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Opinion: How to Free Ourselves from the Scholar-Activist Dilemma

Summary

 In this op-ed, Jan-Michael Archer, a PhD Candidate and National Science Foundation Research Trainee, shares insights into the challenges faced by environmental justice researchers. Archer emphasizes the need to bridge the gap between academia and activism and highlights instances where research proposals, particularly those involving compensation for participants from marginalized communities, face rejection on ethical grounds. The article delves into Archer's personal experiences growing up in Stone Mountain, Georgia, shedding light on the racial and environmental disparities in his hometown. The piece underscores the undervaluation of lived experiences in research, proposes tools like critical environmental justice and participatory science, and concludes with a call for recognizing the imperative of turning environmental justice research into action. Archer also shares experiences from his involvement in labor rights activism within academia, emphasizing the need for collective action to address systemic issues in higher education.

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February 7, 2025
Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice

Seattle advocacy groups are promoting social housing as both an affordable housing solution and a climate strategy.

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Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice

Texas oil and gas companies are pushing for the state to gain regulatory authority—known as primacy—over carbon capture projects, which involve injecting carbon dioxide...

February 6, 2025
Human Health
Human Health

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February 6, 2025
Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice

The Trump administration has placed 168 Environmental Protection Agency employees on administrative leave, a move widely seen as the first step in shutting down the agency’s...

February 6, 2025
Economic Justice
Economic Justice

Community leaders in historically Black and brown neighborhoods of Houston are calling for greater government attention to long-standing issues such as infrastructure neglect...

February 5, 2025
Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice

The Trump administration has swiftly removed key environmental justice and climate data from government websites, including the Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool...

February 5, 2025
Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice

Exxon has applied for tax subsidies to build an $8.6 billion plastics plant in Point Comfort, Texas, raising concerns among environmentalists and local residents.

February 5, 2025
Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice

The Environmental Protection Agency has partially lifted a spending freeze that had halted funding for environmental programs under the bipartisan infrastructure law...

February 5, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change

Experts from government, academia, and activism gathered in Philadelphia to discuss climate disaster preparedness as the Trump administration considers cutting FEMA funding.

February 4, 2025
Economic Justice
Economic Justice

The Trump administration has removed the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), a key resource used to identify disadvantaged communities for environmental justice..

January 31, 2025
Education
Education

Despite Donald Trump’s push to expand offshore drilling, oil companies are unlikely to act on new leases in the Gulf of Mexico due to an already over saturated market.

January 30, 2025
Food & Water Justice
Food & Water Justice

The EPA is reassessing the health risks of nitrates in drinking water, with growing concerns that exposure could increase cancer risk.

January 29, 2025
Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice

President Trump’s temporary freeze on federal grants and loans created widespread uncertainty for environmental and climate programs before being rescinded.

January 29, 2025
Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice

A coalition of U.S. power companies is urging the Trump administration to weaken coal ash regulations, arguing that cleanup requirements are overly burdensome.

January 29, 2025
Education
Education

Black farmers in Nicodemus, Kansas, have practiced sustainable agriculture for generations, using climate-smart methods long before they became widely recognized.