ISSUE 5 | DECEMBER 2022
Environmental Justice Today
DECEMBER 2022
Directory
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From The Editor's Desk
REVEREND LEO WOODBERRY
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Whose Loss & Whose Damages
REVEREND LEO WOODBERRY
Community Capacity Building for Nature-Based Food Resiliency in Charleston, SC OMAR MUHAMMAD 9
UCS Seeks to Elevate Communities' Resilience Efforts & Climate Solutions ASTRID CALDAS & JOHANNA CHAO KREILICK
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Investigating The Community Reinvestment Act
ISHMAEL BUCKNER
RINGO MOWO Children Can Do Great Things 16 NANA FIRMAN Faiths for Climate Justice- A Muslim Perspective 16
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DECEMBER 2022
Directory 2022 YEAR IN REVIEW
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A Clean Energy Economy Is Crucial For Frontline Communities
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New Exposé Condemns The Nature Conservancy For Falsely Promoting Industrial Logging & Wood Products As Climate Solutions
DANA SMITH
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Power To The People
PEDRO CRUZ
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Climate Injustice WILLIAM MOOMAW Achieving Environmental Justice: 'Just A Transition' or 'Just Transformation' DR. JALONNE WHITE-NEWSOME
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16 Environmental Injustice & Food Insecurity
WINSTON CARROO & MIKHIELA SHERROD
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From the Editor's Desk
The Cost of The Climate Emergency Reverend Leo Woodberry
Dear friends of the Environment Freedom and Progress,
The year 2022 was a difficult yet amazing year. We saw so many things continue that are harmful to our communities, our nation, and our planet. There were still mass shootings, pollution, greenhouse gas emissions continued to contribute to climate change, and challenges to democracy and freedom remained unabated. However, a huge amount of progress was also made. This is best exemplified by what happened at the United Nations FCC COP 27 in Egypt, as well as our Annual Creating a Climate for Change Conference. Let us start with the Creating a Climate for Change Conference. The theme of the conference was the New Reality Implementing Community Solutions. We had amazing speakers, and panelists, from the White House to federal agencies, and the Governor's Office of South Carolina. We had people who are making amazing changes when it comes to implementation to deal with the impacts of climate change. No matter if we're looking at the freedmen community of Sandbranch, Texas and the work that is being done by the Shirley Chisholm Legacy Project, or Sister Queen Shabazz who is working Petersburg, Virginia, creating a solar Training Center, or the work that is being done in North Charleston by the LowCountry Alliance for Model Communities, or The Amani Group’s training for remediation in Aiken, South Carolina, and of course, our New Alpha Community Development Corporation's construction of the Environmental Justice Sustainability and Training Center on our seven and a half acres of land in Brittons Neck, South Carolina. Yes, we are moving forward, but we still have not seen any more than a tiny trickle of the resources needed from both the Justice 40 Initiative and the Infrastructure Reduction Act. Both of which were promised to get resources directly to the community. And we need you, you, and yes, you too to continue to speak to policymakers on all levels, to make sure that resources are going to the EJ organizations that are really making a difference by providing solutions and those who want to do so.
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From the Editor's Desk The Cost of The Climate Emergency Reverend Leo Woodberry
On the global level, the 27th COP held in Egypt had a huge victory. Finally, after many years of struggle and work, the UNFCCC has agreed to devise a financial mechanism for Loss and Damages caused by storms and other climate impacts in developing countries. The problem still facing us is that many of the decisions made at the COP, both past and current, do not result in action on the national level. That is because those who attend must go back to their countries and convince their politburos, Knesset, Parliaments, and Congress, etc. to pass the policy and budgets necessary to make the changes that will save our planet from future and possible irreparable harm. Looking at what happened at the Creating a Climate for Change Conference, we have many amazing participants, panelists, federal representatives, state representatives, city officials, and even a representative from the South Carolina Governor's office, who all contribute Ted and work together with members of nonprofit organizations, everyday citizens, and representatives from funding organizations. What we need to do is make sure that we are speaking to our policy makers from the federal, state, county, and city levels to ensure that the funding promised to EJ organizations and EJ communities actually reach their community level and are not get derailed and redirected to the usual suspects. We are either close to reaching the tipping point or have reached the tipping point, depending on what scientists you speak to, where nothing that we will do will be able to deal with the impacts of climate change. We will just have to deal with these eight impacts increasing in frequency and in destruction for the next 80 to 100 years. We must act now. So, we thank you for your hard work and for your continued commitment. And we asked that you continue to contribute your articles and your insights to the Environmental Justice Today magazine. Share this magazine with others. Don't forget to subscribe to New Alpha Community Development Corporation's website. The future is ours. And it is only as bright only as good as we make it today.
