The link between environmental and social justice: an interview with Heewon Kim

With the pressing challenges of climate issues, its connection to humanity at different societal levels is becoming increasingly clear. A student studying such connections at Universiity of California Berkeley, Heewon Kim, shared how she approaches climate change from a college student's perspective. From class experiences to societal impact, Heewon described how she learns and pursues sustainability in her college life.

What made you choose your major of Society and Environment?

A combination of support factors, but probably the largest would be the exposure that I'd had to all of the environmental crises that we were going through at the time, because that was when sort of before me, climate change was still very much widely contested by a lot of people. Like we had a lot of people who were saying scientists are making it up and it's a conspiracy, like politicians like Trump who were like, oh, this is all just dumb, this isn’t actual science, this isn’t what’s actually going on. And so seeing politicians and world leaders stamp on that as well as how different social issues like water pollution, air pollution, and how it’s affecting society all over the world, I think that’s sort of where I started. And I think that’s what led me to first gain an interest in really learning about it. And then once I started learning more about it, I realized how big of an impact it had and how it was something that we can’t really escape, right? Even if it’s something that a person might not feel the impact of in their lives, it eventually trickles down to us. So even if we’re not the ones being directly affected by wildfires or by deforestation in Brazil, it eventually trickles down, right? It’s the supply chain and all of that. Eventually, we are affected by that in one way or another. So it really isn’t something that you can deny. At the end of the day, it’s something that impacts everyone, and it’s something that we as a human race need to deal with and be more cognizant of. So I think that’s eventually what led me to choose to pursue this in a more serious manner.

Is that sense of urgency why it stood out the most among other global issues that you were exposed to?

Yes, I would say it was, but it was also something that particularly felt meaningful to me, just because I think the environmental cause and environmental issues are ones where anyone can make a difference. Whether it’s just making a difference such as carrying around a reusable glass when you’re grocery shopping, it’s all these small differences and small changes in our habits and our lifestyle. As much as we like to say, oh, I’m just one person, how much of a difference can I make?—I think all that adds up. That’s what really fascinated me, because if you think about economic issues or political issues, it often feels much larger than you. You feel like you would have to be in that political sphere or know a politician or something like that. But environmental issues are something where change is so easily impacted and so easily made. I think that’s what caused me to feel that this was different from all the other issues that I’d been exposed to.

What was a memorable class or a project you worked on so far at Berkeley, and how is your interest in environmental issues shaping your college life?

I mean, technically I’m not at Berkeley right now, but while I was at Berkeley, I think one of the courses that I really liked was Sustainable Urban Design. It was a class technically offered by the School of Architecture, but it was still a class that fell under my major because it was related to social and environmental issues. While I was taking that class, we learned about how city design and city planning can be more sustainable and more environmentally conscientious, and how that also benefits civilians and citizens’ lives. That class really stood out to me because it was something where not only was it an environmental solution and a social solution, but it was also something that incorporated architects, politicians, and all these other people in different occupations and fields, and they were all coming together to plan something more sustainable in the long run. It showed me how, in the future, once I graduated and started work, I would also be able to collaborate with people in other fields to create meaningful solutions.

Were there instances where your college life was influenced outside of class as well, like through activities?

I think for me, I had a lot of instances where it was just smaller habits that I changed. For example, instead of buying bottles of liquid soap, I would buy soap bars. Whenever I went grocery shopping or shopping in general, I would always have reusable canvas totes and reusable plastic bags. If they asked whether I wanted a plastic or paper shopping bag, I would try to get paper if I needed one. Small little differences like that. In terms of activities, me and my friends also took part in activities such as cleaning up beaches and stuff like that. It was enjoyable as an activity because we were doing something we cared about, but also because it made the issue feel more real. When you’re cleaning up, you see with your own eyes how much trash there is, how ignorant people can be, and how just one person tossing a can away adds up and creates all this trash littering the beach and ruining nature. So in terms of impact outside of classes, that’s how it changed my life.

Do you think more people should study environmental issues since they are closely tied to humanities studies?

I don’t think environmental science is just a hard science like chemistry or physics. Environmental science is just as much a social science and a human-related science. It’s unique because it’s really interdisciplinary, and that’s probably why schools like Cornell and Berkeley have created programs that are so interdisciplinary. They realize that environmental issues can’t be solved by just science. They’re very much human and social issues too. So yes, I would definitely say it’s just as much a social science.

In your courses or activities, what did you learn about viewing environmental issues through the humanities lens? Are there specific issues you learned about?

For example, water pollution or air pollution and how that affects lower-income communities more often and more severely than more privileged communities. It’s an environmental issue, but it’s also societal. It’s very much an equity issue, an environmental justice, and a social justice issue. When looking at how to address water pollution in an underprivileged community, for example in Flint, Michigan, these people often don’t have access to the knowledge needed to understand the situation and figure it out on their own. Politicians will often push it aside because these communities don’t have as much power or influence. In that sense, environmental issues are directly related to social issues, and the people who experience the most severe impacts are usually those who are uneducated, unemployed, or without access to basic resources. It’s the same with deforestation in Brazil or drought in African countries. These issues become severe on a large scale because communities most affected lack the power to respond. By the time the developed world starts paying attention—like when deforestation is destroying biodiversity—it’s often too late. That’s why I think environmental issues need to be viewed not as something separate, like “climate change is just science,” but as something tied directly to human communities.

You’ve talked about issues and their social impacts, but what about solutions? Can you share any memorable solutions?

It’s difficult to name just one, because there really isn’t a clear-cut solution. There’s no such thing as one solution that fits all. But I would say increasing awareness and education about these issues—what’s causing them and how we as individuals can affect them—is the first step. Obviously, a huge part of these issues has to do with corporations, policies, and people in power. But getting the public to understand how severe and important this is, and getting them to be aware that if everyone raised their voices and took a stand together, it would force politicians and corporations to change their policies. I think that’s the biggest first step.

Lastly, do you have any goals you hope to achieve in the field of environmental studies and society in the future?

I think my biggest goal would be to make a change in the behaviors of people around me. Even among some of my close friends, I had friends who would go grocery shopping and always get plastic shopping bags, then toss them out as soon as they got home. I’d say, why would you do that? It seems small, but it’s one habit you can very easily change. Even among my closest friends, I had three or four friends with habits like that, and I would call them out, like, hey, it’s really easy, and it saves money too, to just carry around reusable bags. They started making changes like that. Or recycling—yes, plastic doesn’t get recycled as much as we’d like, maybe only 10–15%, but that’s not a reason to stop trying. Small changes in immediate communities can spread. If I can get my peers to change their behavior, they can pass that on to their family and friends. Those changes can eventually become a movement.