Environmental & Social Justice

“(Fair trade) is more than a market,” said Christopher Bacon, an assistant professor of environmental politics and policy at Santa Clara University. “It’s a set of social relationships between those that grow the coffee and those that drink it.” Read the full piece

"Investment decisions involving loss of land and access to critical resources like water can have a devastating impact on the poorest communities who are dependent on the land to feed their families and make a living. For such projects, there must be even greater transparency, due diligence, and attention to community rights to resources - not less," said Anne Perrault of the Centre of International Environmental Law, co-author of the briefing. Read the full story

Sara Mersha (2010) is the Director of Grantmaking and Advocacy for Grassroots International. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sara worked for 12 years as Lead Organizer and then Executive Director of Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE), a grassroots group serving low-income communities of color in Providence, RI. After serving as Visiting Faculty in the Ethnic Studies Department of Brown University, she began a master's degree at Brown's Center for Environmental Studies.

"I was excited about the idea of creating a project with people in my own state," she said. She approached Ethan Mitchell and Susannah McCandless, an Addison County couple that she knew offered help to the local farm-worker community, and through them met some of the region's Mexican laborers. Read the full story

When he became chief, many people wondered whether Mr. Cook, a skilled manager of Apple's operations, could ever rival the visionary influence of Mr. Jobs on Apple products. Instead, it appears Mr. Cook could make his earliest and most significant mark by changing how Apple's products are made. ''I want to give credit to Tim Cook for this,'' said Dara O'Rourke, associate professor of environmental and labor policy at the University of California, Berkeley. ''He's admitting they've got problems.''

Associate Professor Rachel Morello-Frosch M.P.H. '93, expert in environmental health and justice, has been honored with a 2012 Chancellor's Award for Public Service, in the area of Research in the Public Interest. She was selected for her high-level, rigorous research that contributes to the public good, her outstanding commitment to empowering underserved communities and building community partnerships, and her dedication to educating the next generation of scholars. Read the full story

As a doctoral student at UC Santa Cruz studying the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Ann Lopez was touched by the struggles of migrant workers and the relatives they left behind in Mexico. In response, she founded the Center for Farmworker Families in 2008 to provide education and economic assistance and advocacy. But the Felton resident and San Jose City College environmental science professor knew little about the business of operating a nonprofit so she turned to the International Humanities Center for help in handling donations and accounting services.