Introduction
This guide is a collection of various types of open access (OA) resources about climate justice. This guide is not comprehensive or exhaustive. It is meant to act as a starting point for research and further learning in these topics.
Land Acknowledgement
I would like to acknowledge that the University of Windsor resides on the territories of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi [Bodéwadmi] who make up the Three Fires Council. I (the writer of this guide) am non-Indigenous and am also living on these same lands. As an uninvited presence, like many others, I feel it is imperative that we educate ourselves on the history and modern day protocols of these territories and its stewards. What this also includes is decolonizing our ideas of environmentalism and climate justice. This means learning about and supporting Indigenous Environmental Justice (IEJ) movements and water and land protectors.
Below are some resources to learn more about IEJ as well as about the history and culture of the Three Fires peoples. While you go through this guide consider how you can bring what you learn about decolonial practice and Indigenizing into your own research.
- Resources
Anishinabek Nation
A Road to Understanding Indigenous Culture
Indigenous Climate Action
Native Land
Our Hearts Are as One Fire: An Ojibway-Anishinabe Vision for the Future by Jerry FontainePollution Is Colonialism by Max Liboiron (This book is not OA. However, it is an informative and integral read to understand pollution from an anticolonial, Indigenous, specifically Métis, perspective. It is available through Leddy's collection.)
Background Information
Definitions
Open Access (OA) with regards to scholarly material is, research which is published digital, free, online, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. It still requires that authors be properly attributed for their work. (CARL-ABRC)
Climate Justice “looks at the climate crisis through a human rights lens and on the belief that by working together we can create a better future for present and future generations.” The climate crisis is not equitable in who bears its worst effects, thus climate justice is about shifting the narrative from ecological changes to a civil rights movement focused on working with those most impacted. (UN Sustainable Goals)
Indigenous Environmental Justice (IEJ) is an approach which intertwines Indigenous knowledges, principles, practices, and values into the study of the climate crisis and the environment. (YorkU Indigenous Environmental Justice Project)
Library Resources
Books
These are a selection of OA books on the topics of climate and Indigenous environmental justice. Find more books by searching OMNI, the library’s catalogue search using these tips.
Brown, M. T. (2022). A Climate of Justice: An Ethical Foundation for Environmentalism. LYRASIS. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77363-2
Dhillon, J. (Ed.) (2022). Indigenous Resurgence: Decolonialization and Movements for Environmental Justice. Berghahn Books. https://doi.org/10.3167/9781800732452
Fall, A. & Haas, R. (Eds.). (2022). Sustainable Energy Access for Communities. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68410-5
Henry, C., Rockström, J., & Stern, N. (2020). (Eds.). Standing up for a sustainable world: voices of change. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800371781
Jegede, A. O. (2016). The climate change regulatory framework and indigenous peoples’ lands in Africa: Human rights implications. Pretoria University Law Press (PULP).
Klepp, S. & Chavez-Rodriguez, L. (Eds.). (2018). A Critical Approach to Climate Change Adaptation: Discourses, Policies, and Practices. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315165448
Latola, K. & Savela, H. (Eds.). (2017). The Interconnected Arctic — UArctic Congress 2016. Springer Open. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57532-2
Magnusdottir, G. L. & Kronsell, A. (Eds.). (2021). Gender, Intersectionality and Climate Institutions in Industrialised States.. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003052821
Oguamanam, C. (Ed.). (2018). Genetic Resources, Justice and Reconciliation: Canada and Global Access and Benefit Sharing. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108557122
Parsons, M., Fisher, K., & Crease, R. P. (2021). Decolonising Blue Spaces in the Anthropocene. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61071-5
Satgar, V. (Ed.). (2018). The Climate Crisis: South African and Global Democratic Eco-Socialist Alternatives. Wits University Press. https://doi.org/10.18772/22018020541
Tsai, H., Lin, Y. & Bayrak, M. M. (Eds.). (2021). Indigenous Resilience and Indigenous Knowledge Systems in the context of Climate Change. MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute. https://doi.org/10.3390/books978-3-0365-2633-1
Wienhues, A. (2020). Ecological Justice and the Extinction Crisis: Giving Living Beings their Due. Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv16t671c.Finding Articles
The Leddy Library collection is a great place to start when looking for articles. To get started here are some Search Tips for OMNI and the library databases. OMNI brings up results from UWindsor as well as 15 other universities in Ontario. If you find material which isn’t available locally you can request it through OMNI. If the specific resource you need isn’t on OMNI at all you can use RACER to request it.
