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28 Posts Commemorating the Seminal Efforts of Female Environmentalists

March 06, 2020 Add Comment Edit

March 8 is International Women's Day, and this is a day to honor all the women who have contributed to environmental stewardship around the world. However, this year we are forced to acknowledge that women are increasingly being targeted by a growing chorus of misogynistic voices.

In the era of trump sexism is thriving. The despicable abuse hurled at global climate icon Greta Thunberg by world leaders is a deplorable case in point. The problem extends well beyond world leaders as demonstrated by the U.N. Development Program's Gender Social Norms Index in which nearly 90 percent of respondent indicated that they harbor some type of bias against women.

As explained by Nina Munteanu in a Vancouver Sun article, the reason that conservative men are so negatively disposed towards female environmentalists is because these women threaten their gender identity. She illustrated the link between climate-denial and misogyny by citing an August 2019 article by Martin Gelin which explains that attacks against Greta are "consistent with a growing body of research linking gender reactionaries to climate-denialism."

She points to the anti-feminism of right wing nationalists and the disrespect commonly shown for indigenous Earth defenders. She also references work by Anshelm and Hultman suggesting that climate skeptics are linked to [toxic] masculinity. She quotes researchers who state that climate science is feminized and derided by the industrial patriarchy. Finally she cites an article in Scientific American titled "Men resist green behavior as unmanly," In this article Brough and Wilkie argue that "women have long surpassed men in the arena of environmental action — across age groups and countries, females tend to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Compared to men, women litter less, recycle more, and leave a smaller carbon footprint." Munteanu concludes, "Time for a paradigm shift. We’re not in the 1950s anymore …" We could not agree more.

To help counter ignorance and to celebrate the achievements of women, here are 28 posts commemorating their seminal efforts.

Fifty Shades of Greta

Greta Thunberg may be the the world's most famous activist but she is quick to shine the spotlighton the thousands of other activists around the world. Luisa-Marie Neubauer is an activist who is commonly called the German face of the Fridays for Futuremovement. However, Neubauer rejects comparisons with Greta. "We're building a mass-movement and reaching out quite far in our methods of mobilizing and gaining attention. What Greta does is incredibly inspiring but actually relatively far from that," she said.

Many activists have been fighting in the trenches long before Greta came on the scene. Greta is a recent incarnation in a lineage of young environmental advocates that dates back decades. More than a quarter century ago a 12-year-old by the name of Severn Cullis-Suzuki spoke at the plenary session of the Rio Earth Summit. She may have been among the the first to say "we are fighting for our lives" a phrase which has become the battle cry of this generation. Ten years ago, 11-year old Smoan Brianna Fruean founded the Samoan chapter of 350.org after a powerful cyclone devastated her community. At 16, she became the youngest person ever to win the prestigious Commonwealth Youth Award.

Here is a brief introduction to 50 young, mostly female activists that are fighting for the health of our planet and our communities.

The importance of women to the future of our species goes way beyond their procreative power. Female leadership is better leadership and this augurs a better world. Women's Day is an opportunity to advocate for true equality and to share the evidence revealing why women are the more sustainable sex. Empowering them is good for people, the planet and profits. If we want to move forward we need to unambiguously assign blame. Women's rights are human rights and men that deny these rights need to be called out.

In terms of climate change impacts women have the most to lose and in terms of engaging climate action they have the most to gain. Women are the sex most likely to suffer from the effects of climate change and they have been shown to be better environmental stewards than their male counterparts. Women are on the front lines of climate change and they are have made major contributions to both environmentalism and sustainability. However, there is a vast potential that has yet to be fully unleashed.

Women are claiming their rightful place in the halls of political power and they are changing the world in the process. Nowhere is this more evident than in the blue wave that solidly rebuked the GOP's leadership in the US midterm elections of 2018. In recent years women are making their voices heard with unprecedented vigor and in unprecedented numbers. The day after Trump was inaugurated women staged the single largest day of protest in US history. They came out again to demonstrate against Trump's first year in office with a day of national protest. Almost 2.5 million people came out for the second annual Women’s March to fight for women’s rights, resist Trump and denounce the Republican agenda. At these demonstrations they carried signs like "grab him by the midterms" and that is precisely what they proceeded to do.

