Talk: Climate Justice Teach-In: Race, Class, and the Anti-Ecological Logic of Capitalism

This teach-in took place on April 5, 2014 at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass.

Here is the teach-in statement of purpose:

We've known about the dangers of climate change for more than two decades and awareness continues to increase. We are already beginning to see the consequences--frigid temperatures thanks to shifting polar vortex, hurricanes, typhoons, flooding--and there is widespread support for policies to mitigate climate change.

Yet, we haven't seen the wide scale changes in society we need and they don't seem on the horizon.

Why? What kind of movement (and, ultimately, society) is required to respond seriously to climate change?

Speakers will address: What is the role of the capitalist political and economic system in the climate crisis? How do racism, economic inequality, and other longstanding forms of oppression facilitate ecological destruction? Why should climate activists be concerned with a broad-based view of social justice and why should social justice activist be concerned with climate change?

A central goal of the conference is to promote climate justice perspectives and analyses in the Boston area. How can we promote collaboration between climate activists and social justice activists and build a strong climate justice movement?

Fred Magdoff : "The Environmental Crisis and Capitalism"
Daniel Faber : "Climate Justice and the Crisis of Environmentalism"
Sherri Mitchell: "What can we learn from the Indigenous Way of Life"
Sara Mersha: "Social movements of peasants, Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth in the Global South" Editor's Note: Hosting a progressive talk in the Boston area? Record it and give it to us to post here on Open Media Boston in the public interest.