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Becky Frawley
David Hubert
POLS 1100-40
08/03/15
Civil Disobedience and Climate Change
No challenge poses a greater threat to our future and future generations than our
changing climate. (Climate Change: Obama Unveils Clean Power Plan) President Obama
recently addressed the gravity of climate change in a speech he gave about his Clean Power Plan.
The Clean Power Plan is the latest attempt to combat the biggest source of carbon dioxide
emissions, power plants. The plan is requiring states to reduce the amount of carbon power plants
release into the atmosphere. According to CNN.com, Even before the rule was announced,
many states announced plans to fight it, including some vows to take the administration to court
over the new rules. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged states not to comply with the
plan in a letter to all 50 governors. It is evident that the government will not agree on measures
to combat climate change. Throughout history, when the government failed the people, civil
disobedience was essential in creating the change Americans wanted to see. Civil disobedience
has already played a crucial role in combating threats to our climate and will continue to be
important in the fight to save our future on this planet.
Many of the United States most important historical changes were brought about by civil
disobedience. When the people felt that legal means of addressing concerns did not work they
turned to civil disobedience. The Womens Suffrage Movement lasted from 1848 to 1920.
Women fought for equal rights for decades through protests, marches and education. According
to History.com women protestors were arrested in November of 1917 for picketing outside the

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Whitehouse. The efforts and sacrifices of activists over the years proved worth it when women
were granted the same rights rights and responsibilities of citizenship as men on August 26,
1920. Civil disobedience was important in abolishing slavery. Many people such as Harriet
Tubman, Fredrick Douglas, Susan B. Anthony, stood up against the government and the injustice
of slavery. According to PBS.com Harriet Tubman brought over 300 slaves to freedom through
the Underground Railroad which was illegal and could have resulted in severe consequences for
Tubman. Despite the dangers of what Tubman was doing, she chose to do what she believed was
right. Tubmans and countless others risks were not in vain, in 1865 the 13th Amendment
abolished slavery.
Henry David Thoreau said, Let every man make known what kind of government
would command his respect, and that will be one step towards obtaining it. (Civil Disobedience)
He believed firmly in the use of civil disobedience to motivate change in the government.
Thoreau was opposed to slavery and refused to pay his poll tax. He was even put in jail for a
night because of it. In his essay on civil disobedience he writes Thus the state never
intentionally confronts a mans sense, intellect or moral but only his body, his senses. This fate
was shared by Rev Martin Luther King Jr. when he was put in jail along with fellow protesters in
Birmingham, Alabama after the court ruled that protests could not be held in Birmingham. Rev.
Martin Luther King wrote from jail, It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in
Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the citys white power structure left the Negro
community with no alternative. (Letter from Birmingham Jail) This reinforces that citizens have
resorted to civil disobedience when the government was failing them.
Civil disobedience has already played an important role in terms of the environment. In
the early 80s there were protests in Warren County, North Carolina to oppose the building of a

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landfill that would store PCBs. The protests resulted in over 500 arrests, put the term
Environmental Racism on the map and prompted a study by the U.S. General Accounting
Office, Siting of Hazardous Waste Landfills and Their Correlation with Racial and Economic
Status of Surrounding Communities. (Environmental Justice in the Twenty-First Century) Years
later, the 1991 First People of Color Environment Leadership Summit commenced to address
environmental problems happening to colored people in the U.S. and around the world. The
meeting demonstrated that it is possible to build a multicultural grassroots movement around
environmental and social justice. (Environmental Justice in the Twenty-First Century) On
September 27, 1991 the delegates of the Summit adopted the 17 Principles of Environmental
Justice. Principle number 5 states, Environmental justices calls for universal protection from
nuclear testing and the extraction, production and disposal of toxic/hazardous wastes and poisons
that threaten the fundamental right to clean air, land, water and food.. Today, our government is
not upholding justice for our environment.
It is impossible to ignore the signs of climate change and devastation is present all over
the globe. The Environment Protection Agency has this currently posted on its website:
The evidence is clear. Rising global temperatures have been accompanied by
changes in weather and climate. Many places have seen changes in rainfall,
resulting in more floods, droughts, or intense rain, as well as more frequent and
severe heat waves. The planet's oceans and glaciers have also experienced some
big changes - oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, ice caps are
melting, and sea levels are rising. As these and other changes become more
pronounced in the coming decades, they will likely present challenges to our
society and our environment.

