The UPEI Faculty of Arts ConneXions series presents the first two speakers for this semester: Drs Renée Valiquette (DSJS) and Nick Mercer (Environmental Studies and MAIS), who will explore the broad topic of  "Environmental Justice - but for whom? And how?"

i) Dr. Renée Valiquette, DSJS

Title: “Beyond purity and refusal: rethinking environmentalisms

I would say a knotty area of interest that motivates me these days is the expectation that "good" environmental ethics are defined by a commitment to austerity and lack. I am more compelled by thinkers/activists who offer something darker and messier than enduring environmentalisms of purity and refusal. How can we cultivate eco-ethics that resist naive hope without falling into melancholia? Are there ways of dwelling in/responding to our wild futures that don't evade the brutalities ahead but also feel full of potential and possibility?

ii) Dr. Nick Mercer, Environmental Studies and MAIS

Title: “Is eliminating fossil-fuel consumption ‘just’?: Lessons learned from the diesel-powered North” 

Guided by near scientific consensus, most nation-states globally have pledged ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, with the goal of maintaining planetary heating of less than 1.5 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial period. Central to this mission is the rapid electrification of societies and economies and a massive expansion of low-carbon generation sources. For instance, the influential Canadian Energy Regulator (2023) has suggested that national power output may double by mid-century, fuelled by new wind farms, hydroelectric facilities, and other sources of renewable energies. One critical question that must be considered in this seemingly benign pursuit: "Are renewable energy transitions ‘just’?" Reflecting on a deep and ongoing research relationship with nine Indigenous diesel-dependent communities in southern Labrador, our research program has long sought to answer: "Who wins and who loses as a result of energy transitions? Who has power and influence in decision-making? And whether the worldviews and priorities of diverse peoples are honoured, centered, and upheld in ‘renewable’ energy development."