Analyze

Sylvia Wynter (2003) suggests that our current struggles in Western colonized society regarding racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, ethnicism, climate change, environmental destruction, and the unequal distribution of resources are rooted in what she argues is the overrepresentation of the descriptive statement of Man as human, which only recognizes white, wealthy, able-bodied, heterosexual men as "human." As such, just as I argue Black feminist writers and scholars have drawn on speculative methods and Afrofuturism, the use of twentieth-century technology and speculative imagination to address issues within Black and African diasporic communities (see Dery & Dery, 1994), to insist on and explore the full humanity of Black girls, women, and femmes, so too have Black and African diasporic scholars called on Afrofuturism to imagine new ways technology and traditional knowledge practices can address environmental injustice. Suékama (2018) argues that as a form of resistant knowledge building and theorizing, an Afrofuturist approach to environmentalism “integrates speculation with the ecological and scientific, and the spiritual or metaphysical'' to make our environmental justice less European, male, human, (and I would add capitalist) centered. Thus, an Afrofuturist approach to environmental injustice asks us to think about our collective struggle for environmental justice as a part of and connected to other forms of systemic oppression rooted in the rejection of African diasporic and Indigenous people and their knowledge practices through the overrepresentation of Man as human in Western society. In this way, a speculative and Afrofuturist approach to environmental injustice draws on African diasporic knowledge practices in conjunction with modern and traditional technologies to imagine new solutions to environmental injustice that center the needs, values, and traditional practices of African diasporic people. 

Image source: Still from "Pumzi" Directed by Wanuri Kahiu

Peterson-Salahuddin, Chelsea. 2023. "An Afrofuturist Approach to Unsettling Environmental injustice." In 4S Paraconference X EiJ: Building a Global Record, curated by Misria Shaik Ali, Kim Fortun, Phillip Baum and Prerna Srigyan. Annual Meeting of the Society of Social Studies of Science. Honolulu, Hawai'i, Nov 8-11.

In terms of an overview, I thought that the event was a good review and summary of the international offenses of Formosa Plastics. As a researcher, I would like to know more about the different panelists' views on what can be done in each setting, as many have stated a lot of the historical offenses but left out their answers to the lead organizers' questions posed in the beginning of the event. 

The concept of accountability was repeatedly brought up throughout this event. Lawyer Larochelle has stated, "There is no clear path for someone to hold accountability for what happened; there is a gap, accountability gap that exists all over. People need to organize, lawyers, academics."

Philippe Larochelle, a lawyer that works out of Montreal Canada but has been working on international criminal law cases and class action on environmental matters, which has led to his work now with Nancy Bui on Formosa. 

Larochelle did his best to address a few of the questions posed by the lead organizers in the beginning of the event: 

What are the main injustices happening with Formosa Plastics Corporation?

What do you think should be done?

Out of many of the panelists, I found Larochelle to be one of the few that really attempted to address these questions and answer to best of his expertise on the legal matters surrounding the Formosa case in Vietnam and Taiwan. Many Zoom attendees wanted him to expand on his statement of how Taiwan's stance as "not completely a country" making it challenging to operate in that environment when it comes to international law. Later on, he answered via Zoom chat that there is a disconnect between Taiwan and international law as there is no access to UN special procedures, but it is "very possible to sue Formosa there". 

Diane Wilson: advocate in Calhoun County, Texas 

Paul Jobin: a sociologist, academic at a university in Taiwan 

Ta Du’c Tri:  mayor of the city of westminster, Vietnamese-American

   -The mayor spoke about the importance of this event to Vietnamese-Americans and the community in Westminster.

Nancy Bui: spoke on what she’s observed in the Formosa-Vietnam Case

    -In April 2016, Formosa dumped chemicals, metals, into Vietnam waters and because of the delay in recognizing the problem, the Vietnamese government took over 3 months to recognize this issue. Two law companies; 800 something victims are to sue he Formosa in Taiwan and the U.S.

This event was held at the University of California, Irvine in-person on campus and over Zoom. "This seminar will focus on harms caused by the operations of Formosa Plastics Corporation in Taiwan, Vietnam and the United States, focusing on coastal communities. Panelists include people who have spent years working to address these harms in different ways." (DisasterSTS). The lead organizers include Tim Schutz and Kim Fortun.

The IAEA is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of atomic technology and serve as an international regulator to promote safety and eliminate proliferation of nuclear weapon technology. According to the IAEA’s mission statement: “The International Atomic Energy Agency:  is an independent intergovernmental, science and technology-based organization, in the United Nations family, that serves as the global focal point for nuclear cooperation; assists its Member States, in the context of social and economic goals, in planning for and using nuclear science and technology for various peaceful purposes, including the generation of electricity, and facilitates the transfer of such technology and knowledge in a sustainable manner to developing Member States; develops nuclear safety standards and, based on these standards, promotes the achievement and maintenance of high levels of safety in applications of nuclear energy, as well as the protection of human health and the environment against ionizing radiation; verifies through its inspection system that States comply with their commitments, under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and other non-proliferation agreements, to use nuclear material and facilities only for peaceful purposes.” (iaea.org)

The membership of the IAEA consists of 168 countries as of February 2016. Membership includes all major countries and every nuclear power other than North Korea. To become a member state, a country must submit an application which is then reviewed by the IAEA Board of Governors who determine if the applying country is willing and able to uphold the charter. Then the general conference must approve the application and grant the state membership. It is important to know that a country does not need to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to be a member of the IAEA. Currently India, Israel, Pakistan, and the South Sudan have not signed and North Korea is withdrawn. (iaea.org)

 The mission of the IAEA is to promote and help the development of peaceful nuclear technologies and promote safety standards as well as inspect compliance to the commitments to non-proliferation treaties. (iaea.org)

                The IAEA has worked with Iran to complete seven projects and has another nine in the works for development of nuclear power, spent fuel processing, radiopharmaceuticals, heavy water, and security projects. (en.mehrnews.com/)

                The IAEA just held a conference in Manila to assist the Philippines in determining whether or not to revive its mothballed nuclear power plant, under the larger umbrella of the future of nuclear in the Asia-Pacific. (bworldonline.com)

                The agency also responded to the Fukushima incident. During the incident, they assisted Japan by analyzing a plethora of data and sending recommendation and results of their work. Over the last 5 years, the IAEA has sent ten expert missions and will assist in decommissioning the plant. Meanwhile, the IAEA is helping with monitoring leak/contamination management and managing radioactive waste. They are furthering first response efforts by hosting drills to better train and equip first responders for nuclear disasters. (iaea.org)

The IAEA’s approach is to be a friend of the countries and nuclear partners of those countries which hold IAEA membership. One of the IAEA’s missions is to promote nuclear power while on the other hand its other mission is to promote safety and check adherence to the nuclear treaties, agreements, and standards.