Reflection On Environmentalism

When one of my friends invited me to go to my first environmental rally, I was ecstatic. Excited to finally put my beliefs into action, I stayed up until three in the morning the night before scouring my house for used cardboard to turn into picket signs. Insignificant decisions suddenly became of utmost importance to make sure I was the most prepared I could be, as I debated between whether a blue or a red marker would best communicate my stance against the massive environmental destruction of fracking and whether a shirt or a sweater would best present myself as an advocate for environmentalism. I finally went to sleep, and woke up the next morning, bursting with excitement. When I finally went to the rally, I was shocked to see my friend and I were the only people of color in a crowd of over fifty activists. I spent the rest of the rally feeling out-of-place, worried that my mere existence as an environmentalist of color distracted too much attention or made me unwelcome. When I went home that day, I was overwhelmed

Environmental justice is an incredibly important, but often neglected, part of environmentalism. Dealing specifically with how the environment and environmental policies affect marginalized communities, environmental justice is the only way to make sure environmentalism actually helps those that it means to help. Without it, it is easy for the mainstream environmental movement to ignore atrocities like the dumping of nuclear waste in native Shoshone lands. This digital magazine would present environmental justice in a way that is accessible, easy-to-read, and entertaining, but still thought-provoking, to young people. The magazine would serve as a forum for young people to contribute ideas and influence environmentalism to become a more inclusive space that represents the needs of more