In 1998 the Werribee Residents Against Toxic Dump (or WRATD), a small grassroots organisation, won a major victory over CSR a large corporation with vast resources and Government backing. With this victory WRATD achieved their main aim of preventing the construction of a toxic waste facility in their area. How did a small grassroots community organisation such as WRATD defeat such a larger opponent? The answer lies in WRATD’s use of clever tactics to establish the dominant frame for the debate. But what is a frame? A frame is simply a way of seeing the world. Often with adversarial public relations campaigns such as this the main battle is fought over establishing the dominant frame (i.e. the way the majority of key publics think about the issue).  WRATD’s campaign was extremely cunning, ultimately very effective, and a shining example for all grassroots organisations engaged in a struggle against larger forces. As we shall see from this analysis, the WRATD campaign against CSR is an example of best practice and is an exemplary model for other grassroots organisations to emulate.   

In a situation such as this where two competing parties are contesting an issue using public relations, often the victory will go to the party that manages to establish their frame (i.e. the way they perceive the world) as the dominant frame (i.e. make the way they see things the way most people see the issue). By establishing the dominant frame, a party is able to “…control the language of debate…” (Bai, 2005) thus gaining an advantage and putting their opponents on the defensive. A good example is anti abortion campaigners in the US referring to themselves as “pro life”. This frames the debate in terms of a “pro life” side (i.e. the anti abortionists) versus “pro death” (i.e. their opponents). Framing the debate in this way creates the appearance of a dichotomy wherein their opponents hold a very negative position (e.g. an “anti life” or “pro death” campaign would be pretty unpopular (no doubt this is why those supporting a women’s freedom to access abortion refer to themselves as “pro choice” in an effort to re-frame the debate)). Right from the start of their campaign WRATD began to establish the dominant frame. Simply by naming their group “Werribee Residents Against Toxic Dump” placed CSR and their Government supporters in the unpopular position of being FOR a Toxic Dump. Although CSR tried to refer to the facility as a ‘waste management precinct’ (Demetrious 2001), WRATD cleverly used the media, letters to residents, info kits for school kids to ensure the debate was waged over whether to build a “toxic dump” or not. Establishing the dominant frame in this way ensured that media coverage was slightly biased, as  “…how an article is framed can influence a reader’s perception of that topic” (Duhe, 2007). For example readers would probably not be interested to read about a ‘waste management precinct’, but quite alarmed to read about a ‘toxic dump’. As we have seen the “…framing of an issue often determines whether it climbs or falls from agendas” (Duhe, 2007). WRATD’s campaign successfully established the dominant frame, ensuring continued momentum and eventual success. In this way we can see that WRATD’s campaign was an example of best practice.

While WRATD cleverly established their frame as the dominant one for the debate, they also deftly anticipated and prevented their opponents’ attempts to establish frames. For example WRATD realised that CSR’s State Government supporters would no doubt attempt to frame their opposition as NIMBYism or radical. If the Government could get footage of WRATD protests that featured dreadlocked ferals violently confronting police, damaging private property, or simply behaving anti-socially they could portray WRATD as a radical fringe group. By framing WRATD in this way the Government would isolate them from potential support. WRATD anticipated this tactic and therefore devised a document known as the “Picket Charter” (Demetrious 2001). This document set out guidelines for behaviour that all WRATD members were expected to adhere to when protesting. By setting these standards of behaviour WRATD ensured their protests could not be framed by the Government as the violent/anti-social actions of a radical fringe group. WRATD thus not only established the dominant frame, but also prevented their opponents from establishing frames against them. In this way we again see that WRATD’s campaign was an example of best practice.      

