Latinx Environmentalism: Disertando el Ambientalismo en el Contexto Latinoamericano

        With being bilingüe comes the active participation in both Western and Latinx discourses including environmentalism. In the United States, scientists collect data and publish warnings of a foreshadowed climate catastrophe we can only derail with urgent action. In Latin America, however, the discussion is as scientific as it is part of every aula, and is included en el día a día. Dr. Wald— from the Department of English at the University of Oregon— makes note of this in Latinx Environmentalism by stating, “... creative writers discussed the environmental themes in their work while disidentifying with the term environmentalist” (Wald 1). Though Latinx have environmental discussions as much as Latinx communities, the methods of discourse are distinct. Hence, it is difficult for Latinx to be identified as “environmentalists”, a term that is associated— as Dr. Wald emphasized— with the middle to upper class white demographic (1). In Latin America, environmentalism is integrated into many social aspects, such as: academic, business, legislative, and even in pop culture. As a result, the Latinx diaspora sees environmentalism as a cultural feature rather than an academic subfield.

        In Dr. Wald’s work, she claims that most of her research was led by a “preponderance of Chicanx texts”; and, while in a Western, Americanized discussion, Mexican-Americans may have a louder voice in the conversation, it ignores and silences other voices. Dr. Wald further states, “We struggled with the overrepresentation of Chicanx texts… only five of fifteen submissions attended to literature or cultural production outside of a Chicanx context” (Wald 20). Here, I will present ways that Latinx integrates environmentalism not just in a collegiate discussion but into a proactive, intersectional charla.

        In the Caribbean, specifically the Dominican Republic, organizations such as Santroni Parsons exist who group lawyers and scientists with a goal of developing sustainable and conscious tourism and urban cities. They believe a balance between urbanization and sustainability is doable; their blogs consist of legislative news, as well as climate change. In the Brooklyn Institute of Social Research located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, there are courses being taught on intersectionality and the environment, such as the “Ambiente, Feminismo y Descolonización” for Hispanohablantes. For the younger generation there are comics such as La Borinqueña, whose hero is a Nuyorican woman that protects the island from pollution. Calle 13’s music is also a dominant part of pop culture that emphasizes a respect for the environment; their song “La Vida (Respira el Momento)” states: “nos crecen los brazos como crecen las ramas, como crecen las hojas nos crecen las manos”  (Calle 13 2015). 

La Borinqueña is spotlighting Puerto Rico's social problems one issue at a time (Serrao)

Therefore, though there may have been an influx of submissions for Dr. Wald’s research of Mexican-American texts, it is very possible to include Latinx communities in the environmentalist discussion. Their methods may not be peer-reviewed articles easily accessible in American archives, but Latinx groups continue to discuss the environment and the urgency of addressing global warming. The diaspora in America continues to value and respect the environment as part of their overall Latinx culture.

Latinx Enviromentalism and Enviromental Humanities

 "Latinx Enviromentalisms: Place, Justice, and the Decolonial" by Sarah D. Wald provides a deep insight into how much the Latinx community has contributed to Environmentalism and how their contribution has been consistently glossed over throughout history due to environmental racism. Sarah D. Wald as well as several other relevant authors provide a different perspective on Latinx environmentalism and gives a voice to the community that has done so much for the environment but have not received the credit for it. 

Exploring Latinx Environmentalism

Wald discusses the sub fields within the environmental humanities. These sub fields include ecocriticism, environmental history and environmental anthropology which have grappled with the legacies of exclusion racialization. Waves of ecocriticism have resulted in the concept of race being taken much more seriously. This has resulted in a greater emphasis on ethnic studies, postcolonial studies, environmental justice, and critical race theory. All of these concepts have been used to "interrogate environmentalism's 'possessive investment in whiteness" (Wald). These study and emphasis put on these subjects also has allowed us to see what other cultures have contributed and care about Environmentalism. This is due to the fact that when Environmentalism is discussed it is mostly seen as a problem that white, European or Western people address. These waves bring more voices to the table and show how many communities articulate traditional environmentalist values. 

