Activism & Social Change – Ecosystemic Magazine

How Both Individual and Corporate Actions Can Contribute to Positive Change

15Jun

By Eyob SisayNo Comments

Activism & Social Change

How Both Individual and Corporate Actions Can Contribute to Positive Change

Image courtesy of Martin SpiskeBy Eyob SisayClimate change is a global challenge that can only be addressed through a united effort between individuals and corporations. While governments and international agreements aid in the effort, individuals and corporations have a unique opportunity to contribute to positive climate action. By adopting sustainable practices, both individuals and corporations can become engines for change and pave the way for a brighter, greener future. Global society is composed of billions of individuals, each of them having the power to alter small aspects of their daily lifestyle in order to live a more sustainable, environmentally conscious life. One way that an individual can contribute to positive climate action is simply by staying informed on current clim...

14May

By Ema MieleNo Comments

Activism & Social Change, Literature

The Rainbow Rule – Poetry

Image courtesy of Ariana ThorntonWritten by Ema MieleRed is the color of poppies,Orange is the color of daylilies,Yellow is the color of dandelions,Green is the color of pine trees,Blue is the color of the sky,Indigo is the color of orchids,Purple is the color of lilacs,But as nature gets polluted, cut, and trashed,Our world turns dull and gray;Underneath the clouds hides a rainbow,One that our world can uncover again;Treat the Earth the way you want to be treated-The rainbow rule.

Sunrise at the Lincoln Memorial – Poetry

14May

By Audrey WuNo Comments

Activism & Social Change, Literature

Sunrise at the Lincoln Memorial – Poetry

Image courtesy of Dean OliverWritten by Audrey WuI watch the sunriseeach morning at the Lincoln MemorialIt is barely winteronly late November, but there’s a quieteeriness, a hint of knitted frostblanketingour sleeping nationI watch the sunriseand wonder what they saw when they built thiswhat they would have thought of someone like mean American, who belongs to this countryas much as it belongs to meas much as the men on those rusted copper penniesyet theirs are the faces immortalizedtheirs are the names memorializedI watch the sunrisebut it is creeping closer and closer stillthe curtain is drawingand through the tilted blindsthe light seeps through.The ground can’t be greenwhen our “Fathers” spilled the blood,crimson with each golden glare of the afterglow.When will you see thatthis nation...

14May

By Ariana ThorntonNo Comments

Activism & Social Change, Literature

The Story of Us – Poetry

Image courtesy of NASAby Ariana Thorntonwe are not the beginning.not the pinnacle of evolution as we’ve been taughtnot the center of the universe as we once believedbut one motif in the ever-growing intricacy of nature’s tapestry. nobody agrees on what makes the human condition unique among animals. our cognition? communication? intelligence?all animals feel pain,many feel fear and love,some possess an intellect similar to our own.we communicate through pheromones,we click, we whistle, we wail. we are as animal as the sea sponge, as curious as the octopus,as resourceful as the chimpanzee.so what, then, gives us–a species neither as successful as the antnor as ancient as the sea star–the right to call ourselves masters of all nature?nature has had 4.5 billion years to op...

14May

By Esme HyattNo Comments

Activism & Social Change, Literature

What Environmentalism Means to Me

Image courtesy of Margot RichardWritten by Esme HyattWhen discussing environmentalism, I think the general response is to focus on the planet. To me, however, it kindles thoughts around humans’ impact on the environment and the environment's impact on humans. I first got involved in environmentalism in 2019, when I was in middle school. What got me initially interested was not climate change’s effect on the environment, but its effect on humans. Seeing numerous articles detailing the overarching repercussions of climate change on human life made me realize how necessary it was for me and others to get involved. Ultimately, all consequences of climate change influence human life. It's the intersection of climate change and human health that I think is incredibly important. Fossil fuel...

A Hero and Pioneer for Peace – Wangari Maathai

11Mar

By Becki M’mariNo Comments

Activism & Social Change

A Hero and Pioneer for Peace – Wangari Maathai

By Becki M’mari What does it mean to be a hero? As a globally recognized pioneer in the fight for social and environmental justice, Professor Wangari Muta Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, and was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. To many, she was a hero because of her commitment to fostering innovation and positive growth. Born and raised in the highlands of Kenya, Maathai was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctoral degree. From there, she became the first woman elected as Chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Nairobi. One of Maathai’s most pivotal and meaningful contributions was creating the Green Belt Movement, an environmental organization empowering women to make meaningful improvements ...

Intersectional Environmentalists are Vital to Our Movement

29Jan

By Esme HyattNo Comments

Activism & Social Change

Intersectional Environmentalists are Vital to Our Movement

By Esme Hyatt The job of intersectional environmentalists is an important one. Many movements in the past have intentionally or unintentionally excluded minority groups, such as in the case of the Women's Suffrage movement (Waters-Page, n.d.). Intersectional environmentalists advocate for minority communities to have a voice in the environmentalist movement. These activists prioritize inclusivity and social justice when approaching environmental issues (Intersectional Environmentalist, n.d.). Artwork by Julianne Park Kristy Drutman, founder of Brown Green Girl, is an intersectional environmentalist. She started advocating through a lens of social justice early on, even before the term was coined in 2020 by Leah Thomas (Intersectional Environmentalist, n.d.). “I was posting a...

29Jan

By Eyob SisayNo Comments

Activism & Social Change, Pop Culture

The Power of #Paid

By Eyob Sisay As the field of influencer marketing quickly becomes one of the hottest industries in the world, how will social media creators hold up against the demands of their eco-conscious fans? In 2022, 58% of the world was active daily on social media (Mohshin 2022). For brands, social media is prime marketing real-estate. As a result, companies are more than willing to shell out billions of dollars to hire social media creators with significant platforms to promote their products;. According to Osborne (2019), 49% of social media users depend on content creators’ product recommendations, thus validating the “influencer” status of some social media creators. Therefore, there exists a symbiotic relationship between social media creators and brands. In many cases, the Earth doesn...

Misinformation and Performative Activism on Social Media

28Jan

By Stella StoneNo Comments

Activism & Social Change, Pop Culture

Misinformation and Performative Activism on Social Media

By Stella Stone Misinformation and performative activism, often intertwined, are potent forces that undermine climate movements across the globe. As you mindlessly click through Instagram stories, you may see a cheery-looking graphic discussing dying polar bears. While your first instinct may be to repost this, first consider– what are the motivations of the creator? Is the information factual? And most of all, how does this even help? While misinformation can have varying definitions, a 2020 study from the University of Exeter states “[a] common theme is that misinformation pertains to information that is false, inaccurate or misleading,” (Treen et al.). Across all categories of social media, a Statistica study found that 67% of Americans have encountered fake news on social media a...

28Jan

By Ariana ThorntonNo Comments

Activism & Social Change, Art & Multimedia

Female Environmentalist Alphabet

By Ariana Thornton After reading Kristy's interview, I became inspired by the crucial role that female identifying individuals play in the fight for environmental justice. These three digital artworks are part of a larger multimedia project in which I plan to draw 26 portraits of influential female environmentalists from different backgrounds, cultures, and generations around the world–one name for each letter of the English alphabet. Through this project, I seek to shed light on the intersectionality of the climate movement and raise awareness of important female environmentalists whose names are not as well known as, say, Greta Thunberg or Jane Goodall. Women climate activists who have made significant contributions to their cause are not just White, but also Black, Indigenous, Af...