About the book Environmental Injustice and Catastrophe. How Global Insecurities Threaten the Future of Humanity, edited by Baris Cayli Messina, published by De Gruyter in 2023.
Our old planet is now like a fragile crystal, shimmering yet perilously close to cracking. Earth shattered records to claim its hottest year in history in 2024 as temperatures have been surging so dramatically that the planet momentarily crossed a critical climate threshold. And the recent fiery wrath of wildfires in Los Angeles and the menace of nuclear fallout with the Ukrainian war exposed the risks we have been facing for a long time. These catastrophic outcomes force us to reflect on a bitter truth: we are architects of our risky future.
Who are the forces shaping the conditions that endanger our environment? To what extent do these forces affect the future of our planet? How can we build sustainable communities in an uncertain world? In the book I edited, Environmental Injustice and Catastrophe: How Global Insecurities Threaten the Future of Humanity, we tried to clarify these complexities and offer answers to these critical questions and urgent challenges.
The drive for infinite economic growth is fuelled by capitalism’s relentless hunger. It has turned the global market of production into a battlefield where profits are prioritized over safety and sustainability. In this game, the environment becomes collateral damage, a pawn sacrificed for short-term gains. The toxic entanglement of state power and corporate greed accelerates this cycle of destruction. It leaves the planet gasping for breath. Climate change is the brightest alarm. Yet it is too often ignored, or its impact was seen as temporary. When the catastrophic fires end, we suddenly forget it and continue our lives as if it had never happened.
The glaciers which were once like sentinels of our planet’s stability now retreat like wounded soldiers. They are melting into oceans that threaten to consume our coasts. The air we breathe isn’t as clean as decades ago. At the heart of this crisis, the ignorance of science or wrong policies play an important role. But, more importantly, we need to critically question our activities and what we are doing. We also need to rethink what we are becoming: we are now a human species at war with its own home.
Different chapters in the book cover diverse subjects but all take attention to the same principal questions: Will we continue to turn our heads away from the fragile crystal of our planet, or will we find the courage to preserve its brilliance for generations to come? The answer lies not in distant possibilities but in the choices we make today.
Environmental Injustice: A Global Crisis
A family watching their home consumed by relentless flames have to cope with the trauma that doesn’t fade with the smoke. It remains with them and embeds itself in their memories. A neighborhood swept away by a flood or transformed into a rubble by an earthquake have similar collective trauma. For the survivors, the pain of catastrophe passes down to the next generation like an unwanted heirloom.
Disasters may be also equalizers. They can shatter the lives of both the wealthy and the poor, but its harms are deeper than material loss. Yet, when the dust settles, inequality rears its head. Wealthier nations have resources to protect their citizens quicker and more effectively. In contrast, a single disaster is not just an event but an enduring crisis for developing nations. They struggle to fix what is broken.
The absence of global coordination and cohesive environmental policies increases the divide and exacerbates the challenge.
It takes more time to rebuild infrastructure, to adapt to a changing climate, or to recover from the material losses. The burden they bear is heavier. And their path to recovery is steeper. The psychological wounds may be shared across borders; however, the resources to heal them are not. In this cruel calculus of environmental risk, it is the vulnerable who pay the highest price.
Environmental injustice is not just about geography. It is about power, politics, and profits. Corporations and governments frequently prioritize short-term economic gains over the welfare of communities and the sustainability of the planet. This brutal and relentless pursuit of profit leaves the most vulnerable communities to cope with the fallout. Unbreathable air, contaminated water, and uninhabitable lands manifest the environmental crisis we face. The absence of global coordination and cohesive environmental policies increases the divide and exacerbates the challenge.
Human Activity and Global Insecurities
These environmental crises aren’t random acts of nature. They are the direct results of human actions. We edge closer to this breaking point with every tree cut down, every river polluted, and every species lost. Natural disasters are as old as humanity itself. Yet, these natural events have been transformed into catastrophic forces now.
The evidence is everywhere: rising sea levels engulf coastal communities and erase homes. Displaced communities cope with psychological and social pain. Wildfires tear through forests; they reduce entire ecosystems to ash and smoke. And cities are suffocating under skies heavy with pollution.
These disasters aren’t isolated incidents. Human actions play a principal role. Wars over shrinking resources worsen the situation. Moreover, the relentless exploitation of vulnerable populations and the paralysis of political inaction leave communities unprepared for these catastrophes and helpless in their aftermath.
Each of these factors contributes to the fragile web of crises on our planet. Each passing day makes the Earth more vulnerable. This is the world we have shaped, and these are the consequences we must face.
This crisis isn’t just about nature; it’s about us. Human behavior has increased global insecurities by pushing the delicate balance of life on Earth to its limits. The harmony that once existed between people and the environment is being destroyed.
The Role of Power, Conflict, and Governance
The failure and type of governance lie at the core of environmental injustice and catastrophe. Power flows like a river, carving paths that determine who prospers and who drowns. Those at the top decide how resources are shared, how risks are handled, and who bears the brunt of environmental harm. Corruption, greed, and a fixation on profits create a system where accountability for human actions is too complex to identify—or worse, legally impossible to enforce.
We should confront the root causes of environmental injustice and rethink about our shared responsibility.
Cities subject to gentrification sweep low-income families out of their homes, leaving them to navigate polluted neighborhoods. In rural areas, the story isn’t different. Lands are stripped of their resources. Communities are left parched and their fields are barren. Their futures are stolen from them.
These patterns are not accidents; they represent the pieces of a machine designed to prioritize profit over well-being. Each cog in this machine spins for growth. It grinds down the most vulnerable with devastating impact. This is why the risks we face are not only ecological; they are fundamentally social and political.
If this cycle continues without meaningful change, the gap will be greater between those who can shield themselves from disasters and those left exposed.
A Call to Action
We are in the age of environmental crisis. It invokes clear and urgent demands. The crisis pulls at our attention and the time to act is not tomorrow—it is now. Waiting for governments or international corporations to lead the way is the same of expecting from a fox to guard the henhouse. History has shown us their priorities: they prefer profits over the planet; short-term gains over long-term survival.
Real change starts with us. It is the ripple from a single stone tossed into a still lake. Social movements, grassroots activism, and global solidarity are that stone. Climate protests raise public awareness and ignite a collective call for action. These movements create the pressure for leaders to act. However, this action must go beyond the simple gestures of current meetings where world leaders gather in a country only to leave without meaningful agreements or tangible change.
Change needs not only loud voices. It needs bridges; it needs connections between science, policy, and community action. Technology can help, but it is not enough. We must rethink how we value the earth, not as something to exploit but as something to protect. We must address the power imbalances that leave the vulnerable to bear the brutal outcomes of disasters. An old house with a cracked foundation can’t survive the test of time and our current system isn’t different. This is why it must be rebuilt with a commitment to a sustainable future.
The future of humanity stands on a knife’s edge. It is getting closer to collapse with every moment of inaction. Yet, with collective resistance, we can carve a path toward hope and social design. We should confront the root causes of environmental injustice and rethink about our shared responsibility. Time is running out and the choice is clear: to challenge environmental injustice or allow the balance to tip beyond recovery.
Further Reading
