NEWT Book Club

NEWT Book Club to Become Better Environmentalists

NEWT Book Club to Become Better Environmentalists

This year Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Co-Chairs, Julianne Rolf and Joshua Samba started a NEWT Book Club to encourage students, postdocs, staff, industry members, faculty, and alumni to learn how environmental engineering impacts the lives of those we serve. During the first term (September 1-October 30, 2021), 25 NEWT members and alumni participated in four simultaneous article/book clubs. 

Here is the synopsis of discussions from four book clubs conducted:

A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind, Harriet A. Washington

A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind, Harriet A. Washington

Harriet A. Washington did a great job of sharing stories and reminding us of the lives affected by pollution. As instructors, we should incorporate the lessons from this book into our classes' homework sets. We need scientists in power who understand the interconnectedness of the environment and the people who live in the communities exposed to pollution.

{Comments to the author}

Harriet A. Washington Tweet

Group’s favorite quotes from the book

“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.”—Chief Seattle
"Never forget that the numbers in your tables are human destinies, although the tears have been washed away." p. xviii
Why Every Environmentalist Should be Anti-Racist, Leah Thomas

Why Every Environmentalist Should be Anti-Racist, Leah Thomas (Article)

Leah Thomas's article is a great starting point for environmentalists. We need to continue having these tough conversations about environmental intersectionality so we can help those most affected by pollution by supporting them and working together to develop solutions.

Leah Thomas

{Comments to the author}

Leah Thomas Tweet

Group’s favorite quotes from the book

"Why is fighting for my humanity considered an optional or special add-on to climate justice?"
"[Intersectional environmentalism] brings injustices done to the most vulnerable communities, and the earth, to the forefront and does not minimize or silence social inequality."

Living Downstream: An Ecologist's Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment, Sandra Steingraber

Sandra Steingraber blended impactful statistics with a vulnerable personal narrative. Her book emphasized the harmful effects of living in areas rife with contamination, especially for children and the elderly. As environmentalists, we must be conscious of the chemicals and waste we introduce to the environment, as well as the lives that will be impacted for generations after these chemicals are used.

{Comments to the author}

Sandra Steingraber Tweet

Group’s favorite quotes from the book

“I am compelled to learn what I can about the chemicals that presided over the industrial and agricultural transformations into which I was born. Certainly, all of these substances have an ongoing biological presence in my life." pg. 7
"PCBs are why I'm unfamiliar with the taste of smallmouth bass and channel catfish. In fact, I have never eaten fish from my own river. State advisories warn women and children against doing so." pg. 7
"The assumption by the manufacturers of these waters pipes was that all the [tetrachloroethylene] would evaporate during the curing process. It did not." pg. 84

Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility, Dorceta Taylor

Toxic Communities by Dorceta Taylor is a carefully documented presentation of the history, complexities, and scholarship surrounding environmental racism and industrial pollution, and the communities that are impacted by them. She incorporates detailed case studies of pollution and toxic chemicals burdened disproportionately in low-income communities, communities of color, and Native American communities with theories and analysis of what leads to this inequity.

Dorceta Taylor

{Comments to the author}

Dorcetta taylor Tweet

Group’s favorite quotes from the book

"EJ activists also oppose corporations that split their operations - placing quarters and administrative office (the ‘clean’ part of their operations) in the business districts or suburbs of major cities of the North, while placing the extractive, processing, manufacturing, and disposal (the ‘dirty’ or ‘dangerous’) parts of their operations in minority and low-income communities."
"In short, the corporations extract resources, which are converted into wealth, while [Native Americans] labor in unsafe working conditions, live in poverty, and inherit perilous wastes."