According to a large number of studies, women are greener than men in both their attitudes and their actions. One study shows that women have a greater stake in managing climate change as they are "more likely to lose their lives and otherwise fare worse than men in extreme events from heat waves to hurricanes and tsunamis." According to an international survey by Synovate, women are greener than men. A study published by France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economics shows that women emit less carbon than men. Men emit an average of 39.3 kilograms of carbon per day, women emit an average of 32.3 kilograms of carbon per day.

If we want to address climate change around the world and in the developing world in particular we need to see more women in leadership roles. There is good evidence to support the idea that when women lead communities are more sustainable. Climate change is a critical issue for everyone, but it is especially hard on women. Happily women are also an essential part of the solution, not only because they make up half (48.1), but because women tend to be more green in their lifestyle choices and women in the workforce tend to more sustainable.

Women are leading a social movement that is demanding accountability. The #MeToo movement and the historic Women's March are defining features of a rapidly changing landscape. We are seeing a growing number women speaking truth to power. More women than ever have taken to the streets to make their voices heard and an unprecedented number of women are vying for political leadership. This benefits both social and environmental justice. Women are the greener sex and as explained in a GMO article empowering women has been shown to be conducive to sustainability.

Here is a series of comprehensive lists of female environmentalists from well known environmental organizations and individuals. From activists to sustainability focused business women, this ethnically and geographically diverse group of women includes both young and old and everything in between. While we are seeing a growing number of young feminist climate activists, there is still so much that needs to be done in the area of gender equality. The inclusion of women is key to climate action. Whether in the workplace or in the home, women are the greener sex. Simply put, empowering women is synonymous with climate action.
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Celebrating Female Environmentalists on Women's Day

Women are among the first to feel the impact of climate impacts. However, women are also at the forefront of efforts to find and implement sustainable solutions. Here are some of the female climate justice leaders assembled by the staff at 350.org for International Women’s Day.

- Melina Laboucan-Massimo: Climate & Energy Campaigner Greenpeace Alberta Tar Sands Campaign

“She’s an amazing leader from the frontlines of the tar sands and has worked tirelessly to connect the issue of missing & murdered indigenous women with climate justice.”

- Lidy Nacpil: Convener of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice and Asia coordinator of Jubilee South, vice president of the Freedom from Debt Coalition of the Philippines. She also serves on the board of 350.org and is the coordinator of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice.

Greta Thunberg stands out for her climate leadership. She is not a captain of industry or a sustainability pioneer, nor is she a politician or the head of an NGO. Nonetheless, she has emerged as a giant in climate activism.

This 16 year old Swedish teenager is a descendant of Svante Arrhenius, the Nobel-prize-winning scientist who first calculated the greenhouse effect 122 years ago.

Greta's story is a heartbreaking yet hopeful tale of hardship and adversity. After learning about the climate crisis she fell into a depression, she stopped talking and she went on a hunger strike. Then she decided that she needed to do more to try to augur change. But what could a 15 year old girl do? So she decided to stage weekly sit-ins outside the Swedish Parliament. At first she did so alone and now hundreds of thousands of kids have joined her in school strikes that are taking place all around the world. "It proves you are never too small to make a difference," Greta told Mother Jones.

There have been many capable women who have contributed to the growth of sustainability, however no one has been a more important figure in recent history than the former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Christina Figueres. Her tenure at the UNFCCC saw her achieve great things. She was instrumental in negotiations that led to the signing of the historic Paris Climate agreement. She took over her post at the UNFCC in 2010 after the disappointing failure of COP15 in Copenhagen. Five years later she oversaw the signing of the historic accord at COP21 in which 195 countries agreed to limit global warming.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school is now synonymous with a Valentines Day massacre, however, the school in Parkland Florida was named after a leading figure in the history of American conservationism. Marjory was a writer best known for her Everglades conservation advocacy. Marjory helped people to understand that the well being of humanity is inextricably linked to the health of the environment. One of her critics described her as having both "moral authority" and a tongue like a "switchblade". The core of Marjory's enduring legacy is her stalwart defense of the Everglades. Over the period of many decades, she succeeded in fighting off development efforts in the Everglades. She galvanized people in defense of what she described as an ecosystem worth protecting. If it were not for her, the Everglades may very well have been drained and developed. She has earned the appellation of "Grand Dame of the Everglades".