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This website is a government website and I would like to point out the language used in
the last sentence, the words will and likely. The word will puts the problem in the future
tense, and the word likely leaves room for doubt. Climate change is a problem now and there
is evidence to support it. The government is failing to educate the reality of the situation. It is
using language in climate change education to lead people to believe that the effects of climate
change are not as imminent as they are. The EPA states that carbon dioxide accounts for 82% of
the greenhouse gases emitted in the U.S. and that carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for
thousands of years. What we release now will be harmful still, thousands of years in the future.
Despite the wealth of information available on the harmful effects of carbon emissions, the
government cannot agree on legislation to reduce oil dependency. As soon as President Obama
released his Clean Power Plan, legislators were writing letters of opposition. The American
Legislative Exchange Council reports that 32 states have legislators that express firm opposition
to the Clean Power Plan. This Plan is the biggest move toward a more livable future and it may
be squashed before it does any good. While the government squabbles over who is right,
Americans are out there fighting for the safety of the planet and future generations.
Number 5 of the Environmental Principles of Justice states, Environmental justice
affirms the fundamental right to political, economic, cultural and environmental selfdetermination of all peoples. People of America are fighting for environmental justice through
civil disobedience. Recently, Environmental Activists in Portland, Oregon lowered themselves
with ropes from St. Johns Bridge in attempt to block Shells icebreaker from heading to the artic
to drill for oil. The activists used portaledges and had supplies for days. The activist were clearly
ready to be there as long as it took to stand up for what they believed was right. According to the
Seattle Times the ship is essential to the oil drilling operation because it carries important safety

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equipment needed before drilling begins. Seattle has been at the center of the protest movement
as activists rallied against Shells use of Terminal 5 at the Port of Seattle as a base for its offshore
Arctic fleet. Mayor Ed Murray joined the opposition, saying that oil rigs are part of the past and
the city needs to move toward a clean energy future. (Seattletimes.com)
400 protestors gathered on a beach in Maui to protest the Trans Pacific Partnership. They all
stood blowing on conch shells to call out to others to stand up for the land and people. The
protesters believe that the TTP would have a negative effect on the environment. U.S. News
reports that event organizer, Trinette Furtado says, "Today is a call to attention, to join together
against this attempt to put profits over people. These are just 2 very recent events to illustrate
that Americans are standing up to the government and asking for change.
There are many more events and people who have stood up for environmental justice and
even faced consequences from the government. Because of the people who were willing
sacrifice, civil disobedience has triumphed when the government failed to serve justice to the
people. Climate change is happening and it will not lessen unless legislation is made to stomp
down our dependency on fossil fuels. Civil disobedience seems to be our only hope to enact
change and save our future generations on mother earth.

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Works Cited
Bullard, Robert. Environmental Justice in the Twenty-First Century, The Quest for
Environmental Justice: Human Rights and the Politics of Pollution. Robert Bullard (ed).
(San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 2005). P. 19-21, 25-34. ISBN: 1-57805-120-7

First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit, 1991. Principles of

Environmental Justice, Toxic Struggles: The Theory and Practice of Environmental
Justice. (Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers, 1993). p. 237-239. ISBN: 086571-269-7

King, Jr., Martin Luther. Letter from Birmingham Jail, in Robert Solomon,
Introducing Philosophy: A Text with Integrated Readings. (5th ed.) (Fort Worth, TX:
Harcourt Brace Publishers, 1993). p. 825-829). ISBN: 0-15-500376-3

Thoreau, Henry David. Civil Disobedience, in Robert Solomon, Introducing

Philosophy: A Text with Integrated Readings. (5th ed.) (Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace
Publishers, 1993). p. 821-824. ISBN: 0-15-500376-3

Rep. Lockhart, Thomas, Rep. Bette Grande, and Rep. Chuck Martin. "States Are Engaging EPA
on Clean Power Plan." The State Factor (2014): n. pag. American Legislative Council.
Web. 6 Aug. 2015.

"Basics."EPA.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency,n.d.Web.07Aug.2015.

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"Climate Change: Obama Unveils Clean Power Plan - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., 3 Aug.
2015. Web. 03 Aug. 2015.

"Environmentalists, Union Members Protest Pacific Trade Pact Being Negotiated at Maui
Resort." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 30 July 2015. Web. 08 Aug. 2015

"Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Greenhouse Gases Overview." EPA. Environmental Protection

Agency, n.d. Web. 07 Aug. 2015

"The Fight for Womens Suffrage." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 06 Aug.
2015.

"Harriet Tubman." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 06 Aug. 2015.

"Obama Unveils Major Climate Change Proposal - CNNPolitics.com." CNN. Cable News
Network, 3 Aug. 2015. Web. 03 Aug. 2015

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"Shell Icebreaker Moves out as Protesters in Portland Dangle from Bridge to Block It." The
Seattle Times. N.p., 29 July 2015. Web. 04 Aug. 2015.