Type of paper: Other
Citation style: APA
Pages: 3
Sources: 3
Level: Undergraduate
The meeting was held in Whitakers, North Carolina. It took place on 16-17 October 2015. The meeting was organized by North Carolina Environmental Justice Network (NCEJN). NCEJN has several activities in North Carolina aimed at providing a safe working environment and promoting equal access to all natural resources. In Charlotte, NECJN works to eliminate environmental injustice by making sure that businesses and any other organizations do not have discriminative policies. The main role played by NCEJN is advocacy and public education. NCEJN hopes to change the lives of people through that because the voice of the people matters in environmental policy.
The meeting was aimed at communicating NCEJN’s position on the issue of climate change. The participants also discussed curricula that should be developed to create a sustainable workforce in the community. Participants included labor unions, nonprofit organizations, research institutions, and members of the public concerned about environmental injustice.
Climate change is a critical environmental issue affecting the lives of many people globally. However, public awareness on the effects of climate change on the occupational safety and health of workers is minimal. The issue has not been addressed adequately within the larger discussion of climate change. The meeting sought to bridge that gap by inviting experts and the public to the meeting. Public participation was encouraged by giving the public an opportunity to contribute to the resolutions made. Participants were encouraged to ask questions and comment on the possible ways of eliminating environmental injustice within the community of North Carolina as well as other parts of the world.
During the meeting, the following issues were brought to the attention of participants: many communities face the threat of a polluted homes, some workers face exploitation at their places of work and other communities lack basic services that are provided in other areas. Effects of climate change will affect these communities disproportionately. Fighting for such environmental injustices would not be possible without a critical mass of people. That movement would be crucial in fighting greenhouse emissions and holding corporate and government offenders to account. Occupational health and safety has largely been ignored in the discourse on climate change. That is despite the growing body of research showing that climate change would affect human health and that of workers negatively. Many workers across the globe are exposed to UV radiation, heavy rainfall and severe heat caused by climate change (Halley, 2015).
The data presented in the meeting was drawn from research and studies done in various parts of the world. For instance, one of the reports presented showed that climate change is a significant humanitarian crisis in the world today. It is responsible for the raging storms, the severe droughts, the punishing floods, the rising sea levels, the searing heat, and the vicious fires that have been experienced lately.
For that reason, climatic change has become a big threat to the world’s economy, health, and national security. Globally, many nations have started taking efficient steps to control this growing threat, targeting the achievement of an international agreement that every country would play a part in. Many of the largest polluters globally have committed themselves to these international agreements, partly because of the pressure from environmental groups and the public.
Despite the increase in the usage of renewable (clean) energy in some countries, and a slight shift from the use of coal to the use of the natural gas in other countries, global warming has been rising every year, and at an alarming rate. Economic growth and pollution have been the key contributors to this greenhouse gas pollution, outpacing the improvements made in terms of energy efficiency. However, if nations controlled energy supply and restrained climate change to less than two degrees Celsius, the world would make great strides in mitigating the effects of climate change (Biello, 2014).
To curb the issue, the meeting came up with some solutions. The first resolution was that public awareness is required in order to build a critical mass of citizens that would stand up against environmental injustice. Workers and members of the public should be aware of the activities that amount to environmental injustice and the best means to respond to them. Sharing of resources between various organizations was also pointed out as a possible solution. The use of renewable technologies was also pointed out as a viable means of assuring the safety of workers in workplaces.
The audience was given time to ask questions and contribute to the effectiveness of the regulations. However, there was a consensus that public education on the issue of environmental injustice was still in its nascent stages, and there was a need to do more. The poor turnout from the members of the public also shows that many people are not aware of occupational health issues and their importance in the context of climate change.
To ensure an improvement in public input, I would encourage more public campaigns on the issue of environmental injustice. Raising public awareness would encourage the public to be active participants in such discussions because they affect their wellbeing. I have been interested in climate change issues from a very young age. I have read and watched news on the effects of climate change in other parts of the world, which inspires me to do more to ensure that the neighboring do not face the same challenges. Experiences from other parts of the world show that public-private partnerships work well in mitigating the effects of climate change and I would like to pursue a similar model.
Biello, D. (2014, April). How to Solve Global Warming: It's the Energy Supply. Scientific American, pp. 1-3.
