Tag Archives: climate change

Events Near Swarthmore This Weekend, 12/1/2017-12/3-2017

This weekend, December 1-2, Pendle Hill, the Quaker retreat center on the other side of Crum Wood is holding a one-day (and one evening) workshop:

Right to Refuse: When Community Rights and Corporate Rights Conflict and What to Do Next
Featuring: Chad Nicholson, Malinda Harnish Clatterbuck, Dianne Herrin, and Paula Kline
https://pendlehill.org/events/right-refuse-community-rights-corporate-rights-conflict-next/

Whether it is a pipeline, a fracked gas well, or an incinerator, there are countless examples of corporations moving projects forward despite community resistance and environmental impact. Why? How has law evolved to protect corporate interests and what are a community’s options? What is a Home Rule campaign and why is it necessary? Explore these questions and more with a weekend with front-line organizers from across Pennsylvania. This is a workshop for those engaged in protecting their community from environmental threats for education and strategic planning.

On Sunday, December 3 at 11:45 AM in Whittier Room, George Alexander will speak on The Mariner East 2 pipeline: how it came to be, why it is so bad, and what we can do about it.

Perhaps you have heard about the Mariner East 2 pipeline, which is under construction in Delaware and Chester Counties. In full operation, this would be by far the most dangerous pipeline in the state of Pennsylvania. A rupture and explosion would destroy structures thousands of feet away and, depending on where it happened, could kill hundreds of people. How was this permitted to happen, and what can we do about it now? George Alexander will present background on the pipeline and outline what can be done. Rich and Claudia Aldred will speak about their experience as homeowners in the “blast zone” of the pipeline.

UPCOMING WORKSHOP — Weaving the Threads: Intersectionality, Sustainability & Environmental Justice

How do we identify and address intersectional concerns (e.g. from racism, to poverty, to militarism, to homelessness, and more) in our sustainability work and activism? How do we connect our various initiatives within a framework of environmental justice? How do we communicate these visions with others?

On Monday, November 20, join Peace and Conflict Studies and Environmental Studies for a workshop with Prof. Randall Amster, former Executive Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Association.

Weaving the Threads: Intersectionality, Sustainability & Environmental Justice

The confluence of contemporary crises represents a direct threat to human existence, yet also a remarkable opportunity to implement alternatives and cultivate visions for a more just and sustainable world. The framework of “climate justice” increasingly subsumes many of these issues and possibilities, providing a basis for transforming our thinking and acting in relation to essential resources including food, water, and energy production. Likewise, critical issues of equity, access, and distribution are brought to the fore, with the nexus of environmental justice and peacebuilding offering potential avenues for change. What theories and actions are informing current movements and responses? How can policymaking and the lived experiences of people and communities equally inform the discourse? How can we promote an ethos of responsibility in both senses of the word, as a form of accountability and a locus of empowerment? Drawing upon examples from local to global scales, this session will seek to spark a collaborative dialogue for cultivating resilient responses to today’s most pressing challenges.

Randall Amster, J.D., Ph.D., is Director and Teaching Professor in the Program on Justice and Peace at Georgetown University. He serves as Editor-in- Chief of the Contemporary Justice Review. He teaches and publishes widely on subjects including peace and nonviolence, social and environmental justice, political theory and movements, and the impacts of emerging technologies. His recent books include Peace Ecology (Routledge, 2015), Anarchism Today (Praeger, 2012), Lost in Space: The Criminalization, Globalization, and Urban Ecology of Homelessness (LFB, 2008); and the co-edited volume Exploring the Power of Nonviolence: Peace, Politics, and Practice (Syracuse University Press, 2013). His current research interests include environmental peacebuilding, climate justice, intersectionality and ecology, community and sustainability, and the justice implications of contemporary technology.

The workshop begins at 4:15 pm and will take place in Kohlberg Hall, Room 116.

This event is sponsored by Peace and Conflict Studies, Environmental Studies, the Provost’s Office, the President’s Office, and the Office of Sustainability.

Gratitude for Ann Yasuhara

We have learned that one of our Swarthmore alums, Ann Yasuhara, passed away on June 11,2014. Ann, a Quaker, had become a strong influence in the direct action organization, Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT), working to end mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. Friends lovingly referred to her as their “Mountain Woman”. EQAT recently honored Ann as one of their Elders at a special ceremony at the Friends Center on Cherry Street in Philadelphia.

Others gathered for a memorial service and outdoor reception in Princeton:

We encourage you to read all of the obituary published in Princeton’s Town Topics, but we offer a few excerpts here:

A logician and computer scientist, she was known for combining her Quaker faith with action focused on peace, social justice, racial equality, and the environment. Her life balanced her love for the sacredness of all life, the compassionate concerns of a Quaker activist for the world and the local community, her delight in music, gardening, and art, and her generosity to friends and family. Ann Yasuhara belonged to the living tradition of Quaker spirit-led peace and justice activists. Unflagging in her resistance to war and violence, she studied the philosophy and methods of non-violent resolution of conflict with George Lakey, the noted Quaker peace activist. In turn, she led training groups for inner city children.

Most recently she enthusiastically supported — and went on protests with — the nonviolent direct action group, Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT), which works to end mountaintop removal coal mining. On her 79th birthday she protested on a strenuous mountain climb in West Virginia mining country. In January, just before she was diagnosed with cancer, the Philadelphia-based group honored her as one of its outstanding “wise elders.”

“Ann was a leader in the Quaker faith and an inspiration to all of us. She set the bar very high and gave us confidence to fight for a better world,” says Janet Gardner, a documentary film maker at the Gardner Group and a member of Princeton Friends Meeting.

We appreciate Ann for her profound influence on so many pursuing peace and justice.

