Green justice
UO senior strives to reduce social impacts of environmental ills
Emily Chi trekked into rural Taiwan with lawyers and scientists last summer to investigate streams polluted by multinational corporations. But the UO senior found a lot more than dirty water.
“It was there that I realized firsthand the prevalence of environmental justice issues,” Emily says. “Marginalized communities in Taiwan were really suffering from contaminated water. These are people who don’t speak the same language as most people in Taiwan, a country that is itself marginalized in the world.” (Click here for a quick video featuring Emily’s insights on environmental justice.)
Emily, an environmental science major from Corvallis, Oregon, completed an internship in Taiwan last summer doing scientific research for the nonprofit Wild At Heart Legal Defense Association. Aside from doing the research, witnessing pollution’s impact on people turned out to be a transformational experience for Chi.
“I came to the UO to be a science major,” Emily says. “Through a variety of courses, I’ve learned to appreciate science’s impact on society.”
That’s an impact she’s currently exploring in her thesis through the Robert Donald Clark Honors College. She is studying hurricane trends over time.
“I am always interested in the social aspect,” Emily says. “The more we know about hurricanes, the more we can work to prepare vulnerable populations.”