The contemporary environmental movement in the United States is really two parallel movements: the fight against chemical pollution and the fight against climate change. The struggle against toxic trespass is largely populated by women activists and scientists (with Rachel Carson as its guiding figure), while climate science and activism is dominated by men (with James Hansen and Bill McKibben as iconic figures). With climate change now an existential threat to children born today-and with a growing realization that toxic chemical production is driven by the economic needs of the energy industry-these gendered responses to the environmental crisis are rapidly evolving. As both a biologist and a leading figure in the national fight against fracking, Steingraber will explore the role of women in the construction of knowledge about the risks of extreme fossil fuel extraction, gender disparities in the distribution of economic costs and benefits, the disproportionate burden of harm that women experience when their communities become targeted for oil and gas extraction, and the rise of women leaders in the anti-fracking movement.
7-8:30 p.m. in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room at Pitt (3959 Fifth Ave., 15213). For more information visit the Gender, Sexuality, & Women's Studies website.
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