Are Natural Disasters Actually Natural? (Climate Justice): Crash Course Climate & Energy #9

Climate change has no bias, but our societies and systems do. And although it’s a danger to all of us, a changing climate affects some groups disproportionately, raising issues of justice and equity. In this episode of Crash Course Climate and Energy, we’ll take a look at the ways injustice within societal structures causes climate change to affect some more than others and discuss some of the work that environmental justice advocates are doing in response.

Chapters:
Introduction: The Rohingya & Climate Inequality 00:00
How Climate Affects Our Lives 1:45
Climate Justice 3:22
Redlining & Climate Inequality 7:18
Social Inequality & The Climate 9:43
Renewable Energy & Inequality 12:15
Review & Credits 13:21

Sources:

***

Thanks to the following patrons for their generous monthly contributions that help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever:
Katie, Tori Thomas, DL Singfield, Amelia Ryczek, Ken Davidian, Stephen Akuffo, Toni Miles, Steve Segreto, Kyle & Katherine Callahan, Laurel Stevens, Burt Humburg, Allyson Martin, Aziz Y, Perry Joyce, Scott Harrison, Mark & Susan Billian, Alan Bridgeman, Rachel Creager, Breanna Bosso, Matt Curls, Jennifer Killen, Jon Allen, Sarah & Nathan Catchings, team dorsey, Trevin Beattie, Eric Koslow, Jennifer Dineen, Indija-ka Siriwardena, Jason Rostoker, Siobhán, Ken Penttinen, Nathan Taylor, Les Aker, William McGraw, ClareG, Rizwan Kassim, Constance Urist, Alex Hackman, kelsey warren, Katie Dean, Stephen McCandless, Thomas Greinert, Wai Jack Sin, Ian Dundore, Justin, Mark, Caleb Weeks
__

Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?

[VinnieGer]

Okay, wow, this was really an eye-opener. I mean i knew on some level, but I didn’t think it went that deep.

[Im-just-Stardust]

Thank you very much for this important series.

[CrashCourseFTW]

I also would LOVE and would personally work to fund a history series about indigenous peoples, starting in the US. I'm really hoping something along those lines is in the works. :-D Ooo! Or another one about environmental history. Hank, @me dude lol.

[CrashCourseFTW]

With every new series the team at Crash Course further refines their craft. This is one of their best yet, and with the recent UN report, it couldn't be more timely. My sincere thanks to everyone who works to make Crash Course a thing.

[ahronrichards]

Thanks M and the CrashCourse team for the episode. Climate change is indeed a real problem for many in the world around us. Nigeria got some severe flooding last year in their rain season. The Caribbean continues to be blasted by hurricanes and fallout from adverse weather events due to climate change. And we are not large-scale greenhouse gas emitters. Yet when we are affected by these events, we get minimal aid from those larger nations and are forced to borrow in order to recover and rebuild, further indebting our small island economies and stifling overall national development. We need to do better as a global village. People are losing their lives because of the status quo. Just because it doesn't affect you directly doesn't mean it's not affecting others. Two people died in Dominica last year due to flash flooding, costing millions in damages. Severe weather events in our region since 2010 have cost us billions in damages, taken a major toll on human life and wellbeing, including the mental health of those affected. We need to change our global order to make it equitable, just and make it work for all nations.

[CitiesForTheFuture]

Thank you for summarising this complex issue to well & succinctly! Natural extremes are natural, but healthy ecosystems are usually quite resilient to most of them and recover quite quickly. Human civilisation has unfortunately altered most ecosystems, making them less able to withstand extreme natural events (which are also being amplified) and less resilient to shocks, e.g. draining wetlands & harvesting peatlands, removing mangrove & kelp forests, damaging coral reefs, developing coastlines (altering coastal processes), deforestation etc.

