PSU Brown Bag Speaker Series, Bringing Cultural Diversity to Environmentalism - 2/27/08
I attended a brown-bag lunch event today titled "Diversifying Environmentalism: The Environmental Movement's Greatest Challenge?" sponsored by the PSU Urban Studies program. Marcelo Bonta, founder of the Young Environmental Professionals of Color and Director for the Center for Diversity & the Environment
www.environmentaldiversity.org, was the keynote speaker. He made a very compelling case for the idea that the Environmental Movement's greatest challenge really is bringing in more diverse voices, stakeholders, participants, and leaders. I think it's true that we will only truly achieve our environmental sustainability goals when we have also achieved the civil rights goals of equality and justice for all.
Here is a descriptor from Marcelo:
As the nation continues to diversify, the environmental movement is left with one of the greatest challenges it will face this century.
In order to become an influential and sustainable movement for generations to come, it needs to successfully address its diversity crisis.
Currently, nearly one-third of the US population can be classified as people of color, but barely 11% of the staff of natural resource organizations
fit in this category. Marcelo Bonta will share his thoughts on how to address this issue in a comprehensive, action-oriented way.
There were some impressive folks in attendance, including Bob Stacey, the Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Oregon, and Greg Wooley, with the City of Portland. It was a good discussion of an issue that I know is of great importance to me and the rest of Team Cogen.
Posted on February 25, 2008
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