An interesting comparison case can be seen in the victory Cape Wind achieved over the National Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound and the Town of Barnstable (Lin 2008). Cape Wind is a large electricity company planning to build an offshore wind power plant off the coast of Nantucket Sound in the US. Though grassroots organisations such as the National Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound and the Town of Barnstable are often seen (especially by the media) as the underdog and perceived as more honest than large corporations such as Cape Wind, they can still loose their battle if they fail to effectively establish a dominant frame for the debate. As Mickey explains in his book Deconstructing Public Relations: Public Relations Criticism, “framing…puts information into a context and establishes frames of reference so people can evaluate information, comprehend meanings, and take action if appropriate.” (Mickey 2003). This is where the National Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound and the Town of Barnstable failed. Unlike WRATD that clearly established that they were against a Toxic Dump, the National Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound and the Town of Barnstable’s aims were never sufficiently defined. Yes, they wanted to protect Nantucket Sound, but from what? Rising electricity costs? Lower property values? By failing to clearly frame the issue, they allowed Cape Wind to paint their concerns as NIMBYism. 

So what lessons can we learn from this case? Perhaps the most important lesson is that “…framing is not merely useful but essential to public relations.” (Mickey, 2003). Grassroots organisations can triumph against much larger and better resourced opponents if they can effectively establish the dominant frame. The campaign WRATD ran against CSR’s planned waste facility is an excellent example of how a small grassroots organisation can use framing to shape a debate, outmaneuver the opposition’s tactics, and ultimately triumph. WRATD’s campaign is definitely an example of best practice, and is a good case to study for all public relations practitioners who have to deal with grassroots organisations.     

References:

Bai M. 2005, The Framing Wars, NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/17/magazine/17DEMOCRATS.html?_r=1

Demetrious K. 2001, People, Power and Public Relations, Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal

Duhe S. 2007, New Media and Public Relations, Peter Lang Publishing Inc., New York

Lin A, 2008, A win for Cape Cod, The Breakthrough Institute

http://thebreakthrough.org/blog/2008/06/a_win_for_cape_wind.shtml#more

Mickey T. 2003, Deconstructing Public Relations: Public Relations Criticism, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. Mahwah, New Jersey

 As a a self appointed member of the committee of concerned citizens of the world, (CCCW) I can safely say that there may not be  much to celebrate when one considers that the Earth’s rain forest are slowly disappearing, chemicals have poisoned our air  the world over. If that is not enough, marine life is dying in our polluted waters while some beautiful species of sea creatures are becoming extinct. Surely, celebration bells and drums cannot be rolled out for the incidence of global warming for which even if we deny our  role in the cause of the whole problem , we cannot deny our responsibilities to make it better. Nonetheless, attempts to fix the problems that we have initiated seem to be a very good part of the awareness strategy of marking the day. The era of the “green revolution”, recycling and all the technical detailing of preservation through imbibing a new culture and approach will no doubt go a long way to alleviate the envisaged problems of the future.

 Of greater concern  to me as a Comittee of concerned citizens of the world ( CCCW) member is the injustices associated with the dumping of harmful wastes by blue chip industrial companies on the door steps of the less privileged  communities across the globe. This trend has been responsible not only for the wide spread of disease but also for the destruction of agro-economy leading to poverty through loss of jobs and livelihood.  The culprits in this devastation are the oil producing companies of the world who have become no less than the taskmasters of the globe. Oil as a globally sought commodity has made these companies and their ,CEO’s more like corrupt and unjust world policemen. They prostitute their expertise to the poor and ignorant  in exchange for their legitimate  wealth and rights to their share of the earth’s resources . Such union which should have been beneficial for both parties, have left some communities more disgruntled than ever and others  bearing the scars of their association with these experts. When will this stop?. It is enough that the earth suffers from the wear and tear of natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis,tornados floods and the like.To invent problems for others who can barely stand on their own is unjust.

 I remain and advocate for promoting expertise of any form for the simple reason that the strength and development of the world economy rest on the shoulders of the many geniuses of the world. For them, I duff my hat but will refuse to break my back if they take us one step foward and and two steps backwards almost simulteneously. This akward  dance steps are wearing me out and I can assure you, I am not the only one complaining.   This WED season, hear the cry of almost all the members of the committee of concerned citizens of the world-”clean up your mess, but not at my doorstep” .

