We Act Vs Love Canal Case Study

WE ACT for Environmental Justice and Love Canal all fought for environmental justice throughout their communities. Each environmental justice organization used different tactics and strategies while organizing to fight the environmental burdens affecting their communities. While each community faced similar implications along the way, there were a few defining differences that shaped each organization. By comparing WE ACT and Love Canal, I will explore how these two environmental justice organizations differ when there are immediate verses ongoing issues. As described in chapter twelve of Power, Justice and the Environment: A Critical Appraisal of the Environmental Justice Movement, WE ACT was founded in 1988 in response to the environmental risks created by the mismanagement of the North River Sewage Treatment Plant and the construction of the sixth bus depot in Northern Manhattan. WE ACT quickly grew into an environmental justice organization with the intent to improve environmental protection and public health in the predominately African-American and Latino communities of Northern Manhattan. Overall, WE ACT works with low-income populations and populations of …show more content…
This victory was the result of successful community leadership and organization. Shortly after the landfill and its proximity to the 99th Street School was made public, Lois Gibbs was elected president of the Love Canal Homeowners Association. The Homeowners Association became a focus for the organization that offered information and allowed residents to share their concerns. A handful of people, mostly women, worked on association activities relentlessly. Their lives became dedicated to the association with the hopes of getting out of Love Canal and to restore some sense of control over their lives. In order to do this, association leaders educated themselves and spread their