From: Lauren Holcomb Date: March 10 Subject: WNR March Newsletter
Happy March WNR!
This month is very exciting. We're so close to the first day of spring, March 20th.
Almost free of foggy skies and soggy sidewalks. Also, it is Women's History Month! Happy birthday, women! And thanks to all the incredible women (and non-women) of WNR, who show up and support everything, from craft nights to petitioning in the Speakers Circle.
Clubs that support womens voices and leadership are important, but they wouldn't exist if people didn't show up. So thank you!
Who saves the world? Girls!
Women belong in natural resources because women belong everywhere. Many of the most prominent figures in the environmental movement have been women, including Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall, Greta Thunberg, and Winona LaDuke. But as is true in every field, many important women have been overlooked.
For example, have you ever heard of Dr. Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan activist who founded the Green Belt Movement, which planted over 51 million trees, and became the first African women to win a Nobel Peace Prize?
Or Hazel M. Johnson, who is considered widely to be the mother of environmental justice because of her work fighting environmental racism in the south side of Chicago?
There's also Vandana Shiva, an Indian activist who fights for farmers rights and advocates for biodiversity. And Sylvia Earle, who is an oceanographer that has studied and defended the ocean for decades and was named Times first "Hero for the Planet" in 1988.
If you knew all of these women, congratulations! You win feminism! But if you didn't, that's understandable. I had to do my own personal research to find them. While John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and Theodore Roosevelt are important, so are these women and they deserve to be a part of the curriculum as well.
Women ... AND natural resources?
There are many different branches on the tree of feminism, but one that treats that metaphor literally is ecofeminism. Ecofeminsim began in the 1970s, a little after the mainstream environmental movement began. Ecofeminism is a social movement that examines the interconnection between two systems of oppression, that of women and that of nature.
It's undenaible that women are more affected by men in the exploitation and degradation of the environment. Domestic and sexual violence increases after extreme climate events and hot weather, both of which are exacerbated by climate change. Women also make the overwhelming majority of sweatshop workers producing fast fashion. Women are also more affected by microplastics, because higher body fat leads to more bioaccumulation and higher exposure risks from cosmetic products.
Women in the developing world or women who face pre-existing inequalitiesa are also more affected. Aforementioned gender-based violence as a result of climate change is more prevalent in the global south, a region which is also more vulnerable to extreme climate events. Additionally, as resources become scarce girls may be pulled out of school to help support their families.
Additionally, many ecofeminists believe that the oppression of women and the environment are analogous. As feminist theorist Karen J. Warren put it "The exploitation of nature and animals is justified by feminizing them; the exploitation of women is justified by naturalizing them." She cites how women are referred to as animals ie, foxes, pets, chicks, etc. With nature, language like "conquered," "virgin soil," "the Earths womb" brings forth a feminized imagery.
A lot of exciting events are coming up! Election season is upon us, so don't forget to submit your exec board application here by March 13th for the chance to grab at power and become corrupt and leverage your position immorally. Just kidding! WNR leadership is an incredible opportunity, not just for your sweet little resume, but also because it's a fantastic way to give back to a cause you care about.
Moving on, Pisces season! Happy (almost) birthday to our incredible VP Presley George! 32 years old never looked so good.
In terms of meetings, another exciting collaboration with Sustain takes place on March 10th, we'll be hosting a professional development panel the next day in our typical meeting locations, and a classic cool WNR craft, where we'll be making wind chimes from upcycled aluminum, will occur on March 18th, which is also election day!
