Energy Solutions, Neo-Liberalism, and Social Diversity in Toronto, Canada
1
Sociology Department, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 2K3, Canada
2
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 3M7, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2011, 8(1), 185-202; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8010185
Received: 22 December 2010 / Accepted: 14 January 2011 / Published: 19 January 2011
In response to the dominance of green capitalist discourses in Canada’s environmental movement, in this paper, we argue that strategies to improve energy policy must also provide mechanisms to address social conflicts and social disparities. Environmental justice is proposed as an alternative to mainstream environmentalism, one that seeks to address systemic social and spatial exclusion encountered by many racialized immigrants in Toronto as a result of neo-liberal and green capitalist municipal policy and that seeks to position marginalized communities as valued contributors to energy solutions. We examine Toronto-based municipal state initiatives aimed at reducing energy use while concurrently stimulating growth (specifically, green economy/green jobs and ‘smart growth’). By treating these as instruments of green capitalism, we illustrate the utility of environmental justice applied to energy-related problems and as a means to analyze stakeholders’ positions in the context of neo-liberalism and green capitalism, and as opening possibilities for resistance.
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Keywords:
environmental justice; energy policy; Toronto; green capitalism
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License
MDPI and ACS Style
Teelucksingh, C.; Poland, B. Energy Solutions, Neo-Liberalism, and Social Diversity in Toronto, Canada. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2011, 8, 185-202. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8010185
AMA Style
Teelucksingh C, Poland B. Energy Solutions, Neo-Liberalism, and Social Diversity in Toronto, Canada. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2011; 8(1):185-202. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8010185
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeelucksingh, Cheryl; Poland, Blake. 2011. "Energy Solutions, Neo-Liberalism, and Social Diversity in Toronto, Canada" Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 8, no. 1: 185-202. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8010185
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