On International Women's Day 2016 we mourn the loss of Berta Cáceres, a truly heroic environmental organizer. On March 3rd she was gunned down in her hometown of La Esperanza, Intibuca in Honduras. Her assassins are still at large and unlikely to ever be brought to justice.

Berta was an indigenous women who championed land and resource rights. In 1993 she co-founded the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). She was a dedicated protector of the natural world who bravely stood up to powerful corporations, corrupt governments and police with ties to death squads.

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Sheila Watt-Cloutier is an Inuit activist who was instrumental in helping the world understand the link between climate change impacts in the Arctic and human rights. At 60, this grandmother continues to be a leader of human rights for people living in the Arctic. Although she currently lives in Iqaluit, she was born into a traditional Inuit family in Kuujjuaq, in Northern Quebec's Nunavik region.

Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland is widely regarded as the mother of sustainable development and she is a highly effective political and environmental activist. On January 18, 2016, Dr. Brundtland received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Zayed Future Energy Prize 2016 for her global leadership on sustainability. Dr. Brundtland is the first female recipient of this award. On behalf of the UN Foundation, President and CEO Kathy Calvin congratulated Dr. Brundtland and highlighted the legacy of her work:

As with every other aspect of the corporate world, men dominate the senior echelons of the CSR and sustainability movement. However there are a number of women who are showing that they not only are as good as men but they may even be better. The data shows that having an executive team that includes women offers better CSR performance.

Despite the ongoing inequality women are gaining momentum in the CSR and sustainability world. Here is Triple Pundit's list of 35 inspirational women that are leading the push for sustainable change.

1. Pamela Alabaster, SVP Corporate Communications, Sustainable Development & Public Affairs, L’Oreal USA.

Angella Nazarian's new book, Pioneers of the Possible: Celebrating Visionary Women, includes profiles of two important environmentalists. Marina Silva, who ran for president of Brazil last year and is referred to as the Al Gore of Brazil. She's been working tirelessly to save the Amazon and was at the forefront of passing legislation for the environment. Illiterate and living in the Amazon jungle as a rubber tapper until age 16, she is also the winner of the prestigious Goldman prize. Wangari Matthai of Kenya, the first environmentalist to win a Noble Prize. She founded the Green Belt Movement that has led to more than 13 million trees being planted in Africa. Her movement has spread to other African countries.

Women are a central part of projects that are making a difference in the developing world. Women have distinguished themselves as sustainability leaders on the world stage, but there are other unsung heroines who are quietly engaged on the front lines of the clean energy revolution. These women are not only earning a fair wage they are challenging restrictive and dysfunctional gender stereotypes.

Women are part of the extraordinary growth of solar energy and they are riding a wave of innovative financing. Solar enterprises are spawning progressive business models. From home solar projects in rural Bangladesh to staffing power stations in Morocco, women are playing a central role. They are providing distributed solar devices and clean cook-stoves in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda. They are also getting much needed training to be clean energy technicians and managers in places like Ghana.

The Women's March is an annual worldwide protest. The first Women's March took place on January 21, 2017 the day after Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States. The sexism of the commander and chief helped to make the inaugural event the largest single day of protest in US history. Climate protests are at the heart of growing resistance to Trump and women are leading the charge. This makes sense given that climate change and environmental degradation disproportionately disadvantage women.

The inauguration of Donald Trump marks the start of a very dark time in the history of the world. However, it has also given birth to a movement that gives us reason to hope. The scale of the protests against Trump is unprecedented. The protests started even before inauguration day and they steadily grew. These protests culminated in the Women's March in Washington D.C., across the US and throughout much of the world. This was not your average protest. It was the largest March in US history with almost three million Americans participating in every state in the union. This protest was larger than even the biggest civil rights protests, there were more people present to protest Trump than there were at protests against the Vietnam war, this event even dwarfed the Million Man March.

