A Green New Deal for Social Work

Abstract

People are aware that they cannot continue in the same old way but are immobilized because they cannot imagine an alternative. We need a vision that recognizes that we are at one of the great turning points in human history when the survival of our planet and the restoration of our humanity require a great sea change in our ecological, economic, political, and spiritual values. Activist, community leader Grace Lee Boggs (1998, p. 254) On February 7, 2019, newly elected U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and seasoned U.S. Senator Ed Markey released a plan for a Green New Deal, so named to inspire the stimulus package they propose for the United States to address pressing economic and environmental concerns. This Green New Deal outlines unprecedented investment in public works projects, financial reforms, and welfare programs to tackle climate change and related "systemic injustices." Consensus within the scientific community attributes the acceleration in global warming to human activity (Oreskes, 2004, p. 242, quoting World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987) with devastating effects on human health and welfare due to pollution, drought, extreme cold and heat waves, more frequent and more powerful storms (e.g., hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, and flooding; Gamble, Ebi, Grambsch, Sussman, & Wilbanks, 2008). Growing concern for climate change informed a November 2018 mandate for "Women and Climate Action" authored by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women and United Nations Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. Mlambo-Ngcuka (2018) declared that "climate change and gender inequality are arguably two of the greatest sustainable development challenges of our time" (as cited in Brownworth, 2019). While the effects of climate change impact all people, gender inequality amplifies the effects of climate change for women and girls who, Mlambo-Ngcuka notes, make up 70% of people living in poverty worldwide and disproportionately perform unpaid care and domestic work which will likely increase with climate change (Brownworth, 2019). As Park and Miller (2006) argue, environmental disasters are hardly "natural." Marginalized populations who face intersecting structural inequalities are more likely to live and work in regions with higher

Deep Ecology and Ecofeminism: Social Work to Address Global Environmental Crisis

“…Billiot and colleagues (2019) note the many ways that indigenous communities have been fervent protectors of the natural world and are now uniquely vulnerable to environmental changes stemming from climate change. Recent literature highlights the fit between ecofeminism and indigenous ways of knowing and makes headway in acknowledging the fundamental role of indigenous peoples as caretakers of the land and holders of essential ecofeminist wisdom (Bhuyan et al, 2019).…”

“…The political and social crusade of deep ecology is therefore to revive a once-vital consciousness on the importance of diverse human and natural ecosystems and to replace it with the currently reigning modern market-based principles of consumption (Alston, 2013). In sum, this movement advocates a shift in the social work field from fitting in with modernity by way of unquestioningly embracing analytic, scientific rationality to a more social justice–aligned approach in which environmental sustainability is viewed through an inclusive and holistic paradigm that centers indigenous perspectives and land and community stewardship (Bhuyan et al, 2019; Billiot et al, 2019; Ferreira, 2010).…”

“…The many ways in which these principles have been operationalized by social workers to meet the need of environmental crisis include educating on the issues associated with environmental degradation, promoting sustainable energy production and consumption, and mobilizing communities to protect their futures through local social work focusing on environmental problem-solving (Dominelli, 2011). Many examples of ecofeminist and deep ecological social work practices exist and include supporting prison abolitionists’ fight to decriminalize Indigenous and environmental protest; supporting youth environmental leaders globally, such as climate activist Greta Thunberg (2019); working in solidarity with undocumented farm workers; and advocating for comprehensive immigration reform and immigrant labor rights in order to green our food systems (Bhuyan et al, 2019, pp. 292–293).…”

“…Communities with the least capital and resources suffer the worst effects from climate change, and social workers will have to address the severe impact of these developments on human health and well-being (Kemp & Palinkas, 2015; Mason & Rigg, 2018). While the social work field’s response to climate change typically focuses on topics such as disaster risk reduction, environmentally displaced populations, and community adaptation and resilience to environmental change (Kemp, Palinkas, & Mason, 2018), a broader perspective is possible (Bhuyan, Wahab, & Park, 2019). We begin by providing a historical overview, key concepts, and explicit examples of the theories of deep ecology and ecofeminism in social work practice.…”

Still We Resist: Reflections on Our Tenure as Editors-in-Chief

“…The continued killing of black, brown, and Indigenous bodies at the hands of the police has incensed us, even as we were heartened by the global masses who rose up against such injustices, all the while grappling with the financial, physical, and emotional wreckages wrought by the pandemic. The terrifying storms, floods, and fires that have become commonplace in many regions of the world are insistent reminders of an apocalyptic climate crisis whose effects also, predictably, land most heavily upon those same marginalized bodies and communities (Bhuyan et al, 2019). The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, which reached us in the midst of writing this editorial just weeks before another U.S. presidential election, came to us as a blow to the solar plexus.…”