Introducing Greenpeace Unidos: A place for Latinx Environmentalists

The word 'environment' itself includes the separation between humans and nature even though ironically 'environmentalism struggles to reunite humans with our natural environment'. Therefore, this article brings up the question: 'Does the word environment remain relevant when different communities "may understand nature in a different way as to merit a different term?"' This perspective can change what society sees as 'environmental'. Latinx cultures have been supporting their environment in 'non traditional' ways due to the structure of their country and land being different. In several instances, non western or non dominant works focus on their environmental ideas as well as inclusion of social justice, identity, and cultural tradition which is why the environmental portion may get overlooked. 

 

6 Latina activists leading the way on climate change and the environment

Three other factors have contributed to the factors of Latinx Environmentalism. These factors include environmental justice, critical race theory, and the third approach recovery model. Environmental justice is not the only tool resulting from critical race theory and environmental thought. However this took has resulted in several benefits such as creating a bridge for discussion on the topics of social justice and the environment and also challenging the race and class privilege within the environmental movement. In regards to critical race theory, the engagement that come from this topic has resulted in more possibilities for a range of new forms of theorizing different methods of cultural production. The third approach recovery model shifts the question from ‘How do we get more diversity in environmental humanities?’ to ‘How can environmental humanists recognize the way that diverse groups have always been environmental?’ (Wald).  Through the recovery model, this aims to correct the assumption that Latinxs do not care about the environment and to serve as a check to environmental moralizing. Understanding the different environmental humanities that have become prevalent in today's society can help us understand how much the Latinx culture has truly contributed to when it comes to the environment. 

Internet Memes & Climate Change Discourse

 Jevon Melvin

Dr. Estes

EN443 01 - History of American English

7 October 2021

Internet Memes: Contextualizing Framing & the Logical Perspectives of Climate Change

Due to the accelerated progression of online activism, the internet meme has become a prominent part of how the general public comprehends current social and environmental crises. Online communities have utilized the internet meme as a promotional and influential tool to share an ideology and to define issues through common or familiar concepts. Through applied linguistics, researchers examine how the new media landscape forms the opinion of the public within the climate change discourse developing on social media in specific. Andrew S. Ross⎼ from the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney⎼ and Damian J. Rivers⎼ from the Future University Hakodate Japan⎼ implement this examination in a research article stating that internet memes “represent a multimodal example of user-generated content, where political commentary, satire, and debates over notions of legitimacy, for example, can be enacted”(A.S Ross & D.J Rivers 976).

 Memes have sourced the examination of opinion through the use of common media frames, exhibiting the “real,’ ‘hoax,’ ‘cause,’ ‘impact’ and ‘action’ frames”(979). The research applies media framing in the detection of implicit meanings and the general rationale of a person’s media language. In addition to Ross and Rivers’ research, media framing is the prime component that reveals the perspectives communicated in memes relating to climate change⎼ noted as the ‘skeptical’ and the ‘convinced’ logics (976). These main components (media frames and conflicting logics) help present internet memes as valuable contributors to how the modern world understands and perceives national issues or⎼ in accordance to Ross & Rivers’⎼“the social and political processes that informed the creation and sharing of the memes, as well as the nuances related to intertextuality and multimodality within a CDA [Critical Discourse Analysis] approach”(980).

Although these methods of the conducted research take equal accounts of each meme, the outcomes of frame and logic are different. For example, the Condescending Wonka meme that reads, “Oh you think climate change is a hoax? Tell me how you’re smarter than science”, uses the ‘hoax’ frame and the ‘convinced’ logic, questioning the audience’s belief in climate change to be a hoax while expressing their convinced opinion on the discourse (984). Another example uses the same Wonka meme and reads, “So man causes climate change… Do tell me how SUVs caused an ice age”, which applies the ‘cause’ frame and the ‘skeptical’ logic. The meme presents the specific set by expressing a skeptical tone of language while considering climate change to be a consequence of human activities, such as driving SUVs (987).

The applied framing and logic indicate the main attitudes and opinions that reveal a common stance on the specified discourse ⎼ , in this case, climate change. Internet meme creators have proven the value of their content competently, with research asserting the opinions invested in memes to be impactful forces of the audience and general public. The research article shows that, as Ross and Rivers explain, “meme-makers are able to clearly demonstrate their own viewpoint – in this case in relation to either the skeptical or convinced logic – on climate change”(991). The benefits of the research conclude that the environment of new media fits into the identities of media frames, unique sharable viewpoints, and the furtherance of future research.