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Do you know that seventy percent (70%) of Earth’s surface is composed of water? However, ninety-seven percent (97%) of this is salt water, which can’t be used for drinking, agriculture and industry.

Water comes from various sources which include a deep well, drilled or driven more than 100 feet deep; artesian well is a shallow or deep well, springs, streams, rivers, rainwater, lakes, ponds and piped water distributed to houses.

Truly, water is very essential to people due to its abundant uses. Thus, it is quite important for people to enjoy safe and clean water in order to stay alive and live healthy.

Surely, we cannot survive in the absence of water. Take for instance, how really fundamental the water in our body is. Research says, there is approximately sixty-percent (60%) of water content in our body. The water content in our body must not be lower than twenty percent (20%) to be able to sustain our life. It is essential to drink eight to ten glasses of water and other fluids every day in order to maintain the required amount of water necessary to our body. In every household, more water is needed in the preparation and cooking of food, in bathing, in cleaning the house, and in other matters. It is assessed that around seventy gallons of water daily is consumed for household chores.

Aside from this fact, water as a source of food is quite needed by several people around the world. A very good example on this is in the Philippines. One of the most fundamental resources for the Filipinos is water resources, such as rivers, streams, and lakes. These bodies of water are rich fishing grounds of fish, shrimps, shells, seaweeds, and many other products which are bountiful sources of vitamins and minerals necessary to the body. Numerous of Filipinos rely on the sea for their means of livelihood. As far as irrigation purposes are concerned, water is the primary need of farmers, especially during the summer season or when there is not much rain. Most of the basic crops planted by farmers, like rice and corn, need more water to raise production. This need is met even during the dry season through the help of irrigation system.

Likewise, water is quite essential source of energy. It is a fact that energy or power is used to supply electricity and fuel to light homes and offices, to operate factories, to move cars, trucks, and boats. Like for instance, hydroelectric power plants provide the second largest source of energy in the Philippines. Among of these hydroelectric power plants are Maria Christina Falls in Lanao; Pantabangan in Nueva Ecija; Botocan Falls and Caliraya River in Laguna; Ambuklao, Binga, and Chico in Northern Luzon. Furthermore, water has been acknowledged also as means of transportation and recreation. Ancient history reveals that people have already recognized the importance of water as a way of transportation for traveling and for bringing their products to various areas in the Philippines and the world.

Water is also utilized for recreational purposes. In fact, several parts of the beaches in the country are developed into rest houses and other styles of relaxation. Just the same, water is important for the industry. The industrial sector needs water in manufacturing and producing various products, such as cars, zipper, paper, and so forth. Similarly, water is necessary to the factories, like for cleaning fish, meats, fruits, vegetables before they are canned. Water is also utilized as a raw material for soft drinks. Water is also used for refining gasoline, in cleaning factories, and cooling machineries. Remember, a great percent of production use water.

However, it is frustrating and disgusting to awake someday that you will suddenly be astonished with the fact that there is so much an inadequacy supply of safe and clean water due to the terrible dilemma on water pollution. Study discloses that people and industrial sector are both the common cause of water pollution.

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Water Pollution means the contamination of water by foreign matter which includes microorganisms, chemicals, industrial or other wastes or sewage. Such matter deteriorates the quality of water which is harmful for the human’s health. This kind of pollution can be classified as chemical and thermal. Chemical pollution of water is the result of chemicals such as benzene which are utilized as solvents; benzenide; used in dyeing; and curene and vinyl chloride, used in the production of plastics; and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) used as an insecticide. Meanwhile, thermal pollution is caused by hot water thrown away into waterways. High water temperature in the river decreases its oxygen content, disturbing the balance of aquatic life of plants, fishes, shells, shrimps, and others. Fishes move to a cooler area due to the hot temperature. If the water temperature is hot in the lake, the trapped fishes die.