Halley, T. (2015). Workshop explores ways to protect workers from climate change. Retrieved October 16, 2015, from niehs.nih.gov: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2014/11/spotlight-climatechange/
Workers World (2015). NCEJN issues position on climate change for summit meeting. Retrieved October 19, 2015 from http://www.workers.org/articles/2015/10/15/ncejn- issues-position-on-climate-change-for-summit-meeting/
Citation style: APA
Pages: 3
Sources: 3
Level: Undergraduate
Public Meeting Analysis
The meeting was held in Whitakers, North Carolina. It took place on 16-17 October 2015. The meeting was organized by North Carolina Environmental Justice Network (NCEJN). NCEJN has several activities in North Carolina aimed at providing a safe working environment and promoting equal access to all natural resources. In Charlotte, NECJN works to eliminate environmental injustice by making sure that businesses and any other organizations do not have discriminative policies. The main role played by NCEJN is advocacy and public education. NCEJN hopes to change the lives of people through that because the voice of the people matters in environmental policy.
The meeting was aimed at communicating NCEJN’s position on the issue of climate change. The participants also discussed curricula that should be developed to create a sustainable workforce in the community. Participants included labor unions, nonprofit organizations, research institutions, and members of the public concerned about environmental injustice.
Climate change is a critical environmental issue affecting the lives of many people globally. However, public awareness on the effects of climate change on the occupational safety and health of workers is minimal. The issue has not been addressed adequately within the larger discussion of climate change. The meeting sought to bridge that gap by inviting experts and the public to the meeting. Public participation was encouraged by giving the public an opportunity to contribute to the resolutions made. Participants were encouraged to ask questions and comment on the possible ways of eliminating environmental injustice within the community of North Carolina as well as other parts of the world.
During the meeting, the following issues were brought to the attention of participants: many communities face the threat of a polluted homes, some workers face exploitation at their places of work and other communities lack basic services that are provided in other areas. Effects of climate change will affect these communities disproportionately. Fighting for such environmental injustices would not be possible without a critical mass of people. That movement would be crucial in fighting greenhouse emissions and holding corporate and government offenders to account. Occupational health and safety has largely been ignored in the discourse on climate change. That is despite the growing body of research showing that climate change would affect human health and that of workers negatively. Many workers across the globe are exposed to UV radiation, heavy rainfall and severe heat caused by climate change (Halley, 2015).
The data presented in the meeting was drawn from research and studies done in various parts of the world. For instance, one of the reports presented showed that climate change is a significant humanitarian crisis in the world today. It is responsible for the raging storms, the severe droughts, the punishing floods, the rising sea levels, the searing heat, and the vicious fires that have been experienced lately.
For that reason, climatic change has become a big threat to the world’s economy, health, and national security. Globally, many nations have started taking efficient steps to control this growing threat, targeting the achievement of an international agreement that every country would play a part in. Many of the largest polluters globally have committed themselves to these international agreements, partly because of the pressure from environmental groups and the public.
Despite the increase in the usage of renewable (clean) energy in some countries, and a slight shift from the use of coal to the use of the natural gas in other countries, global warming has been rising every year, and at an alarming rate. Economic growth and pollution have been the key contributors to this greenhouse gas pollution, outpacing the improvements made in terms of energy efficiency. However, if nations controlled energy supply and restrained climate change to less than two degrees Celsius, the world would make great strides in mitigating the effects of climate change (Biello, 2014).
To curb the issue, the meeting came up with some solutions. The first resolution was that public awareness is required in order to build a critical mass of citizens that would stand up against environmental injustice. Workers and members of the public should be aware of the activities that amount to environmental injustice and the best means to respond to them. Sharing of resources between various organizations was also pointed out as a possible solution. The use of renewable technologies was also pointed out as a viable means of assuring the safety of workers in workplaces.
The audience was given time to ask questions and contribute to the effectiveness of the regulations. However, there was a consensus that public education on the issue of environmental injustice was still in its nascent stages, and there was a need to do more. The poor turnout from the members of the public also shows that many people are not aware of occupational health issues and their importance in the context of climate change.
To ensure an improvement in public input, I would encourage more public campaigns on the issue of environmental injustice. Raising public awareness would encourage the public to be active participants in such discussions because they affect their wellbeing. I have been interested in climate change issues from a very young age. I have read and watched news on the effects of climate change in other parts of the world, which inspires me to do more to ensure that the neighboring do not face the same challenges. Experiences from other parts of the world show that public-private partnerships work well in mitigating the effects of climate change and I would like to pursue a similar model.
References
Biello, D. (2014, April). How to Solve Global Warming: It's the Energy Supply. Scientific American, pp. 1-3.
Halley, T. (2015). Workshop explores ways to protect workers from climate change. Retrieved October 16, 2015, from niehs.nih.gov: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2014/11/spotlight-climatechange/
Workers World (2015). NCEJN issues position on climate change for summit meeting. Retrieved October 19, 2015 from http://www.workers.org/articles/2015/10/15/ncejn- issues-position-on-climate-change-for-summit-meeting/
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