In Conversation with Shalanda Baker: Equity & Justice in the Energy Transition

Shalanda Baker Portrait

Shalanda Baker PortraitThe Honorable Shalanda H. Baker is the Director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the U.S. Department of Energy and Secretarial Advisor on Equity. Prior to her Senate confirmation, she served as the nation’s first-ever Deputy Director for Energy Justice. Before joining the Biden-Harris Administration, she was a Professor of Law, Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University.

Moderated by Liesl Eichler Clark, U-M Director of Climate Action Engagement

This event is FREE event and open to the public. Although you may have a ticket, it does not guarantee you a seat. We will be seating ticket holders first and recommend you are in your seat 10 minutes before the start of the event. We will start to let in general public seating 10 minutes prior to the event.

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Earthfest

Decorated Central Campus Diag For EarthFest

Decorated Central Campus Diag For EarthFestEarthfest celebrates sustainability initiatives across U-M and the surrounding communities, while providing an inclusive platform to educate and engage the campus community on opportunities to support sustainability and environmental justice on campus and in our daily lives. Come learn about sustainability on campus and participate in fun engagement opportunities.

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Understanding NAAQS (Non-)Attainment: Science, Policy, & Implications for Environmental Justice

Residents and Researchers webinar showing shaking hands with headshots of the 3 panelists and the moderator

Zoom registration required https://bit.ly/4368BGa

Please join us for a Residents & Researchers ‘Tuesday Talks at 12’ webinar on environment, health and community and more specifically on whether the EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are protecting public health.

Panelists include: Nick Leonard (Great Lakes Environmental Law Center); Simone Sagovac (Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition); and Stuart Batterman (University of Michigan School of Public Health). Moderated by Natalie Sampson (University of Michigan, Dearborn).

Recordings of previous webinars in the R & R series can be viewed here: https://mleead.umich.edu/Video.php

Organized by the Community Engagement Core (CEC) and the Integrated Health Sciences Core (IHSC) of the University of Michigan Lifestage Environmental Exposures and Disease Center (M-LEEaD).

Leveraging Interdisciplinary Lenses to Advance Environmental Justice

Leveraging Interdisciplinary Lenses to Advance Environmental Justice flyer

The University of Michigan Law School welcomes you to the following event, hosted by our Environmental Law & Policy Program:

Despite 50 years of federal regulation, environmental burdens ranging from pollution to climate-change driven health harms, remain inequitably distributed by race, income, and gender. Professor Sara Colangelo will explore how advocates can creatively leverage interdisciplinary lenses to advance environmental justice and serve populations disproportionately burdened by environmental harm. She will unpack examples from the environmental justice/reproductive justice nexus, as well as equitable remedies in the environmental enforcement context.

At this event, students interested in a spectrum of social justice issues can expect to engage in creative thinking about impactful lawyering and new advocacy strategies. Students, faculty, and staff interested in environmental justice, reproductive justice, and broader issues of environmental law implementation and enforcement are warmly invited to attend.

Sara Colangelo is Director of the Environmental Law & Justice Clinic at Georgetown Law where she teaches environmental law and environmental justice courses. Professor Colangelo has published articles in leading law reviews, authored multiple Supreme Court briefs, advised domestic policy-makers, foreign delegations, and state Supreme Court Justices; testified before Congress; and is a frequent contributor to media outlets. Before joining Georgetown, Professor Colangelo was a Trial Attorney in the Environment & Natural Resources Division of DOJ in the Environmental Enforcement Section. She is the recipient of the Georgetown Law Fahy Teaching Award, of a Presidential Commendation from the American Thoracic Society for her Clinic’s public health advocacy, and of numerous awards from DOJ and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Free vegetarian and vegan lunch from Jerusalem Garden to be served.

A2 Climate Teach-In

The First Annual A2 Climate Teach-In flyer

The First Annual A2 Climate Teach-In builds on this legacy by addressing another critical issue which has been clouded by misinformation and a lack of coordinated action.

As in 1965 and the many subsequent Ann Arbor teach-ins, this teach-in is not just about teaching and learning — it’s about about community building and creating momentum for action. It’s about bringing together individuals, climate action organizations, congregations, local government, and higher education to learn from each other, support each other, and find new ways to collaborate. 

1:30 p.m. Opening keynote speaker: Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor

3:30 p.m. Closing Presentation: Shelie Miller, Ph.D., Professor, Director, Program in the Environment; Jonathan W. Bulkley Collegiate Professor of Sustainable Systems; University of Michigan Distinguished Faculty Fellow in Sustainability

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Climate Change and Environmental Justice: What is the role of social workers to promote change?