Internet Memes in Relation to Climate Change Discourse

Media framing has been used long before internet culture arose, this new form of media has changed the ways in which we process these frames and participate in discourse as a community. Andrew Ross, professor at the University of Sydney, and Damian Rivers, professor at Future University Hakodate, explored the new ways in which framing is implemented through the occurrence of internet memes. 

Media frames are the ways in which information is presented to an audience to dispatch information on a given topic. This is done intentionally and purposefully produced to deliver a specific message, often as a way to convince the reader of the author's message. The consumption of this new form of framed media is also studied on the possible effects framing may have on the audience who consumes it. Ross and Rivers cite Robert Entman, a well-known frame theorist, "to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, casual interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment for the item described." There are no 'unframed' media which signifies the importance of understanding the ways in which they are effective to not only the consumers but the producers. This analysis is done through the sociopolitical and academic discussion of climate change through the utilization of internet memes. 

There are five frames identified in relation to internet memes in regard to climate change:

• Frame 1: The risk is present
• Frame 2: The scientific risk of the claim is true
• Frame 3: The risk is caused by human activities
• Frame 4: Potential consequences of the risk
• Frame 5: How to handle the risk

Within these frames there are two positions in climate logic; convinced or skeptical.

The convinced stance perpetuates the belief that climate change is a real and pressing issue, usually siding with scientists and data. The skeptical stance takes on the belief that climate change is a hoax and usually claims climate change is a natural response from the environment. 

To dissect this, the most common meme formats across several platforms were analyzed. This is typically seen as the TOP TEXT with BOTTOM TEXT punchline format. These memes demonstrate Frame 2: the scientific risk of the claim is true, with examples in convinced and skeptical logic. 

Example A utilizes the TOP TEXT with BOTTOM TEXT punchline as it condescendingly implies "smart" people would not deny climate change. Example B sends the message that it is illogical to deny climate change as it is backed by science. This is an example of convinced logic.

Example A follows the format previously mentioned and attributes climate change to simply nature. Example B claims that climate has been changing since Earth was formed and human impact is irrelevant. This is an example of skeptical logic.

Ross and Rivers state, "... common media frames and applying them to Internet memes, we have shown that a simple message representing a frame can easily be conveyed through this form of communicative media." These frames have shown to be effective even in the new media landscape the internet has created. It is shown that memes are useful tools in climate change discourse and are used as a form of influence depending on how they are framed.

Shifting the Environmental Discourse for the Latinx Community

The inclusion within the environmental discourse in “Latinx Environmentalisms: Place, Justice and the Decolonial” allows the Latinx culture to freely communicate their language with another. The Latinx community have been excluded from the mainstream discourse on environmental preservation in America for decades. This has prompt scholars and activists to converge in making an imperative effort. That effort is the creation of “Latinx Environmentalisms”. Sarah Wald, David J. Vazquez, Priscilla Solis Ybarra, and Sarah Jaquette Ray identify factors in its introduction that has created a barrier that halts the Latinx community from expressing their environmental concerns. This stems from their intention to bring the perspective from the Latinx culture into the environmental movement

Racism is at the center of the exclusion that the Latinx community have experienced. The racism lies under the surface of conventional environmentalism that is known in America today. The introduction stated this: “The whiteness of mainstream environmentalism has often obscured environmental racism and the connections between social and environmental health” (pg. 2). The utilization of words like “whiteness” and “obscured” are simplistic signs of evidence to show how racism has taking the reins of environmentalism. The environmental movement that is conventional today have focusing more on bettering the environment within white communities than those of color. This has been a core tradition for years.

Latinos Care About the Environment. So Why Aren't Green Groups Engaging Them More?

The movement being “white-centric” ignited scholars and writers to reach an understanding that racism has a connection with the environment. This has prompted them to identify themselves as “environmentalist” (pg. 9). These scholars and writers are not going to just speak on bettering the environment. In their eyes, bettering the environment is not just ensuring that beautiful lands remain in goodness. It is also about allowing communities of color to bring forth their ideas ensuring their environment is safe and evolving for the better.

