Decolonizing Environmentalism

Question 1

Why is science political?

Answer 1

Objective facts can be twisted, ignored, hidden, etc., to fit a narrative

Question 2

What are historical examples of science being political?

Answer 2

European enlightenment/scientific revolution were financed by the slave trade and human colonialism
- anticolonial thought and modern human right ideologies
- racist ideologies making their way into science (eugenics, unethical testing, etc.)

Question 3

What does “decolonizing environmentalism” mean?

Answer 3

“Environmentalism is rooted in a colonial logic because it suggests that the natural world is separate from the social and political world and needs to be
protected.”
“Decolonizing environmentalism rejects the colonial concept of ‘nature’ and instead focuses on peoples’ relationships with their cultural territories”
(understanding there is more to environmentalism that what is told to us from a White, western POV)

Question 4

What do we mean by saying “decolonization is a diverse process”?

Answer 4

Introducing more perspectives mainly from groups that were excluded for being “uncivil’ or too “primative”

(communities that maintain their existence without exploiting other people and their lands should be the standard)

Question 5

Western ways of thinking vs. other “ways of knowing”?

Answer 5

We prioritize a strict following of rules based on inherently racist or incomplete (not including a lot of cultural knowledge) and run with it. Many other cultures have traditional environmental knowledge that works and has been used for years