Yours truly,
Reverend Leo Woodbury Executive Director
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REVEREND LEO WOODBERRY
Whose Loss? Whose Damages? By: Reverend Leo Woodberry
and damages. Unfortunately, the same situation does not exist for people in the developing world. In many developing countries, they not only do not have homeowner's insurance, FEMA, or adequate nonprofit organizations that can assist them at a time of disaster. In many cases, they don't have homeowner's insurance, or even mortgages. The question of loss and damages has been divided into two parts with a clear line of demarcation that makes very little sense. You see, the problem of recovering from weather related disasters is not limited in the developing world. When we look at the United States of America, we realize that people who were involved in Hurricane Hugo 39 years ago, Hurricane Katrina 17 years ago, Hurricane Maria, five years ago in many instances have not been able to recover from the loss in damages that they suffered. While we are blessed to have more financial mechanisms in place. We have failed to help those who labored in our fields and served as domestic
As a participant in the 2022 COP that is held by the United Nations FCC. I was prepared once again to bring up the issue of loss and damages. For many years, NGOs, non- governmental organizations or as we call them in the United States, nonprofits, have been advocating for a financial mechanism that will allow developing countries to put money in a financial mechanism so that developing countries that are suffering the impacts of climate change will be able to recover quickly from a loss in damages they face from tsunamis, typhoons, hurricanes, and other related climate disasters. Unlike the United States of America and other developing countries, we have all kinds of financial mechanisms in place to assist us with any loss or damages that may occur during a climate impact such as wildfires or flooding. We have FEMA, homeowners insurance, and nonprofit organizations such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army. All of which come to the aid of citizens who are experiencing some level of loss
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help and only make a mere $600 to $800 monthly in SSI, Supplemental Security Income. Loss and damages need to be addressed in both the US global south as well as developing countries. More importantly is the question, "who really suffers from loss and damages?" When we do not address these issues that come about because of climate change, we see an escalation of climate refugees, or migrants who oppose on the borders of nations around the world due to drought and water shortages. When we fail to address loss and damages, then we find that governments become unstable, and wars break out as they have in Syria, Somalia, and many other countries around the world. So, who experiences loss and damages? When it comes to people suffering from droughts, starvation, and death such as the 6,000 people lost in Pakistan or the 30 out of 36 states in Nigeria that are currently flooded, we all lose. Unrest, war, and mass migrations impact countries like the United States as well. We find that losses and damages are better addressed proactively rather than having to spend billions of dollars later to help with wars, civil unrest, starvation, hunger, and disasters.
So, who loses and who suffers damages? All of us, including the developed countries that feel that losses and damages are not their problem. After participating in COP27, I feel we all should advocate to our governing bodies such as Congress to take immediate action to pass policies that help people with loss and damages, especially in developing countries. Although, in developed countries there are other injustices like sacrifice zones at play. Whose loss, whose damages? Each and every one of us when we forget that we are our brother's keeper.
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Reverend Leo Woodberry
Rev. Leo Woodberry was born and raised in New York City, where he started organizing at an early age. He became involved in environmental work in the 1990s with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control around the issue of mercury emissions. In 1994, he joined the newly-formed African American Environmental Justice Action Network (AAEJAN), which was instrumental in uniting people of color across America, and in influencing foundations to support communities of color disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards. Rev. Woodberry has worked in the areas of water, air, and renewable energy with a host of organizations, including the Southern Organizing Committee (SOC), The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, The Environmental Protection Agency National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, The National and SC Wildlife Federations, Sierra Club, Coastal Carolina League, South East Climate Network, Green Faith. He’s one of the partners of the South Carolina Environmental Justice Network. In 2001, Woodberry attended the United Nations Conference on Racism and Xenophobia and contributed to the environmental statement added to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and subsequently signed by 161 countries. He’s has been recognized by the South Carolina State Senate for his years of community service. The boards of 7 National Organizations, 1 Regional Organization board. He’s the regional Organizer of Justice First.
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NEW ALPHA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION 705 SOUTH IRBY STREET, FLORENCE, SC 29501
OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TEAM IS WORKING ON INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE, AND IMPLEMENTING SOLAR ENERGY TO CHANGE THE WORLD
NEWALPHACDC.COM @NEWALPHACDC
COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING FOR NATURE-BASED FLOOD RESILIENCY IN CHARLESTON, SC
OMAR MUHAMMAD
Community Capacity Building for Nature-Based Flood Resiliency in Charleston, SC By: Omar Muhammad
The Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities (LAMC), a community- based nonprofit organization, is working to facilitate community capacity building and resilience planning in the predominantly Black and low-wealth neighborhoods of Rosemont and Bridgeview in Charleston, South Carolina. The residents of the Rosemont and Bridgeview neighborhoods frequently experience severe flooding during heavy rain and storm events. The roads become impassable, which restricts the residents’ access to evacuation routes and emergency care. With flooding events projected to become more frequent, the safety and quality of life for residents will continue to be threatened without intervention of community resilience efforts. Rosemont and Bridgeview are both well-established neighborhoods with predominantly Black and elderly populations. Rosemont has a population of approximately 2,188. 83% of its residents are Black.
