With the right planning we can remake our world sustainably and equitably.
News of the world environment
NEWSLETTER | AUGUST 30, 2024
Not Either Or, but Both And
In early July, as we were starting to put our Autumn issue together, Joe Biden’s presidential re-election campaign started to fall apart. By late July, as we were wrapping up, he was no longer in the race. They say that one-term presidents are rarely remembered by history. But Biden may prove an exception, at least in green circles.
That’s because his presidency has been the most consequential in recent memory in addressing climate change, one of the greatest challenges the human race has ever faced. Not only did Biden return the US to the international Paris Climate Accord, but he also pushed for the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, a job-building law that has flooded the US economy with incentives for clean, green investments.
However, as our soon-to-be published special issue demonstrates, we still have a long way to go. The features and perspectives in this issue are organized around the intersections of labor and climate, those spaces where human health, happiness, and dignity run into the larger forces of a changing world.
The reports and perspectives in this issue explore questions about what kind of world we ought to live in, and work in. What are our fundamental rights, beyond life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? And how do we secure those rights?
These have always been important questions for a democratic society. But they are of major import now, at this crossroads of an election. The world is getting warmer, and we continue to inch toward ecological tipping points.
Meanwhile, most people are justifiably frustrated by the feeling that they aren’t getting ahead, or worse, are falling behind. But as this issue conveys, we are not in an either-or dilemma. With the right planning, and the right thinking, we can find a way to meet the moment, to remake our world, sustainably and equitably. We hope these pages help point the way.
Brian Calvert
Associate Editor, Earth Island Journal
PS: This is a version of my Letter from the Editor published in our Autumn 2024 print issue. Check out a quick breakdown on the issue below.
Photo of prisoners fighting the 2017 Thomas Fire by Cecilio Ricardo/USFS
AUTUMN 2024 ISSUE
The latest print edition of Earth Island Journal will be arriving in mailboxes and hitting newsstands any day now.
In this special issue on climate and labor you will find:
A report about the trouble that the EV giant Tesla is having with unions and the strong tradition of labor movements in Europe.
A story about the impact of a warming Atlantic Ocean on New England fisheries and the people who rely on them.
A feature about how US prisoners are being made to work in dangerous, climate-impacted jobs like firefighting, with few safeguards or rights.
A call to support the rights of the mostly undocumented “resilience workers” who help people come home in the aftermath of hurricanes, floods, and fires.
Plus:
Conversations with longtime farmworker rights advocate Dolores Huerta and passionate foodchain-worker advocate Saru Jayaraman.
A review of printmaker Ricardo Morales’ work, which has supported movements for labor rights, environmental justice, and more for decades.
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