Climate Justice Resources

Black Lives Matter activists at COP20

People of color are on the front lines of the climate crisis, and are leading the call for equitable protection and meaningful action. Green American published its issue, Climate Justice for All, as part of our mission to amplify the voices of those on the front lines of the climate crisis, working to protect the most vulnerable areas around the world. These resources represent those interviewed and featured in our issue-- when you interact with them, you might just find ways you can make a difference adding climate justice to your life and community.

Organizations

Black Lives Matter (BLM)
A national civil rights organization founded to fight racism and spark dialogue, particularly among Black people. Though several unofficial groups using the BLM name exist, the official BLM organization has and is forming local chapters nationwide.
California Latino Water Coalition
A nonprofit dedicated to crafting solutions to California’s water crisis, in ways that include and benefit all Californians, particularly Latinos.
Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment
A national environmental justice organization providing legal, technical, and organiz- ing assistance to low-income communities and communities of color. Currently focusing efforts in fracking communities in California and in the Native village of Kivalina, Alaska.
Climate Justice Alliance (CJA)
A collaborative of over 35 organizations uniting front-line communities to forge a scalable and socio-economically just transition away from unsustainable energy towards local living economies to address the root causes of climate change. (Green America is an endorsing organization of CJA.)
Cooperation Jackson
Addresses climate, environ- mental, and economic justice issues in Jackson, MS, anchored by a network of worker- owned enterprises.
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
Based at Dillard University in New Orleans, the center works to address environmental/climate justice in the South, and provide training to develop leadership in communities of color.
Indigenous Environmental Network
A nonprofit formed by Indigenous peoples and individuals that organizes direct-action and public aware- ness campaigns and builds tribal capacity to address environmental, climate, and economic justice issues.
NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program
Educates and mobilizes people nationwide to address envi ronmental and climate justice.
Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute (NIARI)
Located at Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, NIARI assists local tribes in meeting their economic, governance, and resource goals.
Union of Concerned Scientists
A nationwide organization of scientists and engineers working to develop practical solutions to our planet’s most pressing problems, including climate change.

Experts

Kali Akuno
Twitter: @CooperationJXN
Dr. Robert Bullard
DrRobertDBullard.com
Twitter: @DrBobBullard
Facebook: Robert.D.Bullard
Dallas Goldtooth
Twitter: @g0ldtooth
Nicole Hernandez Hammer
Twitter: @NHH_Climate
Mohammed Nasheed
raeesnasheed.com
Twitter: @MohamedNasheed
Jacqui Patterson
Twitter: @JacquePatt
Sarra Tekola
Twitter: @Sarra Tekola
Dr. Beverly Wright
DrBeverlyWright.com

Legislation to Support

Clean Energy Victory Bonds
This amendment to the energy bill that is currently in the Senate would establish Treasury Bonds to fund the clean-energy future.
Targeted Sanctions Against Maldives Officials
Contact the White House and ask the President to issue an executive order calling for targed financial sanctions and travel bans against senior Maldives officials who have imprisoned 1,200 political dissidents, including former President Mohamed Nasheed. Then call your Congressional representatives and ask them to support the bipartisan Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (already passed in the Senate), which gives the President to impose financial sancations and travel bans on major human rights abusers around the world.

Social Investments

Green America’s Divest/Invest Campaign
Information and resources on divesting from the top fossil-fuel companies and reinvesting sustainably. Find fossil-free mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, reitrement investments, financial planners, and asset-management firms on the website.
Green America’s Break Up With Your Megabank Campaign
Mega-banks are often the biggest financers of projects like coal plants that exacerbate climate change and disproportionately affect communities of color. Our campaign can help you move your money away from mega-banks and into community development banks and credit unions that lift up low- and middle-income areas and vulnerable communities of color. (Find a bank or credit union certified by Green America on the Green Pages)
Hope Community Credit Union
This community development credit union has African-American leadership and works to lift up low- and middle-income communities in the mid-South, particularly communities of color. Hope’s post-Katrina work has helped people many hit hardest by Katrina recover and rebuild their homes, workplaces, and lives. Offers online banking services nationwide.
New Resource Bank Impact CD
Issued by a gree bank in San Francisco committed to sustainability, this fossil-free Certificate of Deposit (CD) includes investments in solar, biogas, and energy-efficiency projects and products
Self-Help Credit Union CD
This fossil-free CD includes invetment in renewable-energy projects and businesses as well as energy-efficient affordable homes. Issued by a community development bank in Durham, NC, with branches in IL, CA, and FL, that works to life up low- and middle-income areas.

Films

The Island President
A flim about Mohamed Nasheed, leading up to the Copenhagen climate conference.
Sun Come Up
Nominated for an Oscar, this documentary details the beginnings of the evacuation of Papua New Guinea’s Carteret Islands, due to climate change.
This Changes Everything
Based on the book by Naomi Klein, this film looks at how unfettered capitalism is exacerbating the climate crisis around the world.
Trouble the Water
Oscar-nominated film about Hurricane Katrina, climate justiec, and resilience.

If you've already read our Climate Justice for All issue, check out Communities on the Frontlines of Climate Crisis. Plus, take part in Green America's social justice campaigns to make the Earth healthy and safe for all people, for generations to come.

From Green American Magazine Issue