82%
of
its
residents
report
a
household
income
of
less
than
$50,000, residents reporting a household income of less than $15,000. In comparison, with 44% of Charleston’s population has a median household income of $72,071 and an overall poverty rate of 12.6%. When the City of Charleston announced its plan to construct a sea wall, LAMC partnered with the College of Charleston to reach out to Rosemont residents and understand the community response to the sea wall. This outreach resulted in an extensive report that will act as the basis for LAMC’s nature-based resiliency work in Charleston Neck. LAMC will build community capacity to develop a coastal resiliency plan for the Rosemont neighborhood and lay the groundwork for future resilience initiatives in the Bridgeview neighborhood. Key outcomes of the project will be the development of a nature-based Resilience Plan that incorporates strategies to benefit the living shoreline and complement the existing efforts of the City and local partners.
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The goal is not just to mitigate flooding and coastal hazards, but also revive ecosystems along the Charleston coast by reintroducing natural habitats to areas stressed by development. Though it has been industrialized in recent years, the Charleston Neck is traditionally marshland and still acts as an important marsh habitat. The Ashley River in particular is an essential habitat for a range of threatened and endangered species, including birds like the bald eagle and endangered fish like the Atlantic sturgeon and shortnose sturgeon. A nature-based approach to flood mitigation avoids continued development in the Charleston Neck in favor of ecological restoration, thus benefiting community members and the imperiled biodiversity of South Carolina’s marshlands. LAMC will work with technical experts such as landscapearchitects, geologists, and hydrologists to better determine how water moves through the two neighborhoods; identify what types of nature-based solutions will be most effective; and assess various locations for these solutions. LAMC will establish partnerships with technical experts and community members to function as equal collaborators on this project.
LAMC will organize regular design charrettes and town hall style meetings to ensure that technical experts and residents engage in a codesign effort. Additionally, LAMC will continue communications with city officials and ensure that their resiliency plan complements the existing efforts of the city of Charleston to engineer a sea wall that will mitigate damage and loss from storm surge. NOAA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) on December 6, 2022 announced a $300,000 grant to the Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities. The funding, in collaboration with the Department of Defense and private sector partners, provides more than $136 million to support 88 natural infrastructure projects in 29 states and U.S. territories. LAMC’s Community Capacity Building for Nature-based Flood Resiliency in Rosemont and Bridgeview will support residents in Rosemont and Bridgeview develop a flood resiliency plan that identifies potential sites for living shorelines and nature-based infrastructure in Rosemont and Bridgeview. This project will promote community-led resiliency planning to prevent flooding and protect endangered ecosystems in the Charleston Neck.
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LAMC leveraged a $35,000 grant to attract nine organizations contributing a total of $316,000 for a total of $616,000 for the Community Capacity Building for Nature- based Flood Resiliency effort. Organizations participating in this effort are the Rosemont Community Association, the City of Charleston, the South Carolina Aquarium, the University of South Carolina, Clemson, the College of Charleston, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the Medical University of South Carolina.
Omar Muhammad
CCRAB Community Project Coordinator MA, Community Planning, Policy & Design (CofC) EJ Academy Class of 2016 Valedictorian 2007 Environmental Leadership Senior Fellow
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LEO & LARRY SHOW
REV. LEO WOODBERRY
LARRY SMITH
FEATURED ON 105.1 FM GOSPEL STATION FLORENCE, SC
LISTEN NATIONALLY: DOWNLOAD APP AT WPDT.COM
UCS Seeks to Elevate Communities' Resilience Efforts & Climate Solutions By: Johanna Chao Kreilick & Astrid Caldas
For the past few years, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has been intent on using our science and advocacy expertise to elevate and support communities in their resilience-building efforts. As part of this commitment, UCS has been working to center Environmental Justice (EJ) principles and traditional community knowledge into our work on climate impacts, resilience, and pollution, recognizing that low- income and racially marginalized communities are those hit “first and worst” by intensifying hurricanes, sea level rise, and extreme heat. These same communities are also those that have been disproportionately subjected to environmental hazards and overexposed to pollution from chemical plants, refineries, and other dangerous sites. In our ongoing effort to anchor justice and equity across our science and advocacy, we’ve been grateful for our partnerships with a growing number of local groups who are leading their communities’ environmental and climate justice fights.
The Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science 2022 conference in Puerto Rico where UCS led the workshop “Speaking up for Science and Policy in Your Community;” A standing-room only discussion at the 2022 National Adaptation Forum in Baltimore, where UCS brought partners from five community organizations Through and through our participation in working groups and coalitions, UCS has actively incorporated sound EJ these connections provisions in policy and legislation such as the Justice 40 Initiative, the Preventing HEAT Illness and Deaths Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act, and many others. been participating in a variety of equity and justice focused events, including community-led and community- focused ones. Recent examples include: In addition, UCS has
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the Creating a Climate for Change Conference organized by New Alpha CDC, where UCS Senior Climate Scientist for Community Resilience Astrid Caldas participated on the panel “Implementing the Change,” highlighting UCS’s partnerships with communities and most important accomplishments on climate justice, as well as challenges and resources needed for successful scaling of solutions at the community level. Impacted Communities: a Conversation With Local Leaders On The Frontlines of Climate Impacts;” and (New Alpha CDC in SC, the United Houma Nation in LA, Taller Salud in PR, Phoenix Revitalization Corporation in AZ, and Community In-Power and Development Association, Inc. in TX) for a session titled “Creating Broader Understanding of Challenges and Opportunities For Increasing Adaptation In Climate- At the federal and international level, UCS has been ramping up our efforts to increase visibility of EJ and climate justice issues. Most recently, we helped elevate the messages of EJ allies at the United Nations’ annual climate summit (COP27), in Egypt, by co-sponsoring the “Climate Justice Pavilion.”
This dedicated space, in the same area of the conference where delegations from almost every country in the world were meeting, provided a platform for groups to showcase equitable policies and solutions that decision makers should enact as part of their plans to address climate change. Also at COP27 UCS President Johanna Chao Kreilick was invited to host a conversation about how combining community knowledge, including Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), with Western science and law can make climate solutions stronger and more sustainable. Johanna also moderated a panel on the need to increase marginalized communities’ access to climate data and climate science to strengthen their resilience to climate change. The panel highlighted that decades and sometimes centuries of disinvestment, racist policies, and exploitative business practices have left marginalized communities not only more vulnerable to climate change, but without the necessary means to become more climate resilient.
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At UCS we are deeply committed to putting science in service of local communities. We are always looking for new and better ways to work with current and new partners to provide relevant policy- and community-specific science, and to advocate for solutions, especially home-grown ones that have traction across the world. By fusing local knowledge and lived experiences with science, we can achieve greater speed, scope, and scale on responsible, sustainable, and equitable climate action that will lead to better results for all. Johanna Chao Kreilick is the president of the Union of Concerned Scientists and Astrid Caldas serves as the organization’s senior climate scientist for community resilience.
Johanna Chao Kreilick
Johanna Chao Kreilick is president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a leading science-based advocacy organization that combines technical analysis and advocacy to create and implement innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future. Ms. Kreilick has three decades of experience with social movements, science policy, and working to combat climate change.
Astrid Caldas
Astrid Caldas is a senior climate scientist for community resilience at the Union of Concerned Scientists, where her work focuses on climate change adaptation and science communication, with practical policy implications for ecosystems, the economy, and society - including equitable and just adaptation and resilience measures.
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JUSTICE FIRST
JUSTICE FIRST IS PROUD TO PARTNER WITH OTHER COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO INSPIRE A STRONGER, MORE UNIFIED AND INTERSECTIONAL MOVEMENT CENTERED AROUND JUSTICE, WITH FOCUS IN AREAS SUCH AS: CLIMATE JUSTICE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, RACIAL JUSTICE, ECONOMIC JUSTICE, & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
@CLIMATEJUSTICEFIRST
INVESTIGATING
THE COMMUNITY
REINVESTMENT ACT
Investigating the Community Reinvestment Act By: Ishmael Buckner
This year, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation proposed updating the rules implementing the Community Reinvestment Act, which would modernize the rule for how we bank now. I welcome some improvements to the CRA and I want people to remember why this law was put in place to begin with. In 1971, an U.S. Navy Master Chief Petty Officer and his educator bride stationed in Rota, Spain were making the move back to the states, touring homes in Pittsburg. Naturally, she was going to help pick out their future home, ideally one with fresh air and a nice yard for their children. The couple met the real estate agent and toured a split-level home in a previously green or blue lined neighborhood (i.e.: white.) What followed may seem like a scene from A Raisin in the Sun: A neighbor approached the real estate agent and attempted to persuade her to
reconsider selling to the negros. He explained that “they” (the neighbors he organized) would have the money together to put down on the house soon, but just needed a little more time. Luckily, this real estate agent wasn’t moved by his anti-Black elevator pitch. Unfortunately for far too many American Negros, plenty other real estate agents would participate in the widespread housing discrimination. The couple ended up purchasing the house, but their ordeal didn’t end after closing. Not long after moving in, their new home was shot in multiple times and assailants spray painted “Go Home Nigers” (yes, spelled incorrectly) on the driveway. Not one neighbor spoke to the lady of the house for 6 months. This is what was happening in the 70’s after the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968. This is what redlining did to my grandparents, and it is the context for the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), a 1978 housing law that intended to compel the banking industry to genuinely
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meet the financial needs of the communities it operates in.