OMNI’s Advanced Search can be restricted to look for the exact type of material you need, as well as language, and currency. You can also filter a search by age, subject and more after it’s been conducted by using the panel on the left hand side of the page.
For example, I conducted a search for “environmental justice” specifying the material to articles. This brought up over 17,000 results. Since I only want OA material I applied the OA filter on the left hand side of the page. This reduced the results to just over 4000. You could keep filtering and specifying until you were looking at only the results relevant to your research.
Some premade searches to get you started:
“Indigenous environmental justice”
"climate justice"
decolonial climate
environment* justice AND indigen*Scholarly Journals
Leddy’s Journal List can be searched by title of journal. You can also browse by category. If you click into the environmental science category there are 176 results, and the OA journals are noted.
To search only OA journals the Directory of Open Access Journals is a great place to start.Databases
While OMNI is a great place to start, sometimes the most effective way to find OA materials is to go straight to OA databases.
Below are a few which can be searched for climate justice material:
Agricola
Arctic Science and Technology Information System (ASTIS)
Directory of Open Access Journals
Directory of Open Access Books
Fisheries and Oceans Canada Library
Open Access Publishing in European Networks (OAPEAN)
Open Aire Explore
OpenDOAR
Paperity
University of Windsor Scholarship, Publishing Resources and Courses
Research by UWindsor Faculty, Students and Alumni
The following are a few papers authored by UWindsor faculty, students and alumni on the topic of climate justice. More can be found in Scholarship at UWindsor, the university’s institutional repository.
Bedeau, K. (2006). Perceptions of health and environmental contamination on the Aamjiwnaang First Nation reserve (Ontario) (Publication No. 3035) [Master Thesis, University of Windsor]. Scholarship at UWindsor. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/3035
Budinsky, J. (2011). 'It's Not That Easy Being Green': Greenwashing of Environmental Discourses in Advertising (Publication No. 1) [Master Thesis, University of Windsor]. Scholarship at UWindsor. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/1
Cooke, S. J., Madliger, C. L., Cramp, R. L., Beardall, J., Burness, G., Chown, S. L., Clark, T. D., Dantzer, B., De La Barrera, E., Fangue, N. A., Franklin, C. E., Fuller, A., Hawkes, L. A., Hultine, K. R., Hunt, K. E., Love, O. P., MacMillan, H. A., & Mandelman, J. W. (2020). Reframing conservation physiology to be more inclusive, integrative, relevant and forward-looking: Reflections and a horizon scan. Conservation Physiology, 8 (1). https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/499
Galvao-Ferreira, P. (2017). Equitable Allocation of Climate Adaptation Finance - Considering Income Levels Alongside Vulnerability. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/lawpub/140
Galvao-Ferreira, P., & Mancilla, M. (2021). Indigenous Environmental Rights and Sustainable Development: Lessons from Totonicapán in Guatemala. The Cambridge Handbook of Environmental Justice and Sustainable Development, 164-182. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/lawpub/139
Ivanova, S. V., Kessel, S. T., Espinoza, M., McLean, M. F., O'Neill, C., Landry, J., Hussey, N. E., Williams, R., Vagle, S., & Fisk, A. T. (2020). Shipping alters the movement and behavior of Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), a keystone fish in Arctic marine ecosystems. Ecological Applications, 30 (3). https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/292
Kalajdzic, J. (2021). Climate Change Class Actions in Canada. Supreme Court Law Review, 2d, 100, 29-58. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/lawpub/120
MacNeil, M. A., Graham, N. A.J., Cinner, J. E., Dulvy, N. K., Loring, P. A., Jennings, S., Polunin, N. V.C., Fisk, A. T., & McClanahan, T. R. (2010). Transitional states in marine fisheries: Adapting to predicted global change. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 365 (1558), 3753-3763. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/398
Petkovic, M. (2009). From Environmental Activism to Consumer Action: A Historical Analysis of the Environmental Movement (Publication No. 4) [Master Thesis, University of Windsor]. Scholarship at UWindsor. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/4Publishing
The Leddy Library can help you publish open access e-books made available as PDFs, EPUB, and other formats. We can also help you with the production of Print on Demand books through the Createspace service which allows readers to discover and purchase print copies of your work on Amazon.