Paul Polman is a sustainability titan who has been at the helm of Unilever for almost a decade. Polman has made the economic argument and the business case for ecological responsibility and social justice. He believes that businesses must contribute to the betterment of society. Polman has been an advocate of gender equality and his achievements at Unilever are at least in part due to the fact that he has surrounded himself with capable women. Polman is widely regarded as a leading figure in sustainability. He has earned a number of accolades including the Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal for outstanding service to the environment and the UN's Champion for Global Change Award.

Decreasing barriers to women in the workplace can shift the balance of power and help us to move forward on a host of sustainability issues.

Women’s Day was celebrated on March 8, so this is an opportune time to review the importance of women to the health of the planet. While women represent roughly half of the population, they have yet to assume their rightful role at the highest levels of decision making. We have good reason to believe that as the power of women grows, they will be a civilizing force in business. There are a number of female environmentalists who have played pivotal roles over the years. There are also a number of studies which show that women are better for the environment than their male counterparts.

Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh is the worst Supreme Court nominee for the environment on the shortlist provided by the Federalist Society. However, people are protesting his nomination for a wide range of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that Trump chose him because of his stance on executive powers. The Senate hearings to confirm Kavanaugh have been chalked full of drama. Some Democrats have called the hearings a sham and decried the fact that the president invoked executive privilege to deny access to information about the nominee. Protests included an ominous recreation of iconic scenes from Margaret Atwood's Dystopia the Handmaid's Tale and in what Cory Booker is calling his"Spartacus moment" he contravened Senate rules by releasing information purportedly revealing Kavanaugh's support for racial profiling.

Women are on the front lines of climate change and environmental degradation and this is particularly true of indigenous women. Those who are socially and economically disadvantaged will be the hardest hit so this is an immense concern to indigenous women and the situation is even worse for such women living in developing countries. The climate-induced environmental threats they face include sea-level rise and shifts in the ranges of important species of food bearing plants.
Environmental insults are compounding the climate crisis. This is more than just a disruptive inconvenience for indigenous women, it is a direct threat to their physical, social and economic well being. For these women, many of whom live in a very close relationship with the natural world, climate change is an existential threat.

Women advocated for climate justice with a day of action on February 14th 2014. A group known as WECAN (Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network) took action for mother Earth and climate justice in collaboration with One Billion Rising for Justice. Leading up to and on February 14th WECAN's members documented women-led solutions, testimonies and successes in the field of environmental and climate justice throughout the world. Click here to see these actions.

Celebrating Female Environmentalists on Women's Day

March 08, 2013 Add Comment Edit

March 8, is International Women's Day, the most appropriate day in the calendar year to recognize the work done by women in the service of the planet and its inhabitants. Throughout history there have been a number of female environmentalists who have shown inspired leadership. Here are some of those women as reviewed in the Huffington Post.

Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson is often credited with launching modern environmentalism in the U.S. after releasing the famed book Silent Spring, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.

Carson was an avid marine biologist and conservationist-turned-author. After releasing a series of popular environmental books, Silent Spring was serialized in The New Yorker and then published, surprising millions with its claims. The book attacked the widespread use of DDT that decimated natural animal populations, including songbirds (hence the title). She was also among the first to correlate the chemical with cancer and pest resistance.

She died two years after the book was published, but her work eventually led to the banning of DDT use in 1972, according to the Chemical Heritage Foundation.

Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall's first encounter with a chimpanzee was in 1960 when she ventured to Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park as part of a research project to study their ties to human evolution.

In the five decades that followed, Goodall has become one of the most recognized and prolific advocates for chimp research and conservation.

Her work was the first to reveal the commonalities between humans and chimps.

She established the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 and has spearheaded many conservation efforts, but told The Huffington Post last year that chimps need our help "desperately," as populations are still in decline.

Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle, often called "Her Deepness" by The New Yorker, has been exploring the oceans firsthand for decades and has spent more than 7,000 hours underwater. She was NOAA's first female chief scientist, Time magazine's first Hero of the Planet and she helped Google add the oceans to Google Earth. She's now a National Geographic explorer-in-residence.