the housing market forced many American Negroes into under-resourced, at times highly polluted, climate- vulnerable communities. Access to basic credit and bond markets remained segregated. The persistent problems were not just what the banks were actively doing to Black Americans trying to secure a home in the country our people’s torture built. The problem additionally includes extreme economic stigmatization painting an image of Black homeowners as nothing other than lower property values and higher interest rates on their mortgages. When it comes to the climate crisis, the ultimate legacy of the CRA has yet to be determined. However, the past 50 years do not exactly inspire hope. If American Negroes continue to be denied economic and political justice, I guarantee you the ways we are perpetually stigmatized and sacrificed will be weaponized against progress including addressing the climate crisis. Concentrations of bad planning, lacking adequate green spaces, increased temperatures, hazardous air quality, poisoned water, flood zones and inability to rebuild after a disaster or even own
Since passed in 1978, the CRA attempts to push banks to lend to Black communities by assessing the financial institution's record of meeting the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. The law does not force banks to lend; instead, banks are encouraged to lend, consistent with the safe and sound operation of such institutions. There are several reasons for the CRA’s less than stellar performance in meeting its goals. First the law should have been explicit in naming race and Black people’s prior categorization as “detrimental influences” and “undesirable elements” as the driving force for the harm, thus needing to be the centerpiece of the redress. Second, the law lacks the so-called ‘teeth’ to enforce compliance in a timely manner. The CRA’s mechanism of using a bad score on a CRA assessment to block a possible bank merger in the future simply was not effective enough, or used aggressively enough to match the financial, health, or social costs of this attack on the American Negro. The discrimination and exclusion endemic to
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your residence in the first place are all problems connected or exacerbated by the Climate Crisis. One way the current update can be improved is explicitly utilizing race, and particularly being or descending from someone categorized Black pre-1968 as a metric in CRA examinations to ensure that historically redlined communities have improved access to credit and services. Secondly, any new eligible activities recommended by regulators should both use primarily grants and low interest loans that are structured to grow wealth and maintain financial stability for descendants of U.S. slavery who later dealt with widespread housing discrimination. Third, the CRA update can specifically name more activities that decrease greenhouse gas emissions, protect health, maintain stability as qualifying for credit. This includes but is not limited to additional greening infrastructure such as green roofs, community solar and microgrids; operational support and capacity building for environmental, climate justice, and American Descendants of Slavery reparations organizations; community air monitoring programs; and support in purchasing
often expensive and unattainable electric vehicles.
In 2021, the Master Chief Petty Officer is long retired from the service. The lovely bride, after thriving in multiple careers including with the federal government and in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, has been enjoying retirement with her current husband. Their ability to remember the past is not exactly what they used to be. But if you mention that house in Pittsburgh, and you will see them light up with stories—of holidays and children coming into their own, of dealing with racism and how ownership affected how they could move and stabilize post-divorce. If federal regulators take seriously the suggestions made here, many more families will have a chance at lowering greenhouse gas emissions and at financial stability.
Ishmael Buckner is a junior climate and finance policy advocate, and supporter of slavery reparations. He got involved with the climate movement when he was 16 and since has also served as an intern or staffer on multiple winning electoral campaigns, has organized around winning transportation ballot initiatives, helped in successful pushes for diverse Black American voices entering influential previously all white advisory spaces, connected community groups, particularly Black southern orgs to membership and grant resources in one of the largest networks working on the climate crisis. Ishmael Buckner
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CHILDREN CAN DO GREAT THINGS
HOW TANZANIA’S 12-YEAR-OLD TRADE AND TOURISM AMBASSADOR FOR THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST IS MAKING WORLD LEADERS LISTEN ON CLIMATE CHANGE
RINGO MOWO
Children Can Do Great Things: How Tanzania’s 12-year-old Trade and Tourism Ambassador for the East African Community and Environmental Activist is Making World Leaders Listen on Climate Change By: Ringo Mowo
Tanzanian schoolgirl Sharon Ringo is just 12 years old, yet she meets with heads of state as a Trade and Tourism Ambassador and Environmental Activist and has set up her own foundation. The Sharon Ringo Foundation was created with the aim of planting two million new trees annually in East Africa, the foundation focuses on three thematics: Climate Action, Environmental Justice and Sustainable Tourism. Sharon is also a published author with two new books. The first titled, The Big Five , is already on the market and the other two, The Confidence I Learned From My Father, and A Call for Climate Action, are due to release. She could well be the secret weapon to empower the youth of Africa to make a stand on climate change. Just three weeks after landing from Egypt where she was attending COP27, she participated in the Africa Green Women Award Competition and won the competition.
Her spirit was boosted by winning an Africa Green Grant Award from Eleven Eleven Twelve Foundation. It's a startling level of achievement for someone not yet in her teens. Sharon believes everything is possible to all those who believe, and there is no time to wait when it comes to climate change.
“No one is safe as long as climate change is not reversed," Sharon warns.
"During my travels with my family, and sometimes with the foundation team, I could see how the environment was damaged by people cutting down trees and poor waste management. When you watch Television and social media you can see scary things. Droughts and floods are killing our people, nature, and animals all around. I visited the Manyara area (in northern Tanzania) in July last year where I saw children starving, and with no food or water. I also saw animals dying in the drought. It was a very scary situation for one to experience.