We must also bear in mind that as human populations become more urbanised (around 70% by 2050, although many countries have much higher urbanisation rates than that), more people are affected when such disasters hit cities (of all sizes). Many natural disasters (amplified by ecological changes) are also exacerbated by poor, ineffective or maladapted city planning, development & management, as well as aging infrastructure no longer able to withstand increasingly severe weather events. This on top of historic class, gender, racial & other community discrimination.

Several new urban planning & development strategies & technologies have been developed to make cities more climate friendly involving the implementation of green & blue infrastructure. Such strategies include
- low-impact urban design & development (liuddd)
- water-sensitive urban design (wsud) and sustainable urban drainage systems (suds)
- sponge cities

City governments, decision-makers & managers, social leaders businesses, civil society and residents must work together to make cities more compact, integrated, inclusive, sustainable, green, safe, gender-sensitive, child-friendly AND climate ready. During design charettes, city manages & community residents come together to discuss & plan community design road by road, block by block. Projects are usually implemented on a temporary basis to ascertain effectiveness & iron-out any unexpected hiccups that might crop up. If all goes well and most residents support the changes, then the project is made permanent (aka tactical urbanism). Many projects need a city-wide plan (e.g. managing water & integrating green spaces, mobility infrastructure, utilities etc) and there are budgetary constraints. Communities also assist implement projects such as planting trees, restoring damaged ecosystems, improving community services (eg. free libraries, community gardens) and creating and / or improving public spaces.

The challenges are many, but so are the solutions. Where there's a will, there's a way...

[aryansatvati]

Climate change is a crises of justice what an interesting and even scary sentence🤔🤔🤔
CrashCourse❤❤❤

[rickwyant]

The climate is changing, how we deal with the impact of it is the question.

[samuelzev]

As Bill Patzert, a climatologist at NASA once said, natural disasters and climate change are all normal phenomenons but what is not normal is the extent to how often they occur and the speed at which they happen.

[janetay]

The menu bill metaphor reminds me of an episode of Friends when Rachel, Phoebe, Joey have to pay a lot more even though they ordered so little...

[stephaniehendricks]

Another educational and thought provoking video from crash course. One of my favorite channels on YouTube

[thaliacrew]

Thank you, Dr. Jackson. If anyone could provide a comprehensive overview of climate injustice in under 15 minutes, I knew that you could. Can't wait to share this with students in the Climate Change module of my Environmental Health course at OSU #GoBeavs!

[kcrrig]

I just did a presentation on climate justice today!

[Hondavid.]

I wish I could force senators in the USA to watch this series... cause really! the people who SHOULD be aware of these issues are the people at the top passing legislature on it, and making decisions that impact them!

[SDMasterYoda]

Any climate energy policy that ignores nuclear power is idiotic. Yes we should try to increase renewable energy use, but nuclear power is more reliable and has a lower carbon footprint than solar. It's also incredibly safe.

[olliemck]

Gr8 course concept, super motivational and informative.

[Mallory-Malkovich]

Love this series! Looking forward to your episode on the Pentagon, the single largest polluter in the history of the world! Can't wait!

[dnstone]

Martha's Vinyard never suffers, despite being on the ocean front.

[psikeyhackr]

How does planned obsolescence affect climate?

Does planned obsolescence mean unnecessary manufacturing which produces more CO2 and cause more junk to be shipped around because junk has to be replaced?

Where do economists talk about the depreciation of durable consumer goods?

[williambilyeu]

Before Sri Lanka adopted "green climate change" policies, the farmers in that country not only grew enough food to feed the population but to export food to other countries. Since "green climate change" policies were forced on farmers by the Sri Lanka government, the farmers are unable to grow enough food for the population of the country, and people there are starving. If the United States adopts the "green New Deal" less food will be grown and people in the United States will be faced with even higher food prices, but exports will drop and much of the rest of the world dependent on those exports will go hungry and possibly starve even to death. So much for "climate justice" then. It will especially affect the poor in all countries, even the United States.