Based on the writer’s research, the introduction stated, “This project seeks to correct assumptions that Latinxs do not care about the environment…” (pg.10). This shows that there has been a myth of non-white groups not being capable to take care of their lands. That is not true. Having this myth be in endurance is another tradition that is made from a fabric of racism. There are Chicanx literary works that conveys a certain kind of Latinx perspective on the environment (pgs. 20-21). This proves that the idea of Latinx people not caring about their environment is totally false. Having the Chicanx literary works be excluded from the Western world’s scholarly realm indicates that conventional environmentalism was not designed to be multicultural. 

What the scholars and writers attempt to do in not only the introduction, but also “Latinx Environmentalisms” overall is to break the “traditional” in environmentalism when it comes to communities of color. Also, this is to forge a new trajectory for the Latinx culture to speak about the world. This new path is out of the intent to create a space for Latinx communities to be part of the environmental discourse. Having them being within the space can shift the language in environmentalism. It can reflect the fabric of our society, which is multiculturalism. 

 

Internet Memes and Climate Discourse

Using frame theory as a lens through which to assess climate rhetoric in the digital age, Andrew Ross and Damian Rivers argue that Internet memes serve as active sites for climate change discourse. In doing so, they essentially demonstrate a pivotal shift in where and how political discourse is conducted.

They preface their article by defining frame theory -- drawing from notable scholars in the field including noted frame theorist, Robert Entman, who summated, “the presence or absence of certain keywords, stock phrases, stereotyped images, sources of information and sentences that provide thematically reinforcing clusters of facts or judgments.” In other words, frames are necessarily deliberative; they hinge upon the repetition of visual or linguistic patterns to contextualize, and potentially even sway an audience’s thinking about a given topic. 

Proceeding, they then outline the two most widely recognized frame categories across the larger theoretical scope: media frames and audience frames. The former generally concentrates on the methods by which an author couches the content of their work, whereas the latter concerns itself with how those topics are perceived by its audience. However, they posit that internet memes ultimately fall between both categories, as the relationship between producer and consumer within the social scope of meme-making essentially merges, forming what they refer to as the “user-generated” frame.

With this in mind, they thus dissect climate-specific meme frames. Broadly, they categorize climate memes within two generalized frames: memes that perpate climate-skepticism, and those which emphasize convinced climate logic. Among these two attitudinal frames, they then designate such memes within what they consider to be the 5 thematically reinforced frames:

Frame 1: the risk is present

Frame 2: the scientific risk of the claim is true

Frame 3: the risk is caused by human activities

Frame 4: potential consequences of the risk

Frame 5: how to handle the risk (action to be taken)

For instance, the above figures found in the article demonstrate examples of both convinced and skeptical memes that fall further into the “potential consequences of the risk” frame, respectively. Both employ the so-called “Matrix Morpheus” meme format  -- one which satirically propagates the supposed obviousness of climate risks or lack thereof. 

Ultimately, while Ross and Rivers successfully underscore the shifting landscape of climate discourse, they merely allude to potential swaying power memes hold, writing, “It is argued that with their viral potential and simply expressed message or comment, Internet memes possess an ability to impact upon the opinion or position of consumers within the broader participatory digital culture in which they appear and are shared.” In essence, they appear to conflate virality with ideological influence -- another factor entirely. Indeed, given the aforementioned bridge between audience and producer within meme-generated climate discourse, the question remains whether memes have genuine rhetorical swaying power. In other words, can memes genuinely influence an individual’s thinking on climate change, or do they merely reaffirm already-held biases? This question ultimately remains unanswered, however, the sociological impact of memes is perhaps the content for another article.

Social Media and Climate Change

Emma Frances Bloomfield and Denise Tillery have created a thorough investigation on the effects that social media has on society's opinions on climate change. Throughout their article, they investigate two Facebook groups. These two groups focus on spreading their own opinion on climate change, whether their opinions are factual or not. The two groups being studied are Watts Up With That (WUWT), which is an American group, and Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF), which is a group from the United Kingdom. The authors had selected these two groups because both of these groups are prominent in circulating climate change denial using social media. "These Facebook pages represent just two of the many social media communities that promote environmental skepticism" (p. 24). There are many people who turn to social media to gain access to daily news. However, not many of these people ever think to check the credibility of the sources they are getting information from. This is what leads to the spread of false information. 

