Mikaela Loach: Distinguishing ecofascism and dismantling white supremacy in environmentalism
Mikaela Loach (Instagram: @mikaelaloach; Twitter: @mikaelaloach) is a climate justice activist, co-host of The Yikes Podcast (Instagram: @TheYikesPodcast; Patreon: The Yikes Podcast), and medical student based in Edinburgh.
Her work focuses on making activism spaces more inclusive and accessible, and as a Black woman, she is especially passionate about the importance of anti-racism work in the climate and sustainability movements.
In this podcast episode, Mikaela sheds light on the dangers of what can happen when white supremacy seeps into environmental activism, thus perpetuating ‘ecofascism’; how narratives framing global population growth as environmental harms can perpetuate racism and economic injustice while overlooking the actual roots of our ecological breakdown; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Mikaela and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kamea Chayne.
Musical feature: Trust The Sun by American Dream by Raye Zaragoza
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This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kamea Chayne, a podcast and multimedia journal illuminating our paths towards ecological regeneration, intersectional sustainability, and true abundance and wellness for all. This preview has been edited for clarity. Subscribe to Green Dreamer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app, and support Green Dreamer on Patreon so we can keep the show going and accessible to a wider audience!
On everything being political:
"I've seen a lot of comments on Black Lives Matter content [from environmental organizations or brands] saying, 'Don't make it political'. Everything they were doing before was also political—it's just that it didn't make them uncomfortable.
What people want to comment is, 'Don't make me uncomfortable'. That's what they mean when they say, 'don't make this political.'"
On common environmental narratives that perpetuate racism:
"A lot of ecofascism arguments make claims that the cause of the current climate crisis is with vulnerable and marginalized people rather than with those who have power.
For example, with the overpopulation argument, they'll often cite countries in the Global South and say: “Because they have high population growth rates, they're the cause of the climate crisis. And what we need is have their populations’ growth slow down or decrease because too many humans is the problem.”
But when you look at the per capita emissions, people in these less industrialized nations contribute so much less to the climate crisis. It's actually the footprint of people in the Global North—countries like the U.K. or the U.S.—that contribute significantly more emissions to the climate crisis as a whole.
[…] Rather than talking about overpopulation, I wonder, ‘Why can't we talk about the fact that capitalism is responsible for so many of these issues? Why can't we talk about overconsumption?’
The obsession of a lot of—often white, male—scholars with overpopulation as an argument is just this idea of wanting to point the finger outwards. I also think this argument is inherently racist.
Knowing how the overpopulation argument can be used to harm people, it makes me very weary of it, and I think there are so many other things we can talk about.
We all have a limited amount of energy and time on this Earth—let's think about how we're using that and what sort of things we're giving breath and air to."
Final words of wisdom:
"We don't all have to be a Dr. King or an Angela Davis. There are so many individuals in all of these struggles that you will never know the names of, and they were equally as important as the ones who you do know the names of.
Be involved, and know that your involvement matters."