It shows the complexity of the democratic process in action, as government officials struggled with a new set of questions -- weighing not only what government should do, but what it could do in the first environmental emergency of its kind -- while residents, brilliantly led by Lois Gibbs, formed their own views of these questions and developed strategies including public protest and a skillful use of the media to influence government's response.



Grade Level: 9-12, College, Adult
US Release Date: 1983     Copyright Date: 1982
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-735-3     VHS ISBN: 1-56029-264-4

Reviews "Heartrending program...promotes realization of the magnitude of the potential tragedies seeping through the country's soil...needs to be seen in public libraries, civic action groups, and schools." Booklist "An historic document that carries the poignancy of a profound human problem with the balance necessary to understand it without polemics." Anthony Bannon, The Buffalo News "The film can work well in any one of a number of science, health, environmental science, and social science classes. The complexity of the many issues and problems it brings out encourages activities such as debate, role play, simulation, and independent research, with a premium on the development of critical thinking skills." Curriculum Review