  This same month and year, I was nearly 20 and started a Natural Resource and Environmental Economics class during the Spring of my sophomore year of undergrad.  This was my first introduction to the topic, and proved extremely formative.  I have, since then, completed three Masters dealing with energy and the environment, and worked in different capacities on this issue.  In Fall of 2021 I started a PhD in Public Policy and Public Administration, with a focus on Science and Technology Policy, to continue my studies.  For someone who has devoted virtually all of their academic and professional life to the issue, or developing skills that would prove fruitful to working on it, the Climate Action March, Protest, Rally, or whatever you'd like to call it, of September 20th, 2019, is particularly moving.  

We met at Foley Square in Manhattan.  The action was planned to start at 12 pm, and I thought I’d be clever and get there early, by 11:30 am.  Once I stepped out of the subway and into the pleasantly though alarmingly warm fall air of Lower Manhattan, however, my hopes were dashed.  There were people everywhere.  Old people, young people, people in between.  People holding signs, or babies, or both.  People of all colors and creeds.  It reminded me of when I went to the inauguration of Obama on that cold day in January, 2009.  There was the same vital energy, of youth, and hope, and the belief that things can actually change, if we simply will it hard enough and make our voices heard.  I am reminded of a quote my mother’s mother would say frequently to her, back in Germany, where my ancestors are from.  ‘Die Sterne Reisst vom Himmel, das kleine wort ‘Ich Will.’’  Roughly translated, it means ‘The stars can be brought down from the heavens, with the little words ‘I wish it.’’

Wishing for change seems to be in the air.  To see so many diverse people uniting behind the theme and issue, and demanding immediate action from our leaders, was truly moving.  We stood in Foley Square together, some with signs saying that plastic straws were bad for the planet, others advocating a complete revolution, and dissolution of the governing economic and political structure.  We all were there because we believed in something, and that something could be done.

Then we marched.  We marched from Foley Square down Broadway, one of the oldest streets in the country.  We marched past City Hall, where the City’s powers work, and Zuccotti Park, where the Occupy Movement started seemingly so long ago.  We marched past Wall Street, where international capitalism is based, and Federal Hall, where Washington was sworn in as our first President.  We marched past Trinity Church, where Hamilton is buried, and the World Trade Center, now revitalized and part memorial, part commerce hub.  We marched past the charging bull statue, that grandiose symbol of NYC specifically and America generally, and we marched to Battery Park, the oldest part of what was once New Amsterdam, looking out upon the harbor with the Statue of Liberty lighting the way for all those who seek a place to make a better life for themselves, and their families.

Those aware of the issue have been sounding the alarm for years, seemingly falling on deaf ears, as things seemed to get worse and worse, the issue more and more intractable.  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report has said, "It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century."  Climate models from this report indicate that the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 degrees C to 1.7 degrees celsius, and perhaps as much as 2.6 to 4.8 degrees celsius. Global warming causes rising sea levels, changes in precipitation and extreme weather such as flooding, droughts, and wildfires.

Friday marked the participation of not just the youth, who will be most affected, but people of all backgrounds, in civil society action.  It seems as though the world has reached a true tipping point in terms of awareness of and desire to act on this issue, and that young Greta is the spark that ignited a thousand fires around the world.  For those of us who have been working on the issue, we of course welcome this enthusiasm.  That there is passion around the world, particularly among the youth, is undeniable, and as this new generation leads the way in both enthusiasm and willingness to effect change, I only hope that this growing movement can be sustained beyond immediate politicians' capitalizing on it, and truly make a difference.

To learn more about this movement or future involvement, check out the links below to Greta Thunderberg's website and social media:

Greta’s org:

https://www.fridaysforfuture.org/

Greta on Twitter:

@GretaThunberg

Fridays for Future on Twitter:

@FridayforFuture

References:

[1] “Global Warming.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, September 29, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming.

[2] “IPCC.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, September 28, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change.

[3] “IPCC.” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The United Nations, September 30, 2019. https://www.ipcc.ch/

[4] “Schools strike for the climate.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, September 29, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_strike_for_the_climate. 