Water Pollution has several harmful effects in human’s health and in the means of his livelihood. Polluted water holds disease-causing organisms which cause amoebiasis, typhoid fever, hepatitis, cholera and dysentery. It can cause poisoning due shellfish contaminated by red tide organisms. Red tide is a condition of the river in which the water turns red due to the development of the microorganisms called dinoflagellates. The Dinoflagellates are one-celled marine animals which produce toxins that contaminate shellfish. Anyone who eats contaminated shellfish is at risk to become a victim of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). It is, also, alarming to know that countless of farmers and fish vendors are, currently, being deprived of their sources of livelihood because of acute water pollution in several areas. Similarly, lots of people, at present, are loosing their opportunity to enjoy their leisure time and other types of recreation on the beach due to too much water pollution.

Among of the major water pollutants are sewage and other oxygen-demanding wastes, petroleum particularly from oil spills, industrial wastes, fertilizers, pesticides, sediments, radioactive substances and heat.

· Sewage and Other Oxygen-demanding Wastes. Untreated sewage discharged into rivers and lakes contains bacteria which develop and increase rapidly as they use up the oxygen in the water. These bacteria can cause diseases such as cholera and typhoid. Through water-borne diseases, the epidemics can hit if these bacteria get into our water supply.

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· Petroleum, particularly from oil spills. Study shows that the most significant cases of oil pollution involve the supertankers used for its transport, but many other ships also spill oil, and offshore drilling operations contribute a big share of the pollution. Research says, out of every ten million tons of oil shipped, one ton is spilled. Do you know that the oil spills in the Persian Gulf in 1983, during the Iran-Iraq conflict, and in the 1991 Gulf War in which up to 8 million barrels of oil spills were released, led to massive devastation to the area, particularly to the marine life.

· Industrial Wastes. Some industries throw huge amounts of their waste products into the rivers and streams. These waste products involve poisonous metals, such as mercury, arsenic, and cadmium. The release of toxic chemicals into the environment can pose dangerous effects, particularly when their concentration is intensified by food chains which ecologists call biological magnification. These serious effects include acquiring of some serious diseases like become blind, cripple and paralyze and untimely death.

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· Fertilizers. Overuse chemical fertilizers can cause water pollution because they are washed away by rainwater into the nearby rivers or lakes which leads to the death of several fishes.

· Pesticides.

· Sediments. These are composed of soil and mineral particles washed by storms and floodwater from croplands, unprotected soils, mine workings, roads, and bulldozed urban areas.

· Radioactive substances. These matters come from the wastes of uranium and thorium mining and refining, from nuclear power plants, and from the industrial, medical, and scientific use of radioactive materials.

· Heat. This is also considered as pollutant when increased temperatures in bodies of water caused by the discharge of cooling of water by factories and power plants.

There are measures to prevent the water pollution:

· There are local and international environmental agencies which manage and protect the environment against all forms of pollution. These agencies help each other in legislating and implementing laws, ordinances and executive orders prohibiting the dumping of wastes in the rivers, lakes and creeks. Factories and industrial plants have been ordered to treat factory wastes before disposing them into the bodies of water.

· Families can also help avoid contamination of water through proper disposal of their wastes by means of waste segregation and practicing recycling. These can be implemented by sorting out garbage and providing separate containers for biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes. Biodegradable wastes are things which are eco-friendly because they can be decomposed while non-biodegradable are those which cannot decay.

· Avoid using of household cleaning substances such as drain cleaner, toilet bowl cleaners and bleaches to prevent water pollution.

· Always be reminded of the 3Rs such as reduce, reuse and recycle before you dump your garbage. These 3Rs can help lessen the amount of pollution.

Furthermore, it is, also, distressing to find out that hundreds of people in the world do not care in wasting water. Do you know that millions of liters of water could be saved if folks would only take care of it as well as utilize safely and properly. Probably, people would use water with more care up to its last drop, if they would only understand that wasteful use of water could mean insufficient water reserve to supply their own needs. Likewise, people who properly use water can save more by paying less and the water they save can be beneficial to supply the needs of others.