Her exploration and research have led to greater understanding of oceanic ecosystems and the impact of humans and climate change.

She also won the TED Prize in 2009 and has since launched Mission Blue, an effort to increase public awareness of marine protected areas.

Daryl Hannah

Actress Daryl Hannah was taken away in handcuffs in February for the second time in less than six months while protesting the proposed Keystone XL pipeline outside the White House.

She's been an active environmentalist, running her off-the-grid home on solar power and touting the benefits of biodiesel to Fox's Sean Hannity.

She's been arrested while protesting on several other occasions, including efforts to protect urban farming in Los Angeles and to stopmountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia.

Lady Bird Johnson

The former First Lady of the U.S. was responsible for many environmental efforts during her husband's presidency, most notably the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 that led to the wildflowers and greenery now planted on the side of American roadways. The act's still known as Lady Bird's bill.

In 1968, Lyndon Johnson presented her with a plaque which said she "has inspired me and millions of Americans to try to preserve our land and beautify our nation," according to NBC News.

She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal and is remembered as one of the most influential First Ladies in history.

Dian Fossey

Dian Fossey spent 18 years studying gorillas in the forests of Rwanda, living among them while observing their behavior, according to PBS. Her work led to international conservation efforts and an Oscar-nominated biographical film featuring Sigourney Weaver, "Gorillas in the Mist."

Along with Jane Goodall (chimpanzees) and Birutė Galdikas (orangutans), Fossey was called one of the leading primatologists of her time. She formed relationships with individual gorillas and founded the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund after her favorite primate, Digit, was killed by poachers.

She was murdered in 1985 in a still unsolved case, possibly in retribution for her fight against poaching, according to a People magazine report.

Lisa Jackson

Lisa Jackson led the Environmental Protection Agency for the entirety of President Obama's first term before she announced her resignation shortly after his reelection.

Under her tenure, the EPA led the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, created new fuel efficiency standards for cars, and limited carbon emissions from power plants.

Loftier attempts at fighting climate change and energy policy (like the Keystone XL pipeline) often faced fierce condemnation from a Republican-controlled House, and Jackson frequently found herself defending EPA policies in strongly worded debates.

President Obama nominated Gina McCarthy to take over for Jackson in March. Upon her departure, Jackson did say she was "confident the ship [was] sailing in the right direction."

Lucy Lawless

Lucy Lawless was arrested during a Greenpeace protest after spending four days aboard an oil-drilling ship in New Zealand last year.

The actress was protesting drilling in the Arctic and was later arrested and charged with trespassing. She was sentenced in February and given 120 hours of community service and ordered to pay a fine of $547, far less than the $545,000 sought by Shell Todd Oil Services.

She called the judgment "a great victory" for environmentalists.

Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize after decades of environmental work in her native Kenya. She launched the Green Belt Movement, an NGO that organizes Kenyan women to replant trees, combat deforestation and create jobs.

The organization wrote that members have planted more than 51 million trees since 1977. Maathai regularly fought against the Kenyan government, including a major effort to prevent the construction of a skyscraper in the middle of a Nairobi park. She put herself in harm's way, and was beaten unconscious by police while protesting, according to a New York Times obituary.

Erin Brokovich

The real-life subject of the Oscar-winning 2000 biopic, Erin Brockovich is best known for defending the people of Hinkley, Calif. after local groundwater was contaminated with chromium, which resulted in a $333 million settlement in 1996. More recently, she's launched a project to map disease clusters around the world in partnership with Google, telling The Huffington Post that it will be one of her "life projects."

She's also raised her concerns about the environmental impacts of fracking. Julia 'Butterfly' Hill After living in a 600-year-old redwood tree for 738 days, Julia "Butterfly" Hill managed to save both the tree, named Luna, and a 3-acre swath of forest from logging.

Hill bathed in a bucket and lived on an 8x8-foot plywood platform for more than two years in protest of a Pacific Lumber logging project in northern Calif., according to The New York Times. She's since become a motivational speaker post-tree-sit and released a book about the protest.

