Written by Devika Baddhan
Edited by Una Yarsky
The Climate Crisis
Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have overexploited the Earth’s natural resources and its capacity to adapt to man-made greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, humans have become environmental burdens, and escalating populations and over-consumption have led to unsustainable means of production. According to the CDC, “At our current global pace of carbon emissions, the world will burn through its remaining ‘carbon budget’ by 2030. Doing so would put the long-term goal of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) irrevocably out of reach.” Irrevocable damage to environmental habitats and ecosystems has become the root of droughts, disease, and famine. Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) explains that the climate crisis, “threatens the essential ingredients of good health – clean air, safe drinking water, nutritious food supply, and safe shelter – and has the potential to undermine decades of progress in global health.” It is predicted at the rate at which these harsh environmental conditions continually grow, by the year 2030 humans will not be able to adapt, threatening the quality of living for future generations.
Changes to Women’s Rights
Modern-day women’s rights have reached a turning point at which debate has shifted from focusing on natural-born rights to autonomy and self-identity. The Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade has given rise to turmoil in the progress of human rights as access to abortion is restricted or outright banned across the country. Abortion and contraception are not simply about choice and availability of healthcare; they are about the widespread racial, misogynistic, socioeconomic, and environmental injustices that are exacerbated by the shortcomings of these systems. Women’s rights are threatened by numerous factors including wage gaps/income, food insecurities, accessible housing, and fair judicial systems. Targeting abortion laws not only affects freedom of choice but also reproductive healthcare and pre and post-natal care.
How it connects
Women’s rights are often overlooked, resulting in deprivation of reproductive support as well as aspects of living post-pregnancy. Raising a child and ensuring their bright future requires stability and resourcefulness, which most families lack from the beginning.
Racial inequities have long existed in reproductive health care and birth support, particularly, in the United States. Currently, there is a rise in maternal mortality rates amongst Black women in the U.S. Researchers have observed a direct correlation between racism and the shaping of vulnerability in the face of climate-induced conflicts. Newborns of women of color are unlikely to make it past the age of 1, as exposure to extreme climate changes such as heat waves raises the potential of premature births, heat-related illness, low weight, or even stillbirth.
Research has shown that drastic unexpected climate changes directly affect low-income families, a majority of which include people of color, who often work in manual labor or small crowded businesses. In times of flooding, hurricanes, drought, wildfires, heat waves, etc; such establishments are incapable of counteracting such harsh conditions.
Low-income people in the US who work in hot environments – some in fields, others in restaurant kitchens – are often people of color. They have less air conditioning, live in hotter, less-green parts of cities, and have higher rates of pre-existing respiratory and cardiac conditions. Their pregnancies will be most affected (Kaplan).
In the face of climate risks, politicians fall short of addressing reproductive and racial inequities. In fact, former President Donald J. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Accord and set back any progress in combating climate change, claiming it was a farce.
Not only in the United States, but climate change is also stripping women across the globe of their livelihoods and displacing thousands of families due to a range of disasters from drought to rising sea levels which are engulfing entire communities.
What’s Next
There are various ongoing movements regarding climate change and women's rights. However, mainstream media and politicians continue to deny connections between the climate crisis to critical race theory and feminist movements.
With the new Biden administration, improvements for women's rights and climate change awareness have been attempted; no efforts have gone unopposed by rival politicians.
President Biden has encouraged many of us by including racial and environmental justice when talking about the climate crisis in the US,” said Kelly Davis, vice president of global birth equity and innovation for the National Birth Equity Collaborative. “But pregnancy creates additional vulnerability to heat and natural disasters, and low-income, Black, Indigenous, and other women of color are especially at risk. US climate policy should specifically address these needs" (Kaplan).
With small progression there are great setbacks as well:
The Biden administration is in favor of the Willow Project in Alaska - a decades-long project involving the drilling of oil in a previously “net zero industrialized” region in Alaska. Becoming a climate threat through the production of approximately “ 9.2 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon pollution a year.”
However, there are efforts to prevent the Willow Project from progressing further. The petition linked below asks the Biden Administration to stop the development plan and has been signed by over four million people.
Petition:
Women have been working on improving global birth equity and addressing the needs associated with postpartum. For example, the concept of Doulas as a support to families during the stages of childbirth. Additionally, the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2020 made “critical investments in social determinants of health that influence maternal health outcomes, like housing, transportation, and nutrition.” Lastly, the United Nations implementing Sustainable Developments Goals, targeting maternal health, family planning, and gender equality.
The feminist cause has always supported advocacy for environmental awareness. The forging of a union that bridges these causes can create fundamental change in the realm of both reproductive rights and environmental justice.
Additionally, It is vital to become informed and create small everyday changes to reduce your carbon footprint. Along with everyday changes, it is important to invest time and the power of speech within your community, whether that be through local council members or other workplaces, schools, and colleges.
Take Action: Learn more about how climate change affects women's rights.
Short Video on the Climate Crisis:
More Educational Resources: Interactive website by UN Women:
Nilsen, Ella. "What to know about the controversial Willow oil drilling project in Alaska."
NYC Health. "Doula Care."
NYC Health. "Equity in Maternal Care."
Orlow, Emma. "The Soup Doula Nourishing New Parents in NYC."
Resources:
“Climate Change.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/health-topics/climate-change#tab=tab_1.
Kaplan, Sarah. “World Is on Brink of Catastrophic Warming, U.N. Climate Change Report Says.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 Mar. 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/03/20/climate-change-ipcc-report-15/.
Shahyd, Khalil. “The Climate Crisis Is a Reproductive Justice Issue.” Be a Force for the Future, 5 May 2022, https://www.nrdc.org/bio/khalil-shahyd/climate-crisis-reproductive-justice-issue.
Wheeler, Skye. “How the Climate Crisis Affects Reproductive Rights.” Human Rights Watch, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/02/09/how-climate-crisis-affects-reproductive-rights.