Integration?

After reading the 5th and 6th essays in the book, I'm beginning to get the idea that alliances between environmentalists and EJ advocates are possible but does not occur all of the time. Chapter 5 talked about how there were so many waste sites disproportionately placed in the poorer neighborhoods of Massachusetts and that how locals and other organizations got together to promote and educate the public regarding EJ issues.

This time, instead of just getting the involvement and commitment of NGOs, they actually got government officials to get involved in the process as well. The ELM worked with MEJAC (which has government influence) and other such organizations to push for environmentally just policies to protect its citizens. In addition to that, realizing that EJ issues not only pervade the place where people live but also affects their work environment.

The coalition Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow worked to provide safer conditions for workers who are constantly exposed to chemicals such as janitors. They worked by trying to replace toxic chemicals with safer alternatives as minorities are usually the ones that hold jobs with higher risks attached to them for little compensation.

I guess this chapter shows that co-operation between NGOs and government agencies can be possible but only if there is a same level of activism in both parties. This alliance will not work out if one is more complacent than the other because it takes two to make things work...from the people and the government taking action to meet the needs of these people.

Chapter 6 on the other hand showed how environmentalism failed to meet the needs of EJ in the case of asbestos pollution in Libby, Montana. Over many years, its residents and others in the country was exposed continually to tremolite asbestos in the insulation product, Zonolite. As a result, many of the residents of Libby eventually died of lung related disorders.

The corporation who owned the mines were responsible for the pollution that took place because they knew that their workers were getting sick from the asbestos. In addition to that, even government inspectors knew about the issue but failed to take any action in shutting down the mine operations immediately. When they actually took action against the corporation, it filed for bankruptcy which left a lot of claims unsettled. This example of Libby and asbestos showed how the government failed to side its citizens on EJ issues. It also shows that while this case was going on, no environmental groups approached the townsfolk of Libby to help take their case on.

In this instance, it shows how environmentalism and EJ fail to connect or collaborate with each other. However, there is ground for environmentalists to fight for the citizens of Libby because the asbestos dust was continuously dispersed into the air which caused air pollution. In addition to that, asbestos dust was expelled into the air when the World Trade Centers collapsed which probably caused a wider spread effect compared to the relatively isolated incident in Libby.

As mentioned earlier, collaboration between environmentalists and EJ activists is possible but it will take a lot of working together with not only each other but also with the government. And instead of focusing solely on the issues that they face, they should also look for possible outcomes that may affect each other. Like the use of Zonolite is hazardous to not just the townsfolk of Libby but also to thousands of people who used Zonolite in their houses unknowingly.