Description
Book SynopsisIn 1978, residents of predominantly African American Warren County, North Carolina, were horrified to learn that the state planned to build a landfill in their country to hold forty thousand cubic yards of soil that was contaminated with PCBs from illegal dumping. This book traces the approaches that residents took to contest environmental racism.
Trade ReviewIn sharp and penetrating prose, McGurty recounts the central role of Warren County, North Carolina, in the rise of the environmental justice struggle. She lifts the discussion above the class versus race debate and exposes the movement's progression from a fledgling local battle to a national movement that has influenced public policy. -- Craig E. Colten * Carl O. Sauer Professor of Geography, Louisiana State University *
In sharp and penetrating prose, McGurty recounts the central role of Warren County, North Carolina, in the rise of the environmental justice struggle. She lifts the discussion above the class versus race debate and exposes the movement's progression from a fledgling local battle to a national movement that has influenced public policy. -- Craig E. Colten * Carl O. Sauer Professor of Geography, Louisiana State University *
Transforming Environmentalism is an expertly written and engaging analysis of one of the seminal events in environmental history, public policy, and political protest. It constitutes an important contribution to the environmental justice literature and should be considered mandatory reading for scholars, students, and activists alike committed to understanding the fundamental role of citizen activism in making American be what America should be. * Environmental History *
Table of ContentsList of Tables and Figures
Preface
1. The Significance of Warren County
2. Regulating Toxic Chemicals, PCBs, and Hazardous Waste
3. The Collective Action Frame of "Not in My Backyard"
4. Constructing Environmental Racism: Political Opportunities, Social Networks, and Collective Action
5. The Environmental Justice Movement: Maturation and Limitations
6. Warren County Revisited
7. Epilogue
Notes
Index