There are ways to save water and prevent water wastage. Here are some tips on how to conserve water and use it properly:

· When washing clothes. Use a basin. Never let the water overflow from the basin and close the faucet, instead, while washing clothes. Soak the clothes before washing them to remove the dirt easily. Collect used water in a container for it can be utilized for flushing the toilet. Wash by a considerable load of clothes when using the washing machine and do not wash by piece.

· When washing hands, face and hair. Use a basin and close the faucet, while you are shampooing your hair, washing and soaping your hands and face.

· When taking a bath. Do not take a shower longer than necessary. Instead, take a shorter shower bath or use a water dipper and a pail.

· When brushing teeth and shaving. Never let the water continuously flow from the faucet while brushing your teeth or shaving unwanted hairs from your armpits and chin. Instead, use a glass when you are going to brush your teeth and shave your unwanted hairs to avoid the wasteful use of water.

· When washing and cooking in the kitchen. Use a basin when washing vegetables, fruits and other foods. Take away the ice from the freezer a few minutes before using it including the meat and fish a few hours before cooking them. Use the exact amount of water when cooking. Use tightly covered casserole to avoid steam from coming out.

· When washing dishes. Separate greasy dishes from non-greasy ones. Wipe the greasy dishes with old and crumpled newspaper before washing them. Use a basin when rinsing the dishes. Do not let the faucet continuously open while washing dishes.

· When flushing the toilet. Use a dual flush cistern. Use a shorter flush after urinating. Use a longer flush in flushing human wastes. Lower the water level in the toilet tank by pushing or pressing the float rod downward. Never use the old style big single flush in the toilet tank.

· When cleaning floors, house windows and vehicles. Use pail and floor mop when you are going to clean the floors. Use pail and rags for house windows and vehicles. Avoid using a water hose if you will clean the floors, house windows and vehicles because it wastes around 200 liters of water in five minutes.

· When watering plants. Use pail and dipper in watering plants. Do not use a hose or fixed sprinkler to avoid wasteful of water. Water plants in the morning and afternoon and not at noontime. Regularly check the faucet gasket, washer and float rod to know if there are leaks to immediately fix or repair them. Immediately report the leaks to those who are in charge of the water system. Change the damaged water pipes upon you discover them.

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During the 1940s, Hooker Chemical and Plastics Corporation used Love Canal, a sparsely populated area located in Niagara Falls New York, as a chemical dump site lining it with impermeable concrete. However, residential and school constructions in the 1950s resulted in many breaches of the protective lining, gradually seeping out toxic wastes into the soil polluting the groundwater and the air. Of the 240 buried chemicals that had been identified, eleven were suspected carcinogens, notably benzene, which can cause serious health problems. According to a report, the residents were stricken with a disturbingly high rate of miscarriages, birth defects, nervous disorders and cancers. Love Canal has become a testimony to one of the greatest human blunders and of the constant need for seeking environmentally safe ways of managing toxic waste.

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

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In 1986, one of the reactors of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine exploded due to an experiment gone horribly wrong, reactor design defects and total disregard of safety measures. Considered to be the worst ever nuclear power accident, the explosion spewed out large amounts of radioactive particles that spread over parts of western former Soviet Union, Europe, and eastern North America. It caused major economic losses and raised serious environmental concerns that include the long-term effects of radiation exposure not only on people’s health but also on the region’s agriculture, food consumption, aquatic systems, and flora and fauna. Birth deformities and respiratory-related deaths among the very young and the elderly have been estimated to be in the tens of thousands and are believed to be attributable to this particular event.

Bhopal Disaster

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A dangerous chemical reaction occurred when water leaked into a storage tank of Union Carbide resulting in an explosion that released around 43 tons of methyl isocyanate, a highly toxic gas, contaminating the air and water of the city of Bhopal in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh in 1984. Primary causes of what can be regarded as one of the worst industrial environmental disasters on record included safety rules leniency and lack of equipment maintenance due to cost cutting measures. Around 20,000 have died due to exposure in the next 20 years since the tragedy; and still more than 100,000 are being poisoned and suffering from debilitating diseases today due to inadequate cleanup.

