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Video Links

Love Canal: A Legacy of Doubt

In this 11:02 minute report from the New York times the impact of the Love Canal case is examined. The Love Canal community was a dumping ground for the Hooker Chemical corporation in the 1940s and 1950s. In the late 1970s chemicals began to leach into people’s homes and yards leading to a variety of harms to the community.

1. What types of harms was the result of the Love Canal case? Was government response to this case sufficient or should have greater action taken place in order to not only protect residents of Love Canal, but those of other communities from environmental crimes in the future?
    

25 Years Later: A Poison Town Can’t Come Clean

This 16.08 minute video from WGBH Boston looks at the Boston metropolitan areas struggles with environmental crimes, including the Woburn, MA case, made famous by the book and film A Civil Action

1. What was the cause of much of the environmental pollution throughout this area? Have EPA clean ups been effective at eliminating environmental pollution and the harms related to it?
    

Audio Links

When an Environmental Accident Becomes a Crime (30:19)

The topic up for discussion in this episode of Talk of the Nation is environmental crime. Specifically, what constitutes an environmental crime and when should a corporation’s “accident” be classified as a punishable offense? Importantly, this dialogue stimulates conversation about the appropriateness of penalties for corporations whose negligence results in widespread environmental devastation.

1. Based on the discussion how would you define an environmental crime? How does this differ from a corporate accident? What penalties should be applied to each? 
    

Oped: Oil Drilling Unsafe In Every Backyard (17:03)

In the wake of the Gulf Coast oil spill, Rebecca Roberts investigates the spill’s impact the oil industry and off shore drilling.  This op-ed piece can stimulate debate concerning the current state of the nation’s oil use and production. 

1. Discuss the causes of oil spills. Is the lack of oversight in the oil industry the problem? Should there be increased penalties and punishments to prevent future spills?