Bottom-Up Strategies for Environmental Justice

by Nile Malloy

Through crisis comes amazing pro-active grassroots organizing opportunities. Millions of people across the planet are reclaiming their “human” rights to have access to healthy local food, clean air, just livelihoods, health care, affordable places to live, access to public transportation, quality education, and more equitable standards that will improve and sustain the quality of life of diverse communities. These rights call into question the negative legacy of global capitalism — and they demand our movement to be attentive to alternative and indigenous strategies of investing resources into our local economies, with a focus on “bottom-up” approaches to change.

The climate justice and green job movements describe a broad profile of issues that intersect global, social, economic, and ecological concerns and the needs of poor people, working class families, and people of color. There have been positive developments and significant challenges in these interrelated areas of environmental justice activism. The climate justice movement has effectively demonstrated how rich nations and dirty fossil fuel companies pollute at the expense of people of color and low-income communities; but the movement suffered a major blow this year when federal climate legislation was stonewalled. The policy push for “green jobs” ensures substantial resources, training programs, and leadership development, yet it is still dependent on a system that excludes or creates barriers for people of color.

In California, our coaliton of environmental justice activists, allies, and residents won two major victories this year against Chevron Oil for processing heavier oil that will pollute the community. In response, Chevron is seeking a legislative exemption to override the court decision in the state capital. At the same time, we are battling anti-climate legislation backed by Tesoro and Valero oil companies, called Proposition 23, which would abandon clean air and energy standards and would allow major polluters throughout the state to avoid mandatory pollution reporting and fees.

Tragically, at this political moment when we need creative leadership from grassroots groups, hundreds of community organizations have lost funding due to a reliance on foundation support, as many of those philanthropic agencies relied on Wall Street. We need to develop more sustainable economies that are self-sufficient instead of dependent on foundation resources.

Our movement also needs to continue to identify visionaries and solutionaries. Our activism should channel rage and frustration into action, build reciprocity to comrades, and be attentive to race, class and other social “isms” to understand our differences and strengths that can foster solidarity and radical change. Many of us already do this work but transitioning from our reliance of capitalism and fossil fuels, we will need to create a different form of social cohesion that is grounded and intentional.

One hopeful example is the amazing food justice and food sovereignty movement, such as in Detroit, Michigan, and Oakland, California, where hundreds of community gardens have been created. They are part of the fight for improving access to locally-grown food, and are also improving our health by using non-GMO seeds.

Historically, faith communities have played a major role in the discourse of peace and justice. They can continue to play an integral role in advancing a healthier transition from fossil fuel to sustainable clean energy. In the face of the collapse of “top-down” global and national climate and energy policies, faith leaders can support “bottom-up” grassroots strategies and partnerships to improve the quality of life of people in our struggle. By listening to and working with grassroots peace and justice movements led by working-class and disproportionately-impacted communities, faith communities can help build a framework for climate justice and green jobs for a sustainable future.

Nile Malloy is Northern California program director at Communities for a Better Environment, a leading California environmental health and justice organization. He is also a steering committee member of Bay Localize, building community resilience in the Bay Area. Malloy resides in Oakland with his loving wife Connie and two sons Darshan and Osai.