Prestige Oil Spill

Image sourcePrestige was the name of a Greek-ran single-hulled oil tanker that did not live up to its name. In 2002, the tanker’s seaworthiness was so severely compromised by bad weather that the captain sought to dock at nearby harbors. But the Spanish, French and Portuguese government refused to allow its entry into their ports for fear of contamination of their coastlines. The ship eventually split in two and sank off the Galician coast gradually spilling 74,000 tons of heavy fuel oil into the sea. More than half of the 1,000 beaches along Spanish and French Atlantic coast were affected; about 100,000 birds died particularly the Guillemot, Razorbill and Puffin; and coral reefs, many species of sharks and other marine life are still slowly being poisoned. The spill is the largest environmental disaster in the history of Europe.

Baia Mare Cyanide Disaster

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Gold cyanidation is a very common metallurgical process that uses cyanide, a highly poisonous substance, for extracting gold from mineral ores. This highly controversial method enables miners to remove the last remnants of gold and silver from discarded mine tailings. In 2000, a rupture from a defective tailings dam of a gold mining operation of the Australian-Romanian joint venture AURUL in Baia Mare Romania sent tons of heavy metal wastes and around 120,000 cubic meters of water saturated with cyanide into the Somes, Tisza and Danube rivers resulting in massive devastation of aquatic life, especially in neighboring Hungary and Serbia. Thanks to speedy response of the Romanian authorities, no casualties were reported except for a few children who were hospitalized for eating fishes from affected rivers. Shortly after the accident, cyanide levels were found to be 700 times and 300 times above pollution standards in nearby river water and in Hungary, respectively. Copper and zinc concentrations exceeded the pollution threshold many times as well.

Southern Leyte Mudslide

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In February 2006, a deadly rockslide-debris avalanche befell my fellow Filipino compatriots in Southern Leyte province of the Philippines following more than a week long heavy rains and a minor earthquake measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale causing widespread destruction and loss of life. Loose rock and soil debris buried the mountain village of Guinsaugon in the town of Saint Bernard including an entire elementary school of around 250 students in session. Around 200 had been confirmed dead but more than 1,500 are still missing to this day. Deforestation of the area by illegal loggers and extensive mining in the area three decades earlier had taken its toll, and together with the heavy rains and earthquake created the perfect combination for such a disaster to happen. Indeed, this was a very disturbing result of irresponsible exploitation of the earth’s natural resources.

Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

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War positively has damaging effects on our environment. Whether the atomic bombings of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and Nagasaki three days later are justified or not is still very much debated today. But one thing for sure, it led to the surrender of the once militaristic nation of Japan, officially ending World War II. It was estimated that around 140,000 and 70,000 died from radiation poisoning and burns in Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively in 1945 alone. Who knows how many thousand more have died from injuries and sickness attributable to radiation exposure released by the bombs in the succeeding decades.

Agent Orange

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Between 1961 and 1971, during the Vietnam Conflict, the United States military under its Herbicidal Warfare Program sprayed more than 10 million gallons of Agent Orange, a potent defoliant and herbicide containing dioxin, over large areas of South Vietnam to destroy forests and crops that provided cover for Viet Cong guerrillas. Dioxin exposure, whether directly or indirectly through ingestion of food grown on affected soil, has been linked to a variety of cancers, blood and nerve disorders. Increased occurrence of birth defects, infant death, mental retardation and childhood cancers in the area have been noted. This herbicide is still causing indescribable sufferings to war veterans and civilians more than 3 decades after the conclusion of Vietnam War.

Landmines

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Landmines are devices designed to explode in the presence or contact of any moving object. There are around 100 million of these explosive devices entrenched into the ground during conflicts all over the world, particularly in Southeast Asia, South America and Africa. They are not only murderers and maimers of innocent civilians long after conflicts have ceased; they have also contributed to the destruction of wildlife, resulting in disruption to a region’s ecological balance. Due to fear, arable lands are left untilled, depriving people of livelihood. In time, their corrosion and possible leakage of heavy metals and toxic substances will pollute rivers and degrade soil.