Social Media and Climate Change

Both WUWT and GWPF use hyperlinks on their pages. However, these hyperlinks are not used to cite actual sources. These hyperlinks connect their Facebook post to their corresponding blog post. The blog post will just display the same information as the original Facebook post. "The groups create a mostly insular community with the same information recirculating and taking on the appearance of truth through its repetition and the presence of hyperlinks" (p. 26). The more someone sees a certain piece of information circulating, the more likely they are to believe this information. 

Both of these groups focus mainly on spreading false information on climate change. Many people have already fallen into their traps as Watts Up With that has over 11,846 likes and 11,323 followers and the Global Warming Policy Forum has over 7,425 likes and 7,609 followers. The difference between liking a page and following a page is simply that if you like it, you agree with it, but if you follow it, the updates from the page will show up on your news feed. This means that new posts will gain more traction the more followers a page has. WUWT is known to use violence as a solution when someone does not agree with the group posts, while GWPF casts doubt on those who do not agree. 

In conclusion, the study of these two Facebook groups conducted by Tillery and Bloomfield will hopefully open our society's eyes to the importance of checking credibility when it comes to social media posts about topics that are controversial. 

Social Media's Influence on Climate Change

     As social media has become more popular over the years, it has greatly impacted climate change denial groups and how they spread their information. Emma Frances Bloom and Denise Tillery explore how Facebook has affected two climate change denial groups in particular. The first group, Watts Up with That (WUWT), is a Facebook group out of the United States that has 11,864 likes and 11,323 followers. The group is known for being the central node is the climate change denial blogosphere. Their goal is to share the unknown stories of climate change from the skeptic side. The second group, Global Warming Policy Forum (GPFW), is another Facebook group out of the United Kingdom that has 7,425 likes and 7,609 followers. This group had formed through an email controversy between Lord Nigel Lawson and Climate Gate. Their goal is to expose the misinformation and share how climate science is not settled. 

    The authors chose to focus on two common themes between the two Facebook groups that entail the networked strategies and use of rhetoric. The data set includes twenty-five of the top official posts from each group. These twenty-five posts have the highest-level engagement which means they had the most likes, comments, and interactions. Both groups participate in using hyperlinks as their networked strategies. The use of hyperlinks allows their Facebook users to be brought to their main webpage or to another denial groups site. These repeated hyperlinks and citations allow for readers to believe they are receiving unbiased, up to date information. Both sites lack credibility with external references which creates an ignorant community. The use of hyperlinks enables visitors to no longer think of the work since most viewers do not actively follow and verify if the information is accurate. Hyperlinks create a virtual space between the group’s Facebook page and the original source. 

Climate Change Denial

    Each of the groups also use rhetorical strategies to help boost the number of people that are engaging with their sites. Climate change denial groups collectively function together through their presence online. Both groups use strategies such as belittling the opposing side. Bloom explains how they use words such as libtards (liberals added with dumb), communism, and Nazis to describe the opposing side. WUWT in specific, aims to threat and mock climate change enthusiasts. They are known for ganging up on specific environmentalists and state death threats or the involvement of guns. Both websites try to mislead their readers using their headlines. For example, WUWT uses the headline, “CO2 levels have been higher in the past” to make it seem as though CO2 is not a factor to global warming. Bloom responds to this headline by stating, “Isolated lines of argument, including the claim that “CO2 has been higher in the past,” is severed from its context (that “past” was 3.6 million years ago, well before humans evolved) and is used as a response to an argument about global warming in a way that allows the speaker to seem educated” (pg. 31). Although the statement is true, WUWT had stretched the truth to make it seem as though the “past” was recent. 

    Overall, it seems as though the average environmentalist in our community cares more about their appearance of being aware of science information rather than if it is false information. We are so quick to believe information that is seen on the internet without taking the time to inspect the source. Bloom suggests, “If the solution to climate change relies on our communicative potential to tackle it, then these sites are roadblocks towards that progress” (pg. 32).  Facebook groups like WUWT and GWPF block real scientific evidence from being shared. In order to stop the spread of false global warming information, we must inform others about these sites and their lack of credibility. Sites like Facebook are unable to filter every post to see if it shares accurate information.  We must be mindful of the information that floats around the internet.