The impacts of climate change on the world is overwhelming. The increase in droughts harm food production and human health. Flooding has led to the spread of disease and damages to ecosystems and infrastructure. Climate change impacts are seen throughout every aspect of the world we live in. However, climate change impacts are uneven across the country and the world. The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare has proposed 12 Grand Challenges for the social work profession to address, which includes to “create social responses to a changing environment.” Due to the impacts of climate change, social workers must be equipped to tackle climate change and to engage in strategies to promote environmental justice. This interactive webinar, informative in nature, explores definitions related to climate change, environmental justice, and climate grief. We will identify the role that social workers play in the environmental justice movement, including ways it can be addressed at all levels of practice.

Course link

Planet Party

Flyer depicting the Earth in the corner of a starry background and event description saying "Planet Party! April 16th, 2023. Join us on the Diag for a full day of music, food, games, and more! Learn more about sustainability, environmental issues on and around campus, and how you can make an impact in the fight against climate change"
Come to the diag on April 16th to learn about current events relating to climate change and sustainable innovations, opportunities to get involved on and off campus, actions people can take to support sustainable development right now, ways to lead a more sustainable life, and recommendations for how to continue learning about the environment. The event will feature informational tables, games, speakers, and sustainable giveaways (including snacks and cosmetics!).
 

2023 Dewey Dialogues

pond surrounded by multiple plants in a large glass greenhouse at matthaei conservatory

The Ginsberg Center’s Dewey Series recognizes the enduring legacy of philosopher and educational reformer John Dewey, who taught at U of M in the 1890’s and, later, went on to found the New School for Social Research. Chief among Dewey’s enduring ideas were that experience is the means through which we come to understand and connect with the world around us and that universal education is the key to democracy.

This year, Ginsberg Center, is collaborating with Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum and University of Michigan Museum of Art, to host a dialogue on the intersection of community, identity, public spaces, and environmental justice. We will also offer additional opportunities to explore MBGNA including garden tours and a scavenger hunt.

We hope you can join us for a restorative and engaging event!

Registration link

It’s an Emergency! What are we doing about it? Environmental Justice & Emergency Response in Detroit

Panel Discussion with Keynote from Jacqueline Patterson

Registration required. For in-person, refreshments served at 5:30 pm and the Program is 6:00-8:00 pm. In addition to Ms. Patterson, the event includes a Detroit Community Panel, moderated by Laprisha Berry Daniels (Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice):

  • Ricky Ackerman (Eastside Community Network);
  • Tammara Howard (What About Us & Belvidere Community Youth Block Club);
  • Theresa Landrum (48217 community organizer & activist);
  • Vincent Martin (Detroit community activist);
  • Lula Odom (retired from International Chemical Workers Union Council for Worker Health & Safety Education, Cincinnati).

The disproportionate impacts of disasters for communities of color have been documented repeatedly for both natural and human-caused disasters. In Michigan:

  • More than 500,000 Michigan residents live within one mile of a facility storing large amounts of extremely hazardous chemicals;
  • Those residents are disproportionately Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and confront daily risks of spills, explosions, and other environmental disasters at the facilities, as well as from the transport of chemicals to and from them through their communities;
  • Children of color are more than two times as likely as white children in Michigan to live in the shadow of facilities housing hazardous substances.

This event, organized by Detroit community leaders with support from local academic institutions, will:

  • Discuss why emergency preparedness and response is an environmental and climate justice issue;
  • Describe gaps and challenges in Detroit’s emergency preparedness and response, from and environmental and climate justice perspective;
  • Share recommendations for improving emergency preparedness and response for environmental and climate justice communities.

Registration link

Rooting for Change: Science & Justice Panel

Rooting for Change: The Economics, Society, and Politics of Food
Fri, March 24 at 11:30am, Michigan League, Koessler Room (Third Floor)

Students, faculty, and community members will share their perspectives on food justice and sustainability. A zero-waste meal will be provided by MDining.

Featured panelists:
Kiley Adams is from Puyallup, Washington, and is currently pursuing a dual degree in medicine and sustainability and development at the University of Michigan. She is interested in the intersection between human and non-human health and like thinking about how food systems, air and water quality, and accessibility to safe outdoor nature areas all collide to influence human health.
Nayethzi Hernandez is a graduate student at the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). Her passions include food sovereignty, environmental justice, transformative food systems, reducing barriers to education, indigenous sovereignty, and climate justice.
Alexandra Talty is a writer and multi-media journalist covering water ways, food production and the environment – or any combination of the above. She is a 3rd generation surfer and volunteer ocean lifeguard and also runs a hobby oyster farm.

Registration link