Global Warming

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Global Warming is one issue that has raised much concern today. There is no longer any question about who’s to blame for our current predicament. There is mounting evidence that human carelessness toward nature have resulted in the increase of the Earth’s average temperature due to steadily rising concentration of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, since the Industrial Revolution took effect in the late eighteenth century. Not only that, global warming has dreadful consequences, which have become more apparent in recent years; they include rapidly melting polar ice caps that cause sea levels to rise; increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events (floods, droughts, super typhoons, etc); mass specie extinctions; and widespread epidemics, among others. Although not all these events can be directly traced to global warming, but many scientists are convinced that they will become more frequent, should the world’s temperature continue to increase.

More history articles:

• Mighty Women
• Warrior Women
• Man-made Environmental Disasters
• Rocks and Stones with Historical, Cultural and Religious Significance
• Famous Teen Deaths
• Birthday Deaths
• Famous Holocaust Survivors
• Heroes of the Holocaust & Their Stories of Courage 1
• Heroes of the Holocaust & Their Stories of Courage 2
• 10 Bizarre Deaths in History
• 10 (More) Bizarre Deaths in History
• 10 (Ultimate) Bizarre Deaths in History

Toxic waste has a negative affect on nature and the animals. It affects fish by absorbing mercury inside of them. Also it creates very unbalanced habitats for animals. It infects and kills farmer’s crops. Not only that but it also pollutes everything such a water, air, ground soil, and ground water, if you name it, toxic waste pollutes it.

Though toxic waste can cause injury or a sickness it can do worse. Toxic waste can genetically change a person and harm their body. Toxic waste can’t be avoided no matter where you live, especially in Africa. Shipping and handling of toxic waste is also bad for human health.

Toxic waste affects the economy as much as it affects wild life. The ways to get rid of it aren’t very practical. They include burying it and dumping it into water. These ways aren’t very effective because it will pollute what it is introduced into. Disposal is very expensive and people don’t like to pay for toxic waste disposal. Though toxic waste is a very big problem in the U.S., it is also a big problem in all countries.

Toxic waste is a problem we can’t get rid of but we can prevent some of it. Remember it not only affects us but it affects everything, and when I say everything I mean everything. I really hope that the people in the future will find a more efficient way to get rid of toxic waste.

The Love Canal area, named after William T. Love, was located in the city of Niagara Falls, New York, part of the southeast La Salle district, in the United States. The neighborhood was made up of 36 square blocks. The boundaries were Bergholtz Creek to the north of the neighborhood, and to the south was the Niagara River.

William T. Love aspired to build a giant canal that would generate electricity. Different sources conflicted with each other at this point. One source says that he wanted to build a canal from the north Niagara Falls River to the south Niagara Falls River, separated by a water fall. The other source says, and this is the one more likely to be true due to feedback from other sources, that Love wanted to build a canal that stretched from the Niagara River all the way to Lake Ontario, one of the great lakes. Then he would have made a hydroelectric dam to generate massive amounts of electric power that could power many houses. In 1894 he commenced his construction of the canal, but all to no avail. His great endeavor failed when Nikola Tesla, a famous inventor and electrical engineer, invented the AC (Alternating Current) current system. This allowed people to transmit electricity long distances. Because of this invention, people didn’t need Love’s hydroelectric dam power. Love’s funding ran out and his plan failed. His funding running out wasn’t the only factor that made his plan fail. In fact, it was only one of many. To say that Love failed because his funding ran out is a gross understatement. The other reasons were that he was disappointed because of “economic depression”, and “financial instability.” In the end, only one mile of the canal had been dug when William T. Love abandoned the Love Canal project.