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I wish the world could know this and I stretch the hand of hope to my fellow children. If we can finance sports and other luxuries, we can finance livelihood for the people and especially the children and women who are the most vulnerable. "I feel so obligated take care of the nature and environment, Knowing that there is no tourism without nature and no nature without trees. Planting trees, protecting and preserving them is my calling and I always tell the people, both the children and the adults, to come together and work together to reverse the impacts on climate change. It is a call that we must do now, do it in smart ways at speed and scale. We are in an emergency state."
With a renown that got her audiences with heads of state such as Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Hakainde Hichilema, the President of Zambia, as well as President of the African Development Bank Dr Akinwumi Adesina, former US Vice President Al Gore and Pakistan's Minister of State Romina Khurshidalam. Now back at the family home in Dar neighbourhood Mikocheni, Sharon shares her surprise and joy with me that her heroes at the event seemed just as appreciative of what she had achieved. She says, "When I met President Hassan, she told me, 'Thank you Ms Ambassador for supporting me. Great work.'" The fact that Sharon's reputation preceded her even in such high-powered surroundings is testament to all she has done to protect the vulnerable planet she was born into just over a decade ago. Since she can remember, Sharon has loved the beauty of her homeland. Which she describes to me as "a modern Eden." Her parents took Sharon and her two younger brothers to places such as Serengeti, Zanzibar, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Saadani National Park, trips that left Sharon with an appreciation of the country's wealth of natural treasures as well as their fragility.
CAMPAIGNING FOR CHANGE
While she enjoyed her time in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm El-Sheikh, where Cop 27 was held. With adventures including seeing the pyramids and camel riding, when it came to the summit, Sharon made sure she got her message across. "I was happy to travel to Egypt, however, my biggest concern is whether countries, especially EAC countries, will follow up with the climate goals that were set. My foundation is organizing a campaign to follow up with leaders concerning the implementation of those goals." Sharon believes she was heard. 26
From the age of eight she started planting trees in her neighbourhood to do her bit to counter the deforestation she saw as a key contributor to the raised temperatures and extremes of weather that threaten these natural environments and the local communities that depend on them.
Sharon became the youngest ever person to be appointed a Trade and Tourism Ambassador for the East African Community and was later to also become Tourism Ambassador for Africa under African Tourism Board and Tourism Ambassador for Tanzania under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. The tree-planting schoolgirl was taken aback by her new platform of influence. "I was not very much aware of being activist, I just planted trees to protect our one and only Mother Earth with an ambition to plant one billion trees in my lifetime," she says. In ambassadorial appointments, Sharon's parents decided, as she puts it, "Formalize and structure my activities." The result was the formation of the Sharon Ringo light of her Foundation (SRF), which aims to engage more school-age children within and beyond Tanzania's borders in climate activism, environmental justice and sustainable tourism. It also allowed a committed ramping up of Sharon's tree- planting scheme. "I have a project of planting two million trees annually under my foundation," Sharon says. "So far, I planted over 39,768 trees."
ROLE MODEL FOR OTHERS
Sharon's proud father shared her efforts through engaging social media posts, television, radio. Last year word reached the Tanzanian government and its President. The appointment of the country’s first ever woman leader meant a lot to an ambitious schoolgirl such as Sharon. "It marks how far we have come as a country and especially Africa in empowering girls and women to participate in big decision making. She has proven to the world and especially Africa that women can do great things as well." The admiration was mutual with President Hassan taken by Sharon's tree- planting efforts and her championing of Tanzania's natural attractions. They chimed with her mission to revive the tourism sector in her country in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
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"I got very good support from professionals working in Serengeti, Ngorongoro Conservation and other national parks and game reserves. Through my book people will get an incredible opportunity to learn, visualize and imagine the magnificent experience of the Big Five." Global spread of foundation along with the success of the book, the foundation has expanded its operations beyond Tanzania's borders with 14 affiliated school clubs each with its own appointed ambassador in countries such as the US, China, South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon and across East Africa. "They are supporting me and the foundation to execute various projects through their influences, talents and gifts," Sharon says. "Society is waking up to what we are doing. So many people visited the foundation's Dar es Salaaml office to ask for trees and support our tree planting in their areas after listening to my speeches or visiting my social media platforms." This widening of the foundation's operations has recently been our programs, I can simply call the office's phone. Honestly, I get plenty of time to engage in playtime and my hobbies, I cannot complain."
We plant these trees in public and private institutions such as schools, religious institutions and hospitals. My team is working on identifying areas in need of rehabilitation to make the biggest impacts and restore nature. "The demand for trees is very high given the severe environmental degradation happening within the country. It is our great desire to have more support to push this project and reach out to many places. We have seen how successful it is for the trees planted so far. I was talking to my dad and doing some numbers and we calculated that if 1,000 young, strong people planted 100 trees per day, we would have an additional two million trees planted in 20 days." Funding for the ramped-up tree-planting scheme has come in part from a percentage of the sales of Sharon's debut book, 'The Big Five,' in which the nature- lover shares her passion for the heavy hitters of Tanzania's world-leading wildlife - lions, leopards, elephants, African buffalo and rhinos. Sharon is very proud to say she wrote the book “THE BIG FIVE" and is sure it will soon turn its readers into tourists inTanzania. "If you read my book, your desire to visit Africa will shoot up because Africa is a paradise which in this case has to be protected at all cost," she says.
