IS PERSONAL

The environmental justice movement likes to create solutions that don't work for people with disabilities, because it's easier to say that we don't matter and that we’re invisible, and it makes people feel better about themselves

“My issues stemmed from Lyme disease, which is becoming more prevalent in the United States because we have longer and hotter days, which means ticks live longer. More and more people are going to end up getting Lyme disease in their lifetime. The tick that I was bit by, called the lone star tick, is actually not common to Southern Oregon. It’s common to Texas. And so, I believe that I got Lyme disease because of climate change.”

“I've seen more societal acceptance of non-physical disabilities like depression and anxiety, but there's still a lot of stigma around mental disabilities. People often don't accept these “invisible” disabilities as much as “real” physical disabilities, even though a lot of the impacts are similar. The climate crisis is actually causing an increase in mental disabilities. Sometimes it exacerbates already existing mental disabilities. Other times, traumatic events such as natural disasters or even not having access to a healthy environment, can cause an increase in mental health crises.”

“Ecofascism, which is the idea that people dying for the environment is a good thing, is so wrong, especially because the people dying are going to be minorities and people with disabilities. At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a decrease in air pollution which is great, don't get me wrong. But not when it comes at the cost of people's lives due to a pandemic. And we've already seen that it's communities of color that are dying at higher rates.”

“Wildfires are one of the biggest climate impacts I have witnessed in Montana. We always had summer wildfires, but as I've gotten older, they have gotten more and more intense. I remember in 2017, there was a month or so where you couldn't see the sky, you couldn't see the mountains, you couldn't see anything. The sky was just bright red the entire time. The ways that disasters like wildfires can impact our bodies is just overwhelming. Even healthy people are unable to function normally in that kind of environment, but when you have a disease process that limits your ability to function, it gets dangerous and scary really fast.”

Laura Burns is a scientist, children's health advocate, mother, and climate organizer with Moms Clean Air Force. This is her story.

William Copeland is a cultural organizer and environmental advocate. He is Co-Director of East Michigan Environmental Action Council (EMEAC) and a husband and father. This is his story.

Evan is a co-founder of the Sunrise movement, a group of young people in the United States uniting to stop the climate crisis. This is his story.

Guillermo is a forestry engineer, the President of the Monteverde Community Fund, and a farmer in Monteverde, Costa Rica. This is his story.