The land, which consisted of a massive 15 acres (653400 sq ft), was used as a recreation spot for some time (fishing, boating, picnics, etc). In the year of 1929, the land was auctioned off to the City of Niagara Falls. The city used it as a landfill to deposit all the chemical waste from its giant, majorly successful petrochemical industry. Petrochemicals are anything derived from fossil fuels (oil, petroleum, diesel, etc). Later, the United States Army acquired the land. They used the canal area as a place to dump waste from their experiments on chemical warfare. Even though they didn’t fill the canal to the brim, the city of Niagara Falls and the US army still deposited lots of their toxic, hazardous, chemical waste there. The actions of the army and the city could and may have accounted for many of the problems created later on at Love Canal. The waste deposited by the US army was the worst, formerly used for chemical warfare (the use of chemical weapons). This could have accounted for many of the problems. This is because chemical weapons are designed to hurt, maim, and kill people. So, by dumping all this waste in the canal, they were basically asking for the civilians to get hurt. Unluckily, back then people didn’t know about the dangers of chemical waste and the harm it could inflict.

In 1942, Hooker Chemicals and Plastic Corp., a part of Occidental Petroleum, take over the Love Canal Landfill. Hooker starts to put in toxic waste and hazardous chemicals, adding to the filth already there. Day after day, week after week, year after year, the corporation mucked up the entire landfill, filling it until it overflowed with toxic filth, grime, and sludge. Until it filled up to the point that no more chemicals could be stuffed in, Hooker did not stop. Finally, in 1952, after the Love Canal is filled, they stop. During the decade that they were contaminating the canal, Hooker dumped over 21,000 tons of toxic waste in the Love Canal landfill. In 1953, when the company has no more use for the land, they sell it to the Niagara Falls city Board of Education for the ridiculously low price of $1. But inevitably, there is a catch. Hooker incorporates into the fine print “a disclaimer of responsibility for future damages due to the presence of buried chemicals.” (The Love Canal Collection – Chronology 3)

The Board of Education built a school at the newly bought Love Canal site (99th street school). They sell the excess land so houses can be built. Between 1950 and 1970, Residents complain about stuff seeping into their basements, yards, and about foul smells. Human and plant life alike suffer from many different mutations, deformities, and injuries. Some birth defects and mutations are deafness, extra rows of teeth, retardation, and too many white blood cells, which is a sign of Leukemia. Plant life was shriveling up, blackening, and dying. When kids came home from playing outside, the had serious burns on their hands and faces. People were later told that these chemicals that were contaminating their homes gave them a higher chance of cancer, genetic damage, and more. The air had a nasty smell that made people choke. There were the broken drums once used to store the chemicals strewn over backyards. Swimming pools turned into big lakes of chemicals, colored blue, yellow, and purple. Puddles of icky, toxic sludge puddles accumulated on yards, basements, an on school grounds.

After many of these reports came in, the Department of Health showed up and started doing tests on the air and the soil. They also did regular check-ups on 239 families that were living in the vicinity of the canal. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) declared that the toxic vapors coming from the canal are a major health threat and that many residents have chromosome damage. The New York Commissioner of Health, Robert Whalem, declares Love Canal and emergency and demands immediate clean up. And finally, on August 7th, 1978, President Jimmy Carter declared Love Canal a National Emergency/Disaster, and gave many funds for over 239 families to relocate. The area where this emergency took place, Love Canal, is now called Black Creek Village. Occidental Petroleum got sued for $129 million and lost. Eventually, the government relocated over 800 families. In a speech President Jimmy Carter said that what was alarming was not this incident itself, but the possibility that there may be many of these kind of emergencies all over the country.

Many testimonies were given, examples of which shall follow this sentence.

1. Lois Gibbs – argued for the LCHA, an organization that was the main part of the resistance
2. Luella Kenny – Son died from cardiac arrest caused by toxins
3. Maric Pazniah – Has an ill asthmatic daughter
4. James Clark – All his family members suffered from health problems caused by the toxic waste
5. Eileen Matsulavage – Her basement was contaminated with toxic chemicals and had to be sealed off

These are the ways in which people resisted, argued and persisted on the subject of dumping toxic waste at Love Canal, so that in the end, the government actually did something about it – protect people from the dangers.