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Dear Community, Core to my role as the Climate Policy and Engagement Manager is the ambition to advance climate justice and accountability for health equity in the Duwamish Valley -- and I mean it! While I remain optimistic about a fair future, I worry about the cumulative impact of past and present environmental injustices will be made worse by climate change in the future. We do not deserve this and we must work together, led by community -- you, to turn this curve. Have ideas? Lets work together!
Community-created solutions will reduce the impacts of a changing climate as we have the lived experience and contribute the least to the problem. I imagine a future where there is an equitable representation of workers, communities of color, immigrants, refugees, Native peoples, disabilities, people with low incomes, youth, limited English proficiency individuals, genders, sexualities, and underrepresented identities in policy and decision making spaces.
From my worldview, climate justice is highly intersectional and it is the understanding that we must lead with collective community power and hold decision-makers accountable in order to eliminate the disproportionate impact of climate change on our communities.
To do this, we continue to advocate for shared power, increased cultural competency in policy engagement, and prioritization of a vision for a safe and equitable future decided by the community that will withstand the impacts of flooding, extreme storms, air pollution, rising temperatures, and ever-present social inequities. Your voice matters! Have feedback or concerns about air quality, changing climate, and/or community health? Email us at contact@duwamishcleanup.org or fill out this reflection form: https://forms.gle/VSLdXBYMqeJGqenw8 Warm regards, Adrienne Hampton
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