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TRAVELING IS LEARNING
She also thanks her father for instilling her a self-confidence that has allowed her to hold her own in audiences with world leaders. "Attending Cop 27 was a great experience, I was among the youngest attendees at the meeting," she says, "All these great leaders spared their valuable time to listen to me and my ideas. They wanted to know about my work and my book. They all got surprised at my presence there due to my age, ideas and confidence. I was truly humbled and focused on my three agendas." "That self-assurance is to be explored in her next book release. Entitled 'The Confidence I Learned from my Father', Sharon says, "It will inspire people to attain higher heights, confidence unlocks many opportunities to people. I wish that many children will read this book that will give "a simple and clear explanation on CLIMATE ACTION. Information is power, without it we leave room for a lot of disasters and lack of action," Sharon adds. "If we are aware of what is happening around us, we can take the necessary action. If people learn of the disastrous impacts of climate change, they are more likely to take necessary actions."
With this mission to educate and invest young Tanzanians in their country, the SRF has organized a series of guided tours of the country's hot spots that revisit many of the sights that fascinated Sharon on family trips. "I want my fellow children to have unforgettable experiences to tell the world about," she says. "Currently I am organizing the Sharon Ringo Zanzibar Tour set for around April next year. I can't wait for others to have the same experience I had when cruising the Indian Ocean and seeing dolphins playing." "Soon those tours will be far further afield as the foundation continues its international expansion and becomes something no climate summit can ignore. It is my desire to work with many children around the world, our voice is bringing changes. So, I call upon parents and guardians from different parts of the world to connect their children with me to work together and bring the change on climate. We have no time to lay the blame for climate change on the "greed" of world leaders, but she remains optimistic that change will come.elieve that world leaders will change and take necessary actions.
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"The impact is severe and it affects everyone. I have seen so many leaders changing and supporting my movement. I have had several invitations from leaders to speak and inspire others."
I have a very well-planned schedule; my school timetable remains undisturbed; I meet with the foundation team twice or once per week and more during holidays. When I visit the office, all activities are already planned to maximize my productivity." She finished by saying God is her foundation to be be a strong girl.
A CONFIDENT SCHOOL GIRL
MORE INFORMATION
Beyond Greta Thumberg - whose book, We Are All Great , was an early inspiration for Sharon - there can't be many others whose lives have been so transformed by their climate activism at such a young age. Despite the demands of her foundation and her ambassadorial duties, Sharon says she still has plenty of time for normal childhood activities. She loves to paint Tanzanian wildlife scenes. Recipients of her work include the US Ambassador in Tanzania - and enjoys basketball, football, tennis, swimming, diving, and of course, traveling. She credits her parents for keeping her grounded and properly planning her schedules without affecting her school and playtime. "Everything seemed very surreal at first, but then the activities as an ambassador made everything so thrilling when I saw how I influenced many children and adults. I am privileged to have parents and a team that trains me to have balanced life in everything I do. 30
To keep up Sharon's latest moves and the work of the SRF, visit her YouTube and Instagram pages. If you would like your school to be part of the SRF's ambassador program: Call +255 652 202 202
For information on the coming Sharon Ringo Foundation tours, visit:
Instagram: sharonringomowo Website: sharonringofoundation.org
Faiths for Climate Justice - A Muslim Perspective By: Nana Firman
Muslims around the world are united by a fundamental belief that all people, all living things, and the Earth are sacred. God has created the universe in all its splendor, and our duty as human beings is to be khalīfah (stewards) to cultivate the greater good for all people and all of God’s creatures. At just over 1°C temperature increase, climate impacts are already causing significant loss and damage around the world. The poorest countries are however being hit first and worst. Without sufficient action and support, more than a generation's worth of human rights and development progress will be wiped out by climate impacts that are going to continue to worsen. As the largest historical emitter, the U.S. has a responsibility to respond to these impacts, not just out of a charitable impulse, but in recognition of the harm that has been caused by decades of ongoing emissions.
As I consider the actual state of the world, as a Muslim, my heart overflows with concern. Climate-induced floods, droughts, and wildfires are now happening more frequently and it’s always those of us who’ve done the least to cause the problem who suffer the worst; racial and ethnic minorities; the poor; elders; young children; women. There are significant demographic and geographical disparities as well. Here in the US, it is well-documented that communities of color suffer disproportionately from climate change-induced heatwaves and severe storms. Internationally, many of the predominantly Muslim North African countries are among the most impacted parts of the world, despite having done very little to contribute to the climate crisis. In Islam, there is a clear call for action to protect the environment and to work against climate change. The Holy Qur’an calls on us to recognize that Allah established the natural world in a life-sustaining balance that we should both respect and protect.
