JIM HEEMSTRA
young people now who take the environment and climate and equity as their issue, and rightfully so. The millennials get knocked down a lot, but they have the wherewithal, I think, to change the world.” While environmental justice is a broad, interdisciplinary field, Bullard says without hesitation that climate change is the number-one environmental justice issue of the century. “The challenge is to get not only our government and the other governments of the world, but to get our organization leaders, faith leaders, and young people to really understand that they can make a difference,” Bullard says. “They can lend their voice to different issues in terms of clean energy and renewables. They can lend their voices to building healthy, safe, and sustainable communities; walkable communities; and good, clean, efficient transportation. We can change a lot of things just by organizing and mobilizing ordinary people. I don’t think the government can do as much as people can do on their own as a collective. “This is not a task for sprinters,” Bullard says. “It’s not a marathon. It’s a marathon relay. We have to run our 26 miles and then pass it off to the next group to run the next 26 miles.” VISIONS WWW.ISUALUM.ORG SPRING 2016
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