Environmentalism is more than just planting trees and recycling -- it encompasses issues relating to ethics, race, gender, class and justice. We will look at some environmental justice case studies, which reveal that low income communities as well as communities of color are disproportionately affected by environmental pollution. Understanding environmental justice requires us to ask (1) who gets the benefits of environmental protection? (2) does everyone get a fair chance to voice their opinions? (3) who receives the effects if pollution is not dealt with? (4) who should bear the cost of environmental protection? (5) what hopeful examples can we add to this discussion? The question for us going forward is: what does an environmentally just world look like and what can we do to work towards it?

Environmentalism is more than just planting trees and recycling -- it encompasses issues relating to ethics, race, gender, class and justice. We will look at some environmental justice case studies, which reveal that low income communities as well as communities of color are disproportionately affected by environmental pollution. Understanding environmental justice requires us to ask (1) who gets the benefits of environmental protection? (2) does everyone get a fair chance to voice their opinions? (3) who receives the effects if pollution is not dealt with? (4) who should bear the cost of environmental protection? (5) what hopeful examples can we add to this discussion? The question for us going forward is: what does an environmentally just world look like and what can we do to work towards it?

Global warming? Isn't it freezing outside? Aren't we experiencing massive blizzards and unbearable cold in Connecticut and New York? You may be asking yourself these questions this chilly winter but even though you're not feeling any warmer, climate change is affecting people all over the globe in catastrophic and unpredictable ways. November 2014: to combat climate change, in a historic joint announcement with China, President Obama laid out an ambitious but achievable target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in the range of 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, while China announced its intent to peak carbon emissions around 2030 and to double its share of zero-carbon energy to 20 percent. Why was this announcement such a historic step for climate change action? We will delve into the science behind climate change and find out how carbon in the air results in the warming of our earth. We'll find out why climate change is becoming a big concern for human health not only in the United States, but globally.