Our Digital Publishing Service is hosted on our Open Monograph Publishing (OMP) platform with support from OCUL's Scholars Portal.
University of Windsor faculty and staff interested in learning more about our digital publishing service should contact scholarship@uwindsor.ca.
The University also has access to Pressbooks, through eCampusOntario, another publishing venue.
Over 18,000 works of original scholarship from the University of Windsor are stored in the University’s Institutional Repository, Scholarship @ UWindsor.
All of the above propagated to OpenAire Explore, a global database of Open Access scholarship, accessible to the world!Courses offered by UWindsor
These are some of the undergraduate courses which tackle different aspects of the climate crisis. Listed A-Z by course code.
CMAF-3640. Media, Technology and the Environment
This course explores the relationship between media practices, representations, communication technologies and the environment. Topics may include: media constructions of the environment; mainstream and alternative media coverage of environmental movements and issues; environmental impact of communication practices, technological advancements and consumer culture; environmental themes in advertisements, corporate greenwashing. (Prerequisite: CMAF-2250 or CMAF-2750.)
ENVE-4810. Sustainability in Engineering
Environmental impact assessment. Biophysical and socioeconomic impacts from engineering activities, processes, and projects. Human health and environmental risk concepts. Introduction to life cycle analysis, corporate/industrial environmental management, and environmental management systems. Students will undertake various project related and problem-based assignments. (3 lecture, 2 tutorial hours a week.) (Credit may only be obtained for one of MECH-4228, or ENVE-4810).
ESCI-2210. Introduction to Climate Change
A study of the drivers of past, present, and future climate change. Topics include paleoclimate records, future climate projections (both global and regional), and the impact of these changes on the environment. The influence of politics and the media upon climate change are also explored. (Prerequisite: ESCI-1100 or ESTU-1100) (3 lecture hours a week.)
ESCI-3310. Global Water Crisis
Examination of the threats to global freshwater resources due to projected human population growth to 2050 and the potential impacts of this growth on water quantity and water quality. Application of the concept of the water, food, energy nexus to demonstrate how water consumption and virtual water transport through international trade of food and energy impact water availability and contribute to water stress to humans and to freshwater ecosystems. The course also examines interactions between water availability, climate change, water pollution, and trends in global consumer demands to address questions about the sustainability of our freshwater resources in the coming decades. (Prerequisite: ESCI-1100.) (3 lecture hours per week.)
ESCI-4500. Ecosystem Health
The fundamental mechanisms and processes that structure ecosystems, anthropogenic activities that can alter them, and the policy and management used to protect them. Through class discussions and case studies, students develop a practical, problem-solving approach to issues associated with ecosystem health. Topics include food web and ecosystem ecology, ecosystem models, anthropogenic stressors, management methods and models, and national and international policies. (3 lecture hours per week.)(Prerequisites: BIOL-2101 and ESCI-1100 or consent of instructor.)
ESTU-1100. Humans and the Environment - An Introduction to Environmental Studies
Humans use energy and resources from our natural surroundings to live, and to develop our societies and cultures. This use has an impact on other animals and plants, and on the air, water, and land. Our impact is now so great that we are in danger of depleting or destroying many of the natural systems on which we depend. This course will examine our relationship with, and impact on, the environment:, with reference to the physical, cultural, economic, political, and ethical elements. Sustainable practices will also be discussed. Topics may include: human sustainability and population growth, aquatic and terrestrial sustainability, food and agriculture, water resources, energy production, and climate change. (Can be taken as a Social Science option.) (Three lecture hours per week.)
