Disentangling Environmentalism and the Colonizer Lens
Abeja Rise | Substack No. 10
Hello! With Earth Day just behind us, I am sharing some thoughts about environmental science. But first, I wanted to share a really cool way you can support Palestinians right now.
If you like indie games, maybe your kid or nibling likes indie games, maybe your partner or bestie does, spend $16 to receive 200+ items in this itch.io Crips for eSims for Gaza Bundle. Share the link all over. And spend that $16 or personally ask folks to spend it on your behalf. Click this to learn more about eSims and Crips for eSims.
Let’s talk about environmental expertise.
I went to a community college and completed an Ornamental Horticulture program a few years ago. While botany is about the biology science of plants, horticulture is about the practical science of plants.
In a History of Agriculture class, the professor talked about medieval agriculture (who cares), industrialization, and your standard American history bullshit. In a class of predominantly brown folks in Southern California, there was no mention of the Indigenous agriculture practices on Turtle Island, the violence of colonialism and the industrialization boom, the violence of slavery and plantation crops, or migrant farm workers and the immigration laws today.
We discuss invasive insects and hurricanes affecting orange groves instead of climate change. We talk about feudal serfs instead of U.S. slavery. We learn about the Farm Bill instead of how to support our migrant farm workers on the ground.
But this was college. This is a highly respected program. The people running this program have expertise. 3/5 of them are also white. 3/5 of them are also men. 2/5 of them are white women. An adjunct professor made a racial slur about brown people in front of his brown students. Another professor infantilized men that screamed and called them little girls. So sexist too. He also shamed a man for being fat. All on the first day of class, in an effort to connect with students and make them laugh.
This is not new in academia. This kind of conditioning is actually fully intertwined with the foundations of academia and the way students in the US are still taught.
But before I go too deep into dissenting academia, let’s get back to environmentalism. I have a question for you.
Who gets access to environmental science?
Now you might argue that with the internet, digital libraries, and everything else we have access to, that everyone has access to environmental science. So let me ask you another question.
Who’s voice in environmentalism is valued?
First, our political climate makes finding accurate information about climate change and environmentalism difficult. Second, white colonial liberalism makes global warming a problem of the individual while rarely integrating issues of class, disability and race in that. Third, academia is still WILDLY inaccessible to poor students, disabled and neurodivergent students, Black students, Indigenous and students of color, fat students, and well, a lot of people.
So if a person is considered an environmental expert, we are conditioned to distrust them or second guess them, large populations of people are left out of the conversation or are blamed for systemic issues, and the expert has to prove themself through academic degrees and accolades which creates its own barrier.
Am I saying distrust anyone talking about the environment? No. I am actually asking you to interrogate how you receive information about the Earth. We are living in a timeline with too many false prophets abound and the risk of planet catastrophe in our future is too great. Decolonize your views on environmentalism. Who are you centering in that conversation?
There is no perfectionism in this. And also, we can always stand to do better. One of my favorite comebacks when I see folks encouraging extractive practices with nature, when I see climate scientists speaking over Indigenous peoples, or when I see someone getting shamed for using a plastic bag or a straw, is this:
It’s always giving back to the land but what about giving the land back.
And because I am not going to leave you without an offering, go check out Isaias Hernandez, aka Queer Brown Vegan. He has some incredible resources for you if environmentalism interests you.
If you are in LA County and are grieving a pet, I am hosting a Pet Loss Grief Circle at Underdog Bookstore in May. This free, all ages event is a tender heart gathering to honor, tell stories and share photos of our beloved pets that we have lost. Whether your pet has died, ran away, lost due to divorce, or you have otherwise been separated from this beloved member of your family, you are welcome to attend.
Bring stories and photos of your pets to share. Tell your people that could benefit from this support.
Pet Loss Grief Circle
Saturday, May 10, 12:00-2:00pm
Underdog Bookstore, 312 S. Myrtle Ave, Monrovia, CA
Some of you may know that I have a printable card deck, Conversations with Grief, 54 printable cards with questions to help you navigate grief and loss. I also have a virtual pull-a-card feature that will give you a question from the deck. I am offering that to all of my Substack subscribers and you can access it here. Use “intuition” (without quotes) to enter.
If you pull a card, I’d love to hear what question you got and if you wanna share, what it brought up for you. 💗 Hit reply or repost this on the Substack app and let me know.
Some cool things.
I was interviewed by Victoria Ivie for the OC Register about the importance of funding for local libraries.
Free printable posters in support of Palestine, created by artist, poet and musician, Aria Serpa.
Free printable affirmation cards for teens, created by teens in partnership with Teen Health Source.
Patricia DeAnna shares actionable strategy and hope on Threads.
An interesting look at what restorative justice can look like in practice in a community today.
Looking at chronic pain as an ego destroyer, much like psychedelics only not by choice, by Sophie Strand.
In honor of National Poetry Month, here is Birdfoot’s Grampa by Joseph Bruchac.
Ways cannabis can soothe some of the symptoms of menopause from Canna Curious.
Thank you for sharing space with me. I appreciate and love you.
💗 Jen Venegas
Spiritual Activist, Horticulturalist and Death Doula
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