Earth Day and Every Day—Climate Justice Is Social Work
by Lisa Reyes Mason, PhD, MSW
Earth Day is here. What comes to mind for you? Maybe cleaning up a park, rebuilding a trail, or gathering recycling? For a growing number of social workers, Earth Day is the work of every day and is part of a bigger, bolder movement for climate justice. Whatever your specialty in social work may be, I invite you to join the effort.
The harmful impacts of climate change—on people’s health, wellness, finances, connection, and survival—are unequal and unjust. And these inequities are rooted in historic and present racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination, and in continued pursuit of unchecked economic growth and extraction.
Though this planetary crisis can feel daunting, there is much that each of us can do to work for climate justice. “Think Global, Act Local” rings true for this work and how social workers, in any area of practice, can engage. Here, I offer suggestions for how to turn the promise of Earth Day into working for climate justice every day.
Look for Organizational Overlap
Notice how climate change connects to your clients’ lives. Do you work with people who are homeless and are concerned about how they’ll survive the summer heat? Or do the kids in your after-school program have high rates of asthma and live near polluting facilities? Be the one to bring climate justice into your organization, identify overlaps with your mission and vision, and generate ideas for how programs and services can respond.
Learn and Engage Locally
Context matters for how climate change affects people and what local solutions are needed. Learn about how historic redlining has implications for climate justice today, for example, through where green space, urban heat islands, or flood zones can be found. Are community members, especially minoritized ones, represented in local climate adaptation planning? What investments are needed in public transit and walkable communities, providing co-benefits of job access, health promotion, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions? Connect with others locally to address the issues that stand out for where you live.
Advocate for Policy Change
Our Code of Ethics calls on us to engage in policy practice. Opportunities for social work advocacy on climate justice abound—and on issues not always thought of as climate-related. Yes, we need advocacy for the Environmental Justice for All Act and for an urgent transition away from fossil fuels. And we also need Medicaid expansion for better health care in the face of a changing climate, policies to support community-based mental health, and laws that prevent utility cutoffs during life-threatening weather emergencies. Find a policy issue that intersects your social work expertise with one aspect of the climate crisis, and then raise awareness, testify at a hearing, coalition build, or take other policy action that draws on your own talents, network, and passions.
To be sure, none of us can tackle climate justice on our own. But by harnessing the power of our collective action, our training to see and challenge structural injustice, and our commitment to human rights, we can turn the work of Earth Day into the change that’s needed every day.
Lisa Reyes Mason, PhD, MSW, is as an associate professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work and co-editor of the book People and Climate Change: Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Social Justice.