An examination of various environmental justice case studies suggests that historically, mass media has brought attention to immediate issues and developed a shared narrative which then generates public outrage and protest that pressures local governments into resolving the issue, making mass media a key source of momentum for environmental justice movements. However, current coverage of environmental injustice is unrepresentative of the issue’s prevalence and excludes the perspective of the affected communities. To better support future environmental justice advocacy, mass media organizations must increase the amount of news about environmental injustices to elevate the issue’s importance in the public eye, frame these stories as injustices to provoke audience action, and increase newsroom and source diversity to avoid counterproductive portrayals of the victims of environmental injustice.

Subcommunities such as Women in Red may not offer a perfect solution to Wikipedia’s gender gap, especially as they face potential disruption from newcomers, but they are a promising step in the right direction. At the very least, subcommunities focused on creating content related to women’s topics can employ design suggestions such as clearly listing tasks, tracking progress towards a goal, and celebrating individual accomplishments publicly to support newcomers and encourage participation. Such subcommunities support Wikipedia’s goal of lowering the barriers to contribution for newcomers, increasing coverage of women’s topics, and could also expose male-identifying participants in the project to a more friendly editing culture.

Though the high stakes of the case between Khosla and the Surfrider Foundation ultimately supported the public good, the mere possibility that one individual’s appeal could redefine coastal management across the country reflects how the litigation process’ reliance on precedent, as well as the existence of differential legal power between parties, will continue to act as a deterrent to meaningful legal change.

Instead of viewing interacting with my friends through a screen as a mere reduction of the in-person experience, I try to be inspired by the unique experiences enabled by virtual spaces: becoming friends with people who I otherwise never would have had the chance to meet, 10+ hour phone calls with my best friends thousands of miles away, simultaneous engaging conversations with different people, the ability for multiple people to talk at once with combined calling and texting.