Earth Quaker Action Team honors its Elders

It was a privilege to be at Earth Quaker Action Team’s ceremony honoring their elders at the Friends Center on Cherry Street in Philadelphia on Sunday, January 26. Attendees included a number of Swarthmore alums and faculty.

Alexa Ross ’13 delivered a wonderful tribute to Peace and Conflict Studies Prof. George Lakey, and Robin Harper, a friend of the Peace and Conflict Studies program, was also honored alongside three other elder EQAT activists: Vint Deming, Ann Yasuhara, and Allen Bacon. Friends, family, and comrades sang, read testimonials, and read the words of the honorees from interviews that were conducted before the ceremony. It was a wonderfully affirming and very intergenerational event.

Lee Smithey created an interactive timeline of biographical information about Robin Harper’s life work in the fields of peace, social justice, and climate justice.

Report on Tri-college trip to PJSA 2012

Fifteen peace and conflict studies and environmental studies students and faculty from the Tri-Colleges (Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr) attended this year’s Peace and Justice Studies Association meetings at Tufts University October 4-6, 2012.

[Tri-College Trip to the 2012 Peace and Justice Studies Meeting at Tufts University from Swarthmore Peace Studies on Vimeo.]

This year’s theme was “Anticipating Climate Disruption: Sustaining Justice, Greening Peace”, offering a perfect opportunity to team up with the Environmental Studies Program and our Tri-college peace studies partners for a joint trip. The opportunity also aligned well with President Chopp’s leadership on climate issues and Swarthmore College’s long commitment to peace and social justice concerns. In fact, a write-up about our trip appeared in the conference program. You can also read more about the trip in a story by Taylor Hodges that appeared on October 11 in The Phoenix.

We would like to express our deep gratitude to our co-sponsors: The President’s Office at Swarthmore College, The Dean’s Office at Swarthmore College, The Center for Peace and Global Citizenship at Haverford College, The Peace and Conflict Studies Program at Swarthmore, Peace and Social Justice Program at Bryn Mawr, Peace Conflict and Human Rights at Haverford, and the Tri-College Environmental Studies Program. Thanks also to George Lakey of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program at Swarthmore and Chloe Tucker of the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship at Haverford who also went on the trip.

The conference organizers were very helpful in organizing homestays for our students with Tufts students, many of whom take Swarthmore alum Sa’ed Atshan’s ’06 course at Tufts, “Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies”!

Students speak for themselves about their experience at the conference in a story that appeared in The Phoenix and in the video interviews above.

In order to bring some of the flavor of knowledge of the conference back, we have also curated tweets from the conference below (in reverse order).

Fossil Fuel Student Convergence

Over 200 people from 70 student campaigns nationwide are coming to Swarthmore for a Fossil Fuel Student Convergence organized by Swarthmore Mountain Justice. Guests include speakers from communities fighting extraction, socially responsible investment funds, and programs focused on intersectionality and environment. There are several events open to the wider community, and the organizers are excited to invite people from all different perspectives to participate.

Here’s a schedule of the weekend:

FRIDAY 2.22

Silent Solidarity March// Location and time tbd

Swarthmore students, faculty, staff, and alumni will join together for a march through campus during the Board of Managers meetings to urge powerful action on climate change through fossil fuel divestment.

(For more information, contact swarthmoremj@gmail.com)

SATURDAY 2.23

“Before Rachel Carson: Workers and the Origins of Environmentalism in the United States”

Sci. 181 // 9:30 & 10:30 AM

Chad Montrie is a Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts–Lowell, and author of To Save the Land and the People, Making a Living, and A People’s History of the Environment. His talk confronts mainstream visions of environmentalism, focusing instead on working class resistance to extraction. (Sponsored by Environmental Studies & History Dept.)

“Resisting Fossil Fuels: Voices from the Frontlines” – Panel Discussion

LPAC//11:30 AM

Crystal Lameman, Beaver Lake Cree Nation, tar sands resistance, Canada

Yudith Nieto, Tar Sands Blockade, TX

Junior Walk, Coal River Mountain Watch, WV

Deirdre, anti-fracking organizer, PA

Michael Bagdes-Canning, Marcellus Outreach Butler, PA

“Growing Stronger: From Divestment to Climate Justice” – Keynote

LPAC//7:30 PM

Crystal Lameman, Beaver Lake Cree Nation, tar sands resistance, Canada

Aura Bogado, The Nation, NY

Ellen Dorsey, Wallace Global Fund, Washington DC

SUNDAY 2.24

Divest the Nation Action

1PM // Meet in Front of Parrish

Join students from across the country in a monumental show of support for the national divestment movement, frontline communities, and international action for climate justice!

“What We Can Learn from Economic and Immigrant Justice Work”

Location TBA // 9:30 & 10:30

Chris Hicks (Jobs with Justice)

Unite Here! Organizer

Erika Nuñez (DREAMer and Bryn Mawr Student)

(personal outreach only at this point) “Environmental Justice in Chester” Panel –

Location TBA // 9:30 & 10:30 AM

Speakers: Ciara Williams (Swarthmore student), Desire Grover (community media maker and organizer), Mike Ewall (Energy Justice Network)

If you have questions about the weekend or the events, feel free to send an email to Swarthmore Mountain Justice at swarthmoremj@gmail.com

Teach-in on Climate Change and Divestment

Faculty will speak briefly on a variety of issues, and then open the floor to questions and discussions.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH, 2013

8:30 PM – 10:30 PM

storm surge SCHEUER ROOM

All students welcome

FACULTY PARTICIPANTS:

BETSY BOLTON
PETER COLLINGS
MARK KUPERBERG
GIOVANNA DI CHIRO
CINDY HALPERN
PHILIP JEFFERSON
GEORGE LAKEY
LEE SMITHEY
MARK WALLACE