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The Qur’an also recognizes that people are responsible for all forms of human wrongdoing - including that which affects land, sea, and air. In an effort to integrate these values into our own personal lives, more and more Muslims are trying to change their own personal consumption habits to walk more lightly on the Earth. Many of us, for example, are reducing the amount of water we use during our wudu - the ritual cleansing of our face, arms, head, and feet before we pray. The Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, lived in a desert land. He recognized how valuable water is and taught us to use it sparingly. His example takes on new meaning for us today. As a Muslim, I know that while personal behavior change is vital, it is not enough to turn the tide. Governments, financial institutions, and corporations have massive power over the environment, and I am deeply alarmed by the massive gap between what is required to limit catastrophic global temperature rise and actual climate change commitments by governments, financial groups, and multinational companies. For example, even as COVID-19 has cost millions of people their livelihoods, the palm oil industry in Indonesia, the country with the world’s largest Muslim population, successfully lobbied the government 33
against climate and environmental protections, leading to dramatic increases in deforestation. This is plainly incompatible with the teachings of Islam, which, ostensibly, is the code on which the country’s governance is based. In 2016 during COP22 in Marrakech, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) announced its commitment to end investment in fossil fuels and urged its partners to follow suit. Earlier that year, the Ulema Council of Indonesia (MUI) issued a fatwa on burning land and forest, in an effort to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation. In 2015, I was privileged to be part of a global team of Muslim scholars and leaders who wrote the Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change, which calls for all nations with the greatest responsibility and capacity to lead the way in tackling climate change–for Muslim leaders around the world to pay more heed to the social and ecological responsibilities they have. And this year, I participated at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, where GreenFaith organized Faiths for Climate Justice actions with people of different faiths to call upon the end of fossil-fuel usage and the acceleration of a just transition into a clean and renewable energy economy, along with the support of climate finance investments.
After decades of knowing how serious the climate crisis is, this gap between what’s needed and what’s happening is morally incomprehensible. No religion sanctions the destruction of nature. Yet this is exactly what governments, financial institutions, and major corporations are doing. That is why I and an increasing number of Muslim youths in the U.S. and elsewhere are joining the growing global, multi-faith movement for climate justice. We called on governments and financial institutions to end their support for new fossil fuel infrastructure and tropical deforestation, to commit to universal access to clean and affordable energy, to support policies creating green jobs and job training, placement, healthcare, and income maintenance for workers and communities affected by the transition to a clean energy economy, and to enact policies to support those forced to migrate due to climate impacts. Such are the kinds of commitments that define my understanding of what it means to be a Muslim. Commitments that represent adl (just) and rahma (compassion). I know that other faith communities share the same values.
Nana Firman GreenFaith's Senior Ambassador
Nana Firman is deeply passionate with the green & blue sustainability of this beautiful brown earth. Previously, she directed the World Wildlife Fund in Indonesia for Green Reconstruction efforts during a post-tsunami period and developed urban climate resiliency plans. She was featured in "One Earth: People of Color Protecting Our Planet" among 20 Earth Defenders. Nana holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design from University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, and a Master of Science in Urban Design from Pratt Institute in New York. Currently, she serves as GreenFaith's Senior Ambassador.
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2022
YEAR IN
REVIEW
MUSTAFA SANTIAGO ALI
photo: thehill.com, getty images
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A Clean Energy Economy is Crucial for Frontline Communities By: Mustafa Santiago Ali
The rippling effects of climate change will impact every community, region and country on this planet. A new study found that 85 percent of the world's population has already been impacted by the worsening climate crisis. For Black and Brown communities in the United States, this will come as no surprise. The same diseases that are sickening our planet - the impacts of fossil fuel - are sickening frontline communities, resulting in alarming statistics. Building an economy rooted in clean energy is a cure for these converging crises - the climate crisis, the public health impacts of fossil fuels, and the economic impacts of the pandemic. of environmental racism on Black and Brown communities has been The unequal impact documented for decades. Black Americans are 75 percent more likely than white Americans to live near areas that produce emissions, pollution and traffic and 40 percent more likely to live in places where extreme heat will
result in higher mortality. Indigenous communities that rely on robust and healthy wildlife and ecosystems are in danger of losing crucial sources of economic stability and food. Infrastructure investments laid out in the bipartisan infrastructure legislation that Congress just passed and Build Back Better plan still in negotiation may be our last, best chance to rectify these staggering statistics. The investments would make it easier to build facilities that prevent the release of carbon dioxide or capture existing carbon from the air we breathe. They would invest in manufacturing projects supporting renewable technologies, particularly in low- income and frontline communities, resulting in more jobs and economic opportunities. And these investments would harness the power of nature as an ally, not just in solar and wind energy, but in making coasts and shorelines more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
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