Another point of the discussion was to link capitalism’s faulty role in the lack of environmental justice to explain how indigenous people are “powerless” against rich people who force environmental burdens, such as power plants, into their communities.

Speaker Kiva Franklin, pointed out the difficulty in convincing privileged individuals who are not as affected by climate change to sympathize with the many who have lost their homes and lives to environmental disasters.

Another example brought to light by the speakers were the Amazon fires which were set by the meat industry, a capitalist organization, to clear land for cattle.

Terms such as “environmental racism” were explained by the panelists, and how, for example, U.S. corporations are placing polluting companies and industries in China and India, which mainly target
people of lower income.

After the panel’s speakers answered questions asked by the moderator and had a brief break to enjoy refreshments, they answered questions from the audience. This dialogue brought together people with different opinions and fostered new ideas on ways to be eco-friendly.

Although many questions were answered, Franklin embraced the fact that attendees would leave with more questions than answers, encouraging people to seek climate justice and research the climate crisis outside of the panel.

“I think attending events like this, protesting, and really just getting a perspective that’s different from the one pushed from the fossil fuel industry that’s like your responsibility to change the climate crisis,” she said.

Violet Webster, the event’s moderator, said there are definitely plans to continue creating informative panels to inform Baruch students about the environmental crisis.

“We want to structure more informational forms so they can learn how to be more conscientious when they’re moving towards careers, voting, and being citizens of not just Baruch, but New York and then the world,” she said.