The Climate Crisis & The Media’s Message
By Gillian Gravatt
The Progressive Teen Contributor
Over the past few months, climate protests — predominantly led by youth — have taken the world by storm. It seems increasingly true that everyone has something to say about the current climate crisis, but are some voices heard louder than others?
For many years, white men dominated the environmental field; a study conducted by Green 2.0 (previously the Green Diversity Initiative) found that in 2014, people of color held only 15.5% of environment-related government positions in the United States and only 12% of leadership positions in environmental foundations. Currently, many organizations attempt to change these statistics. The NAACP has an Environmental and Climate Justice Program providing support for community leaders of color in the environmental movement, and educating the public about the impact climate change has on low-income communities and communities of color: an impact that is disproportionately great. Efforts like the NAACP’s appear to be making tangible change; according to the Washington Post, more than one-third of the protesters in attendance at the September 20th climate protest in Washington, D.C. were people of color.
However, it is hard to deny the disparity in media coverage between climate protests and other protests in which people of color have played larger roles. The Black Lives Matter movement, for example, has mostly been portrayed in a much more controversial light than the climate movement. While the young faces of the whitewashed climate movement are made heroes, the young faces of the Black Lives Matter movement are villainized and stereotyped. While climate-strikers are applauded and praised for their indignant anger, BLM protesters are ridiculed for theirs. Both of these movements are fueled by a passion and need for justice; both groups are fighting for their right to live without fear… so why are they treated so differently?
Throughout history, many instances have demonstrated the contrasting reactions that anger can provoke depending on its source. In the early 1900s, for example, wealthy, white women’s protests were more accepted by lawmakers than those of a lower socio-economic caliber in both the fight for women’s suffrage and for worker’s rights. In some ways, this principle can be applied to the climate movement; the opinions of white youth are being emphasized more than youth of color because the media thinks their thoughts will be more well-received. The United States has made and continues to make great progress toward equality of treatment and opportunity for all. However, it is impossible to deny racial bias still exists in not only individuals but institutions. This can be seen in the difference in reaction between the climate movement and the Black Lives Matter movement. There has been a resounding lack of backlash against climate protesters, aside from snide remarks from those who disagree with the concept of climate change. On the other hand, the backlash against the Black Lives Matter movement was strong enough to create its own movement: All Lives Matter. Anger against injustice, when coming largely from people of color, has been misconstrued and manipulated into an attack on white people; something that it is not and has never been.
The coverage of the climate crisis also demonstrates a general flaw in the media today. In an era when politics and news are so heavily partisan, the goal of the mass media tends to be to tell the people what they want to hear, not necessarily what they need to. They portray the message that will be better received so as not to risk their success, and although their ratings may benefit, their journalistic integrity does not. The media’s priority should be to portray the truth. As such, their coverage of the climate crisis should go beyond what is currently being practiced; media outlets should make a conscious effort to include the voices of a diverse sample of activists and protesters, as well as analyzing the impacts of climate change on people from a variety of backgrounds and communities. The American people need and deserve to be informed on an issue that is, and will continue to be incredibly impactful on their lives.
