RQ$ on Sharing the Earth

RQ$ on Sharing the Earth

Elizabeth Ammons and Modhumita Roy

Elizabeth Ammons is an author or editor of many titles and Harriet H. Fay Professor of Literature at Tufts University. At the University, she teaches courses on Environmental Justice.

Modhumita Roy is the author of many essays on empire, culture, and social justice and, at the same time, an associate professor of English at Tufts University. Roy teaches courses on non-Western women writers and fiction.

Reading #1: A Declaration from the Poor Oppressed People of England

Gerrard Winstanley authored a Declaration from the Poor Oppressed People of England in 1649. The publication in which it originally appeared in The Law of Freedom in a Platform in 1650. The author’s main concern was calling upon the members of parliament and the entire leadership of the country to honor the promises that were implicit in parliament’s declaration of a free commonwealth.

Gerrard Winstanley, those in power, misuse their power to harm the environment by cutting down trees and disregarding the less fortunate in society. The author further says that the land that those in power occupy was grabbed by their ancestors, who left others landless.

The author believes that insights related to the class can be used to bring about environmental justice and protect the environment. Those in power should regard the less fortunate. Those in higher class should not use their power to discriminate against the less fortunate in society; instead, they should promote environmental justice and protect the environment.
Reading #2: What Holds the Water, What Holds the Light

What Holds the Water, What Holds Linda Hogan authored the Light. It was first published in 1995, and it is found in a book titled Dwellings: A Spiritual History of the Living World. Hogan is concerned with how humanity is detached from the natural world, arguing that people do not know how to treat nature.

The author explains how a woman was almost killed because of pearl hence uses gender and class to explain how heartless humans can be. Hogan narrates instances in which she has seen humans not being generous the way nature is.  She is against humans colonizing and conquering others because it makes them destroy nature, something they cannot control or possess. Hogan asserts that the idea of domination of others can contribute to the destruction of the environment and promote environmental injustice.

Hogan believes that if humans can take care of nature using the authority that they have then, environmental justice and protection can be enhanced. Those in higher classes should commit to protecting the environment instead of destroying it.

Reading #3: Whose Earth Is It, Anyway?

Whose Earth Is It, Anyway? Was authored by James H. Cone and was first published in 2007. It was first published by the church in the form of a sermon.

The concern of the author was how racism is linked to environmental degradation.

Cone explains the impact of racism on environmental degradation and injustice. He says that racism has contributed significantly to environmental challenges. Cone asserts that the same rule that promoted slavery and segregation, as well as white supremacy, is similar to that which is used to exploit animals and the destruction of nature.

He posits that justice cannot be segregated. Fighting for life in all its forms requires an integration of justice to promote environmental justice and protect it. The same energy that racism is fought should be translated to that which is used to fight environmental injustice.

Reading #4: “Ogoni! Ogoni!” – “To Mandy Garner” – “Summing-Up: Defence Statement”

“Ogoni! Ogoni!” – “To Mandy Garner” – “Summing-Up: Defence Statement” was authored by Ken Saro Wiwa. Heinemann African Writers Series first published it in 2002. Ken Saro Wiwa’s concern was the earth and human justice.
Wiwa explains how class and ethnicity has played a role in subjecting the environment to injustice and harming the environment. He explains how the Shell company used the Ogoni people’s land and the way the Nigerian military maimed and killed the people who protested against the use of their land.

Wiwa believes that if his community were not small as it was, probably the government, which represents those in class, would not have subjected their environment to injustice. They would not have suffered from fighting for their rights. The government has a role in protecting its people and the environment instead of destroying it.

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