A period of consequences : global warming, social justice and a new transnational activist network

Evidence of the impacts of global warming is accumulating and becoming more specific. Its effects on people, particularly the poor, minorities, indigenous peoples and others living in circumpolar regions, high altitudes, low-lying areas and other vulnerable regions, are becoming more apparent. A climate justice movement has evolved in response to the perceived social justice issues created by the disproportionate impacts of global warming and the resultant climate change on the poor and politically marginalized. This movement can be understood as an example of a new type of transnational, networked social movement that has evolved as part of the anti-neoliberal globalization movement. This project involved the coordination of a panel of climate justice activists who presented at the 2005 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference and the creation of web pages that serve as an educational tool and a directory for the climate justice movement. This project also reviews the relevant literature and discusses the evolution of the climate justice movement and its relationship to other political, environmental and social perspectives. The web pages can be accessed at  www.climatejusticenetwork.net and CDs of the powerpoint presentations of two of the panelists and an audio transcript of the panel can be found in the hard copy of this document located in the Humboldt State University library.