"When we dare to face the cruel social and ecological realities we have been accustomed to, courage is born and powers within us are liberated to reimagine and even, perhaps one day, rebuild a world."
-Joanna Macy, eco-philosoopher, scholar of Buddhism, author and founder of The Work that Reconnects
Climate justice is a social justice issue that links the environmental degradation and the racial, social and economic inequities it perpetuates. Every single human being depends on the environment. We all are affected, but not equally. Safeguarding the more vulnerable people of our planet and sharing the burdens of climate change is a primary goal of climate justice.
When we began "The Flowers Are Burning" exhibition in 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement was not yet signed, and a great deal of hope surrounding this global pact. The signing in 2016 brought worldwide focus and renewed initiatives to reduce carbon emissions across nations. The U.S. withdrawal in 2017 was a crushing blow to the world, and is a shameful, irresponsible injustice to our planet and our people. Thankfully, many cities, states and businesses are resisting this injustice and continue to fight climate change both locally and on the world stage.
The Great Turning website shares the Work That Reconnects Network (WTR) of Joanna Macy and other change agents . The Work That Reconnects builds motivation, creativity, courage and solidarity for the transition to a sustainable human culture."The most remarkable feature of this historical moment on Earth is not that we are on the way to destroying the world — we've actually been on the way for quite a while. It is that we are beginning to wake up, as from a millennia-long sleep, to a whole new relationship to our world, to ourselves and each other."
Mother Earth Water Walk Two Anishinawbe Grandmothers, and a group of Anishinawbe Women and Men have taken action regarding the water issue by walking the perimeter of the Great Lakes.