[5] “Fridays for Future.” Fridays for Future. Fridays for Future Org, September 30, 2019. 

https://www.fridaysforfuture.org/

[6] “Greta Thunberg.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, September 29, 2019.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Thunberg.

Of the Environment and Economics

Of The Environment and Economics

Carl Mackensen

The current predominating economic system at play (perhaps in its dying throes, some would say) is one geared towards free markets.  ‘What gets measured gets done,’ goes the phrase.  But what are we to do when we’re talking about things outside the traditional economic system of buyers and sellers?  What about housework, or friendships, or the environment?

The answer is clear enough when we speak about energy issues, at least to economists.  Firm valuation, or finding a numerical value for things, is one of the best means available to combat environmental degradation.  This involves a whole host of systems, schools of thought, methods, and mechanisms that, upon first blush, seem flatly horrible.  ‘The Dismal Science’ it is named, after all.

Although they often receive a bad rep for these methods, Environmental Economists generally have their hearts in the right place.  They want to see that nature, life, and biology are accounted for in our system.  And I use the word ‘accounting’ very deliberately.  There is talk, in an Intro Economics of the Environment and Natural Resources class, about things like existence value, or the value something has just for existing without any regard whatsoever for its impact on markets, money, GDP, and other ‘ugly’ aspects of economics.  How do we make sure that the Amazon doesn’t burn down or fall victim to deforestation, when what it does is so amazing and wondrous and important, providing so much oxygen for the entire world?

Basically, what these people try to do is, for policy makers, make their lives a little easier.  Economics is the science of scarcity, something that policy makers deal with every day.  How should we allocate resources?  After a thorough cost-benefit analysis, is how the economist would answer, perhaps somewhat pedantically.  And what is a cost-benefit analysis, or CBA? Simply put, it attempts to put numbers to both the cost and benefit of some policy, item, objective, resource, or course of action.  If the benefits outweigh the costs, it makes sense to pursue it.  If the converse is true, it doesn’t.  This gets tricky for things not valued by an existing market, but this does not deter the economist.  Through things like surveys, indirect measures of value, or a whole suite of nonmarket valuation tools, they can make estimates that allow for this kind of calculus, and let policy makers make decisions that are in the public interest.  

Particularly for the environment, the cost of, say, cleaning up or preventing pollution gets exponentially higher as the percentage of what is cleaned or prevented increases.  Is it worth the extra million dollars per capita to scrub the very last bit of Sulfur Dioxide from the atmosphere, or would this money be better served someplace else, doing something else?  This is a difficult question to answer, and perhaps one that economists try to help policy makers decide, with their tradition and tools kept firmly in mind.

How does this relate to peace, nonviolence, and Civil Society?  Perhaps it is most relevant when we talk about Environmental Justice, or the intersection of environmental issues with social justice.  If we understand violence to be defined broadly as anything, ranging from originating with a person all the way up to a system, government, or international order, that inhibits or limits the potential of a person or group of people, then the activities of those who harm others can most certainly include those who are on the receiving end of damages from environmental degradation.  Whether it is displaced refugees fleeing resource-based conflict, or the Global South and low-income countries dealing with raging storms or sea level rise, these people face violence that is being perpetrated, perhaps indirectly and environmentally or economically, by others.

So what can we do?  For a start, I’d propose listening to the economists.  If we can put a price on carbon, or value mangrove forests which prevent flooding and storms, or direct resources to keep the Amazon thriving, we all stand to benefit.  Contact your representatives.  Petition the government.  Make your voice heard that you want action on these issues.  Perhaps it would be helpful to offer clear evidence of damages, and a clear message for what you want changed.  

All I would ask is that you include Environmental Economics in the debate, and not be put off by their preoccupation with putting a monetary value on things.  These people are experts and care deeply about these issues.  Many devote their lives to them.  Let us unite behind evidence-based policy prescriptions, and not fight amongst ourselves when we use different languages or methods for describing the same thing.

References:

[1] “Environmental Economics.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, July 14, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_economics.

[2] “Environmental Justice.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, September 23, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_justice.

[3] “Structural Violence.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, September 10, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_violence.

[4] “System of Environmental Economic Accounting.” System of Environmental Economic Accounting. United Nations, September 30, 2019. https://seea.un.org/.