Yoko Ono

In an effort to convince New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to reject fracking in the state, Yoko Ono and her son, Sean Lennon, launched a coalition of more than 180 artists and musicians who oppose the practice.

"It is a direct public health threat to families and communities," the group wrote in a letter. The group, called Artists Against Fracking, have sent letters condemning the removal of natural gas from shale deposits. Other members of the group include Lady Gaga and Susan Sarandon.

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Green Economy Guide for Women

March 08, 2012 Add Comment Edit

A manual from the Department of Labor offers guidance to women interested in entering the green workforce. The guide is entitled, "Why Green Is Your Color: A Woman's Guide to a Sustainable Career." Currently green jobs are largely dominated by men but there are many opportunties for women. The guide is a comprehensive manual designed to assist women with job training and career development as they enter into innovative and nontraditional jobs.

The report was produced to support Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis’s vision of “Good Jobs for Everyone.” The green jobs guide is designed to help women learn about the opportunities available in the renewable energy space, which they may not have previously considered.

The guide also provides vulnerable women a pathway to higher paying jobs, and serves as a tool to help fight job segregation. It offers women resources and information they need to enter and succeed in jobs in the emerging green economy. The guide was created to help women at all stages of their careers — whether they are newly entering the workforce, transitioning to new careers, or returning to the workforce — identify and take advantage of opportunities in the clean energy economy.

The guide will also help training providers, educators, counselors, and other workforce development professionals promote the recruitment and retention of women in green career paths.

Download the manual:
PDF version
HTML version

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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WAGE: Women and the Green Economy

March 08, 2012 Add Comment Edit

To accelerate and provide the new thinking and creative power for a global post-carbon economy, Earth Day Network is engaging women business, government and NGO leaders in its “Women and the Green Economy” (WAGE®) Campaign. WAGE® is working today to create a policy agenda for Rio+20 and generate relevant national initiatives that will promote the green economy, secure educational and job training opportunities for women and channel green investment to benefit women.

WAGE® was launched at the UNFCCC 16th Conference of the Parties in Cancun, Mexico in December, 2010. The WAGE® Campaign is actively creating a road map for women to aggregate their power and promote their leadership in creating a sustainable green economy and mitigating climate change.

Earth Day Network created WAGE® in view of the following facts:

Women constitute more than half of the world’s population
Women make 85 percent of all consumer choices
Women are rising to key positions of power
Women can lead the way to a sustainable green economy

Together, our most talented and successful women can fast-forward the green economy.

To go to the WAGE site click here.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Renewable Energy Education for Women

March 08, 2012 1 Comment Edit

Ecotech Institute, a pioneer college dedicated to renewable energy and sustainability, offers a great environment for women to train for careers in renwable energy. On February 16th, Ecotech held a Women in Renewable Energy meeting to bring together women at the campus to “share ideas, help each other with classwork and empower one another as they embark on a green career.”

"We are focused on making Ecotech a welcoming environment for women because we know they have a lot to offer in current and emerging green careers," said Susan Pawlak, Ecotech's Director of Career Services. "Our Women in Renewable Energy Club is just one way that Ecotech encourages women to make a mark in wind, solar, renewable energy and other industries alongside their male colleagues."

The institution says that an increasing number of women are interested in pursuing a career in green businesses.

The Labor Department states that according to The National Center for O*NET Development, several green occupations are “Bright Outlook” occupations, meaning they are expected to grow rapidly from 2008 – 2018, with a combined increase of 100,000 or more job openings. Some jobs designated as “Bright Outlook” are wind turbine service technicians, solar photovoltaic installers and recycling coordinators.

Ecotech Institute is the first and only college entirely focused on preparing America's workforce for careers in renewable energy and sustainability. Launched in April 2010 in Denver, Colorado, the college offers seven associate's degrees and a certificate program designed by experts in the industry for people seeking careers in the emerging cleantech economy. Ecotech Institute is a division of Education Corporation of America.

To learn more about Ecotech Institute click here or call 877-326-5576.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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