Researchers say science skewed by racism is increasing the threat of global warming to people of color
Black, Brown and Indigenous people have been systematically excluded from earth sciences, magnifying their exposure to the most severe impacts of climate change, said Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, lead author of a recent commentary in the journal Nature Geosciences.
That adds to the burden of global warming that people of color already bear more heavily than other populations because the world for centuries has been “geographically delineated based on racism, and resultant slavery and colonialism,” Berhe said.
The article was the latest in a series of academic papers and articles that describe the consequences of discrimination in the sciences, but many scientists hope that it won’t be the last.
Berhe, a University of California, Merced soil scientist and environmental justice advocate, said that, because of structural racism, “there aren’t nearly enough conversations about how the worst impacts of climate change are affecting Black and Brown people disproportionately.” [Continue reading…]