Alex Ghenis, Founder of Accessible Climate Strategies, Weighs in
It’s a phrase that can be seen plastered across sidewalks and stitched onto backpacks, a hot button issue for people that consider themselves budding environmentalists and climate justice warriors: ‘ban plastic straws’.
For a period of time, banning plastic straws picked up national momentum in the United States. Countless progressive counties and companies declared their commitment to the environment and quickly instated laws or regulations that did away with plastic straws. Climate justice advocates lauded the move towards paper straws -- or no straws at all -- as a win for all.
A win for all, perhaps, if the disability community is not to be included.
For some people with disabilities, plastic straws are the tool needed to drink. For some people with disabilities, a plastic straw cannot be quickly or easily replaced.
However, when deciding whether or not to ban plastic straws from their companies or counties, very few of these entities took a step back and conversed with the disability community to see if a sudden switch away from plastic straws would be feasible for all members of the community.
The intersectionality of climate change and disabilities is immense -- people with disabilities are the group most likely to be killed, left behind, or simply forgotten in the scramble to deal with climate emergencies or climate change related floods of migration.
And yet, there are only a handful of climate change activists, environmentalists, and organizations that specialize in people with disabilities.
Alex Ghenis is one of the few who works to advocate for an accessible transition to a greener future. In a conversation us on our podcast show, Ghenis discussed how his perspective as a person with a disability has shaped how he advocates for combatting climate change in a manner that will retain the freedom, independence, and dignity of all members of society.
The Importance of a Gradual Transition
For many of the most outspoken climate change activists, the way forward is an immediate switch to a green society. Only through aggressive and innovative means will the world be able to stay below the two degrees Celsius warming.
However, Ghenis cautioned, this way forward critically leaves out the needs of the disability community.
Take, for example, the move to ban straws. While harmless enough to able-bodied people, it’s a necessary accessory to many in the disability community. While a new accessory may be discovered over the course of a gradual decrease in the availability in plastic straws, the abrupt cut off of any plastic straws doesn’t give the disability community the proper time to react to changes.
The disability community wants a green future as well, but they want a gradual transition that will give them time to make the changes necessary to survive.
Make a Seat at the Table
The message of a gradual transition will only be properly communicated if people with disabilities are allowed to discuss their concerns. As of right now, the concerns of people with disabilities are being lost in the chatter.
In order for people with disabilities to be included in the discussion of climate justice, those in positions of power must make it a priority to include voices of the disability community before making major decisions. As Ghenis pointed out to Canaday, there are already a handful of organizations that have the specified mission to alleviate the complications of climate change for people with disabilities. He advocates that organizations like the UN use these experts to weigh in on the potential ramifications of policies on the disability community and educate the able-bodied community on the importance of accessibility.
The disability community wants to move towards a more sustainable and green future, but rightfully deserve a place in the planning process in order to advocate for a transition to a green future that will be accessible to all.
Want to hear Alex Ghenis in his own words? Check out the Traipsin’ Global on Wheels Podcast: