18. Lois Gibbs — The Legacy of Love Canal
When Lois Gibbs moved into the Love Canal neighborhood of Niagara Falls in 1972, she had no idea how radically her life was about to change.
She was newly married, with a baby son. Her husband had a well-paid job at the Goodyear chemical plant, and she loved her white picket fence in this recently constructed neighborhood with many other young families.
Over the next several years, her son began to have seizures, which was one of many mysterious illnesses that emerged among children in the neighborhood, including Lois’s second child.
She started asking questions, and she refused to stop asking questions.
She and her neighbors began to organize, eventually attracting the attention of the national media and even the President of the United States.
The secrets they discovered, and their refusal to leave politics and science to the so-called experts, changed the environmental movement forever.
I got to sit down with Lois on stage in front of a sold-out audience at the University at Buffalo on April 20, 2023, to talk about her story and where its led her since those tumultuous years in the 1970s.
Lois Gibbs is a legendary environmental justice pioneer, and her vibrant spirit is a massive inspiration to me in these dark times. Her stories are incredible, and they reveal how her persistence, resourcefulness, and strategic intelligence were instrumental in the struggle to clean up hazardous waste sites in the United States.
I’m John Fiege, and this is Chrysalis. You can subscribe at johnfiege.earth, where you will also find show notes and all episodes of the podcast, plus my writing, photographs, and films.
Here is Lois Gibbs.
Notes and Media Recommendations:
- Chej.org
- On Vinyl: A historical prequel to East Palestine's toxic train disaster
- E.P.A to Tighten Limits on Mercury and Other Pollutants From Power Plants
- Toxic Substances Control Act Overview at US House of Representatives Highlights Problems
- Unheralded Environmentalist: Jimmy Carter's Green Legacy
- 3M says it will end PFAS production by 2025
- EPA finds more than 9 million lead pipes supplying drinking water throughout the U.S.
- The EPA Now Says There Aren't 9 Million Lead Pipes–There are 4 Million. Be Skeptical.
- EPA sets bold new limits on 'forever chemicals' in drinking water
- Love Canal : The Story Continues... By Lois M. Gibbs
- Paradise Falls By Keith O'Brien
- Love Canal: A Toxic History from Colonial Times to the Present By Richard S. Newman
Credits
This episode was edited by Isabella Fleming and Blake Barit. Color grading is by Isabella Fleming. Kacey Stewart assisted with research and sound recording. Music is by Daniel Rodríguez Vivas. Mixing is by Morgan Honaker.
A special thank you Nick Henshue and Ken Zidell of the Department of Environment and Sustainability for organizing the event.
A special thank you as well to Hope Dunbar at the University at Buffalo Archives, who helped organize the event and provided all of the archival photographs.
Thank you to the co-sponsors of the event: Department of Environment and Sustainability, Department of Media Study, and University Archives at the University at Buffalo—and to the Center for the Arts for providing the space and the video recording.