HUGR-2490. Political Economy of Agriculture and Food
Study of the physical, cultural, economic, and political factors influencing the spatial patterns and regional problems of world agriculture. (3 lecture hours a week.) (Also offered in Political Science POLS-2490.)
LAWS-2180. Environmental Law
This course is intended to provide non-law students with a background in environmental law with an emphasis on Ontario environmental legislation. Topics include: introduction to common law, public participation, jurisdictional issues, environmental assessment, Ontario regulations covering air, water and waste management, enforcement, compliance and alternatives to regulations.
PHIL-2270. Environmental Ethics
What ethical obligations do we have to the non-human environment? The course examines various answers to that question. Topics may include: animal rights, the moral status of non-human life, the intrinsic value of ecosystems, the importance of wilderness, deep ecology, eco-feminism, economic development, environmentalism, and politics.
PHIL-2280. Technology, Human Values and the Environment
An exploration of the philosophically important ethical concepts of human nature, freedom, progress, the good life, moral responsibility, and the environment as these relate to advances in technology. Topics may include: pollution, mass production, the commodification of nature, new technologies (e.g.,biotechnology, nanotechnology).
PHIL-3300. Environmental Philosophy
This is an advanced philosophical exploration of some of the key intersections between humanity and the environment. The focus will be on articulating, understanding and evaluating important relations between the human and the non-human environment. Issues covered may include: the philosophy of nature, technology and environment, science and environment, metaphysics and environment, ecofeminism, radical ecology, and environmental politics. (Prerequisites: Semester 3 standing and at least one Philosophy course, or permission of the instructor)
POLS-2120. Environmental Policy and Politics
The course examines the domestic and international context of environmental policy-making in Canada. Topics examined may include global warming, Great Lakes pollution, and endangered species.
SACR-2270. Globalization, Development and Social Change
This course examines such issues as the impact of colonialism on global poverty and trade policies, global restructuring, neoliberal policies, global governance, poverty alleviation efforts, cultural resistance, gendered patterns of development, population displacements and popular responses to globalization. (Prerequisites: third semester standing.)
SACR-3400. Food and Global Sustainability
This course offers a comparative examination of the emergence of a global food system and its implications for culture, environment, working conditions, health, and population movements. (Prerequisites: one of SACR-1100, SACR-2130, SACR-2200, or SACR-2270 and semester 5 or higher
standing or instructor’s consent.)
SACR-3650. Green Criminology
This course will introduce undergraduate students to green criminology, a new and growing sub-field within criminology examining harms (criminal and otherwise) perpetrated against the environment and human and non-human animals. It examines the conceptual and theoretical developments within this field, as well as specific substantive harms, the various layers of actors involved, and the potentials and limitations of regulation. (Prerequisites: SACR-2600, SACR-2620 and semester 5 or higher standing).
Online Resources and Organizations
These web sites are a place to find more resources and learn about people in the climate justice movement.
Indigenous Resources
Climate Justice Resilience Fund
Grist
Indigenous Climate Action
The Indigenous Environmental (In)Justice Project
Inuit Circumpolar Council
NDN CollectiveCanadian Resources
David Suzuki Foundation
ecojustice
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Sierra Club Foundation
Windsor-Essex Climate Risk AtlasInternational Resources
Arctic Council
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Dr. April Anson’s Race and Nature, resources
Environment & Society Portal
Environmental Justice Atlas
Institute of Development Studies
The Life of Waste Virtual Exhibition
Places & Spaces
United Nations Sustainable Development
United States Environmental JusticeAudiovisual Resources
These videos are a great non-textual option. Check out the audio and video databases at Leddy to find more!
HESAPA - A LANDBACK FILM
Malcom Ferdinand – A Decolonial Ecology: Voices from the Hold of Modernity
Onjisay Aki International Climate Calls to Action
Robert Bullard: How Environmental Racism Shapes the US
Temperature Check
This is just how unfair climate change is
This guide was created by Pascal Calarco, Economics and Environment Librarian, and Kawmadie Karunanayake, Co-op Librarian. Please feel free to contact us with questions, comments, or further help in accessing or publishing OA material.
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