Van Tuyl Lecture, October 28, 2024, Student Center Ballroom B, 12-1pm

Ryan Emanuel, Duke University

Environmental Justice for Earth and Environmental Sciences

Abstract: Earth and environmental scientists sometimes think about our research as supporting efforts to promote environmental justice (i.e., environmental science for environmental justice). This framing is often true and can yield impactful science, but scientists can also benefit from flipping this perspective to consider how concepts and principles of environmental justice might sharpen our work as researchers (i.e., environmental justice for environmental science). This talk focuses on the idea that scientific research can be informed, strengthened, and even transformed through meaningful integration of environmental justice concepts, principles, and practices.  I bring these ideas to life via examples of long-term partnerships with Indigenous communities in North Carolina. These partnerships aim to identify and address the impacts of industrial livestock production, fossil fuel infrastructure, and climate change on culturally significant landscapes and waterways. Stories, examples, and other insights are drawn primarily from my new book, On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice.

Bio: Ryan Emanuel is an associate professor of hydrology at Duke University and an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.  He studies the movement and status of water in the environment, and he also studies historical and cultural aspects of water with special attention to Indigenous peoples’ enduring relationships with rivers, wetlands, and other waterscapes. His research group partners with Indigenous communities to identify and address threats to culturally important waters that stem from pollution, climate change, and unsustainable development.  Emanuel was formerly a faculty member in the College of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University and was a 2020-2021 Fellow at the National Humanities Center. He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia.

This lecture is scheduled in a hybrid format. If you would like to join the meeting please:

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://mines.zoom.us/j/96803494256?pwd=WTvLNZM9TMxwuZCLZfgC9xaWnIHDru.1
Meeting ID: 968 0349 4256
Password: 371453

Refreshments will be served.