Prior to a meeting with students at Northern Marianas College, White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council members Maria Lopez-Nuñez, left, and Miya Yoshitani, right, pose for a picture with Tishman Environment and Design Center communication lead Angelica Salazar. They were invited to Saipan by former Rep. Sheila Babauta.
TWO fellows from the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School in New York who also serve on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council were on Saipan to learn more about the environmental justice issues facing the Marianas.
The visiting fellows, Mia Yoshitani and Maria Lopez-Nuñez, were part of a group of environmental advocates who were on Saipan for three days prior to attending the “Making Waves: For Peace and Climate Justice Summit” on Guam.
They were invited to visit Saipan by former Rep. Sheila Babauta and spoke to Variety while at Northern Marianas College on Wednesday, Oct. 18.
According to the White House website, the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council is “charged with providing recommendations on how to address current and historic environmental injustice to the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council and the Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.”
Yoshitani said in her capacity as a Tishman Center Fellow, she was on Saipan to “connect with the community and learn from them what’s happening here.”
She said as members of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, it was in her and Nunez’s interest to understand the issues the Marianas are facing in relation to environmental justice.
“We know that this region is incredibly vulnerable to the changing weather and from typhoons and other climate-related disasters,” Yoshitani said. “One of the things that Maria and I have worked on most recently with the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council is recommendations to the federal government and federal agencies around just what recovery means.”
Lopez-Nuñez said aside from learning about environmental issues, they were on island to build their advocacy networks as they face the “existential threats of climate change.”
She said one goal of the visit is “building together so we can bring more power to the national stage to really elevate our issues.”
The group of advocates come from Native American territories, Puerto Rico, Central America, and the states.
“I think it’s important for all of our communities to help each other out,” Lopez-Nuñez said. “You know, I might be calling on you for help or information we have in your work. And I think we need to build those relationships.”
As part of their visit, Babauta took the environmental activists to visit community and cultural leaders at the Guma Higai, 500 Sails, Talaya Club, and Northern Marianas College. While at the college, they engaged with students.
The advocates are participating in the “Making Waves: For Peace and Climate Justice Summit” on Guam, Friday, Oct. 20.
According to a release, the summit is a meeting of “local and global indigenous and environmental justice movement leaders.” The event is organized by the Micronesia Climate Change Alliance and Our Common Wealth 670 in partnership with the Tishman Center.
