From environmental disasters to eco-grief: CSU’s Center for Environmental Justice aims to find sustainable ground

Contact for reporters:
Allison Sylte
(720)-849-1907
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Note to journalists: CSU Center for Environmental Justice Co-Founder and Associate Professor of Sociology Stephanie Malin is available for interviews. More information can be found at https://col.st/GUC3q. All assets — including photos and podcast audio/transcripts — are also available for media use.

A train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, leads to the dumping of 100,000 gallons of hazardous chemicals and forces the evacuation of the small, working-class community. Lead and other contaminants are discovered in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, where more than 40% of people live below the poverty level. It takes more than seven years to replace the lead pipes and leads residents to develop a deep distrust in the city’s water safety.

When people typically think of environmental injustice, they often only think of these kinds of big, headline-grabbing events. But according to Stephanie Malin, associate sociology professor and co-founder of Colorado State University’s Center for Environmental Justice, the issues of access and inequality are far more ubiquitous.

“Environmental justice has always been important, but right now is kind of the zeitgeist moment for environmental justice in a lot of ways,” Malin said. “It’s almost hard to miss the environmental injustices going on around us, but also, this exciting movement is an opportunity to build better systems.” 

In a recent episode of The Audit podcast, host Stacy Nick spoke with Malin about the history of the environmental justice movement, what impact a renewed focus from the current political administration could have, and how we as individuals can turn climate grief and fatigue into hope and action. Malin also spoke about her own research, including current work with the LatinX health equity nonprofit, Cultivando, into the health impacts on those living near the Suncor oil refinery in Commerce City, Colorado.

Listen to the episode here.

About Stephanie Malin

Stephanie Malin is an associate professor of sociology and co-founder of CSU’s Center for Environmental Justice. Malin specializes in environmental and natural resource sociology, governance and rural development, focusing on the community impacts of resource extraction, energy production and environmental deregulation. 

As an environmental sociologist, Malin’s main interests include environmental justice, environmental health, social mobilization and the socio-environmental effects of market-based economies. She co-leads a Water Center Research Team project examining environmental justice issues among various water users in the Rio Grande Basin. 

Malin is also the author of “The Price of Nuclear Power: Uranium Communities and Environmental Justice” and co-author of “Building Something Better: Environmental Crises and the Promise of Community Change,” demonstrating the ways that communities adapt in the face of crises. She has also published her research in journals such as Social Forces, Environmental Politics, the Journal of Rural Studies, and Society and Natural Resources.