Some of the types of front lines that are imminent here are the constant erosion of coastline in Christchurch coupled with sea level rise. The fear of another earthquake like the ones from 2011 and 2012 is also a fear because the city has only started to thrive after years of rebuilding. I think my front line is feeling uneasy in the environment I live in, especially when it comes to earthquakes because they are challenging to predict and even harder to understand the extent of the damage. 

I want to learn more about how the earthquakes have left a lasting impact on vulnerable communities in Christchurch and how they are still learning to recover. I’d like to help these people if I can, to understand climate change and resilience. When speaking with Jane Morgan, she mentioned her work previous to Council was with earthquake recovery and she was able to survey communities affected to find some interesting conclusions. She said that women ages 35~41 were the most negatively impacted by the quakes. Elaborating that their contribution to their homes as caregivers and as providers in the workplace have made them most likely to continue to suffer from the damage of the quakes. These women are an extremely important demographic and as a woman, my heart goes out to them. Jane theorized that these women will probably also bear the brunt of the negative impacts of sea level rise and climate change driven weather events.

These women will need additional support and the tools to feel empowered and proactive in the face of climate change. I think my ability to teach and communicate would be extremely helpful in rallying these women for a common goal, to reduce the effects of climate change in Christchurch and to help others realize what integral members of the community they are. 

I know contributing to the wellbeing of women in the city would make me feel empowered in pursuing climate justice and teach others how the burden is not shared equally. This may be in the form of a hearing with the Councilors and Mayor of our city or maybe a rally. Women are protesting all over the world for the right to a healthy environment, so should we. 

Demonstrators take part in the protest outside Holyrood (Lesley Martin/PA) (PA Wire). March 2022 

The teachings of this week were very emotional, This Changes Everything, was a powerful film that showed so many walks of life fighting for the same basic principles. The ability to tend to their families in their native lands, the right to make a living from local resources and to protect themselves from the constant degradation of the fossil fuel industry. Some of the common seed themes of the readings were that people should have the ability to practice self government and have the ability to be more ecologically responsive. People want to have access to renewable energies that don't sacrifice the wellbeing of sacrificial communities to do so. They want food sovereignty and democracy that makes its decisions based on the wellbeing of the majority, not the wealthy few. People want a political system that makes it accessible for everyone to have their opinions heard and it can be used more easily for the common good. Communities should have the ability to make important decisions for themselves, not by the elected officials but as a collective. These readings amplified that the most vulnerable communities make the biggest sacrifices to climate change and profit the least. The readings deep dived into how our economic measures of growth are not ethical and they often leave the poorest and most heavily exploited groups behind as profits are made. 

The use of protesting and boycotting was used as ways of breaking down our current systems. I think this week was full of some great material to reference and it outlined the connections we need to have with nature again. This could be our homecoming, back to a relationship with our environment that represents stewardship and love. These ideas are not new but we have decided to be outside of nature instead of a part of it. I think the ideas of this week build off concepts like Neoliberalism from Week 6, that we the majority should have to pay for a stripped environment to keep the pockets lined of the rich. I think this unit also has connections with Week 7 when issues of Indigenous feminism were discussed and how we need to economically value the subsistence roles of women as an integral part of the economy so they are not marginalized as the effects of climate change worsen. Finally, I think these ideas relate to Week 9 that the work on the front lines needs to be a rebellion of love and not of hate and that using indigenous knowledge can help us reconnect to our environment. We can work to plant the seeds of growth in an uplifting way that leaves no one behind while dismantling the system that has overlooked our wellbeing.  

References

Eden, T. (2022, March 8). Protesters mark International Women's Day with climate change rally. The Independent. Retrieved February 18, 2024, from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/protesters-scottish-parliament-holyrood-msps-south-africa-b2031216.html