Stories

Research Assistant Christina Nelson ’24 puts her creative and scholarly skills to work in developing a website about the intersections of disability and climate change

By Christina Nelson ’24

Over the course of my time as a research assistant with Molly King, people continuously asked me, “But what does disability climate justice MEAN?” And well, I can explain it to you, but that’s also why I’ve spent a year creating a website, so that you can read more about it and hear insights from other people more knowledgeable or familiar with the subject matter.

As Dr. King researches the intersections between disability and climate and I have experience building and maintaining websites, we were interested in creating a website compiling research from Dr. King herself, as well as other scholarly articles, op-eds, blogs, and social media posts to create a site that is geared towards the public. Without much prior knowledge of the topic, I was able to use Dr. King’s research as a starting point to explore much of the information online about disability and climate justice. Beyond sociologists, many environmental scientists, disability studies scholars, activists, policymakers, reporters, and people with personal experience with climate disasters and preparedness had published work on the topic, many of whom have a disability themselves.

The website is broken down into 3 main sections: (In)justice, Consequences, and Solutions. First, we explored what climate justice and disability justice look like, and the interaction between the two. Next, we broke down the consequences and real-life effects, looking at many different climate events across the world, as well as the intersection between disability, climate vulnerability, race, income and wealth, education, gender, sexuality, and age. We also explored responsibility for the past, present, and future of climate change. Finally, we took a look at some solutions, centering on ways that people are aiming to alleviate the effects felt by climate change and recognize the expertise of disabled populations, as well as providing resources for people to learn more.

The flow and order of the website mattered, as well as making it accessible through fonts, colors, alt text, and language. I learned how to find and credit images, thanks to Melanie Sellar in the library. I attended various webinars and watched recordings of past conversations related to disability climate justice. It was important to me that many voices were heard and people were represented on this website. Before the website was even fully completed, we won “Most Social Justice Project” at the Digital Social Science showcase in May 2024.

We ended up citing over 140 sources throughout the whole website, giving people many avenues to learn more through articles, podcasts, and videos. I cannot think Dr. King enough for trusting me with this project and giving me the creative freedom that I craved to make something that I am truly proud of. All my knowledge from sociology classes was put to the test as I was able to engage in a sociological topic that is deeply real and relevant to everyday life. Thank you to the Sociology Department for your support of my work as a research assistant, student, and person!

Check it out at DisabilityClimateJustice.com!