Program on the Environment

The environmental movement has historically been white-led and has catered to the interests and concerns of a largely white, upper-class membership. Whether intentional or not, this has alienated low-income communities and people of color from participating and has shifted focus away from those most impacted by environmental degradation. My internship with Washington Environmental Council (WEC) focused on improving outreach efforts and fostering advocacy across diverse communities throughout the state to make “environmentalism” more inclusive. To support this work, I created a survey aimed at gauging environmental advocacy and grassroots political involvement among Seattleites. I distributed the survey primarily on neighborhood blogs and social media, as well as in-person at select locations around the city. Overall, I found that concern for the environment and identification as an environmental advocate were independent from racial and economic factors, while participation was not. Low-income and people of color participated less in grassroots advocacy despite concern consistent with their white, upper-class counterparts, ultimately suggesting that other barriers must be responsible for differences in involvement. It can be hypothesized that the environmental movement’s historical lack of diversity is continuing to alienate low-income and people of color. Thus, there is still a great deal of room for environmental organizations, including WEC, to improve their outreach efforts to these communities. Further research on appropriate outreach strategies is needed to address the lacking presence of underserved groups in the environmental movement.