Why We Need to Talk About Environmental Racism

“Historically in the US, progress has meant exploitation of someone, and usually people of color,” says Rhiana Gunn-Wright, director of climate policy at Roosevelt Institute. Gunn-Wright met with host Elise Loehnen to talk about her work in developing the Green New Deal, a proposal of ideas to address climate change. At its core, Gunn-Wright says this work is about justice and equity. “It’s really easy to talk about decarbonization and not talk about environmental racism.” But that would be missing the point and leave us without a meaningful solution. “If you say no one is expendable, no person is expendable, no community is expendable: that changes how you solve problems,” says Gunn-Wright. Also poignant: her personal experience with “survivor’s guilt” and perspective on why we need to see structural, systemic issues rather than falling for the American mythology of exceptionalism and individualism. (For more, see The goop Podcast hub.)

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