Comments on: Building Bridges for Sustainability and Environmental Justice

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:00:40 +0000

Thanks for doing this video and all the comments have helped me to have a better understanding of these critical issues that many face. As a student, it is good to hear all the voices involved in EJ. This video series has helped me alot in learning and hearing the voices of the leaders and others, I might never get a chance to meet.

By: Maria

Maria — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:06:09 +0000

Great video with a very good message. As a facilitator, I know how difficult it can be to get everyone around a table with equal access and ability to participate in a process. I think this an opportunity to allow this company to put its words into action. I’m glad to see this type of social media being used in an instructive and positive way.

By: Roy Lee

Roy Lee — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:59:13 +0000

I enjoyed the video. I read all the comments the majority seem to be very positive. I hope WM is working to address the concerns of the community in Kettleman City. I hope to see more stories of Businesses who are working with community organizations to create healthier communities. I’m glad you are doing this video series. The first videoon WEACT was one of the best I have seen.

By: Luis

Luis — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 09:08:17 +0000

Considering the hot topic in Kettleman, California and violations of Waste Management… Not the brightest idea USEPA!! Please someone with a little more brains please inform Lisa Jackson and Lisa Garcia about this.. and Please just remove it, it does not help improve USEPA’s image. Considering the good with the bad, we the environmental justice movement try to help USEPA remain an agency that protects the environment and the public; but please help us help you!!! Also, don’t let the director who approved this video make any future decisions without serious scrutiny. As an environmental justice advocate I try to look at the opportunities to collaborate with all stakeholders; but this one wins for plain disrespect to the environmental justice communities in particular Kettleman.

By: Maricela

Maricela — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 01:27:37 +0000

Waste Management is a company that is less than truthful and has questionable ethics. I live in Kettleman City, CA, home to WM’s largest toxic landfill in the Western US. In the late 80′s this company tried to sneak in what would have been California’s first toxic waste incinerator. They didn’t notify the local community, didn’t provide translation at meetings or of key documents related to the project, despite the fact that the community is 97% Latino and monolingual, Spanish speaking. Fortunately the community got together and defeated this proposal.

Fast forward to 2012, now the community is facing an unexplained rash of birth defects, 13 in the past 5 years. At the same time, WM is trying to expand the size of their landfill in Kettleman City by over 50%. Additionally, the company has recently received millions of dollars in fines for improper disposal practices, violations in their lab work, & improper monitoring of PCB’s (which are known to cause cancer and birth defects!). The State has conducted a bogus study on the birth defects to absolve WM from responsibility, but not once was there any bio-monitoring of the mothers or infants (the surviving ones). The ‘study’ consisted of an 18 page questionnaire. And WM continues to campaign for their expansion permit; giving away t-shirts and lunch bags to buy people in this low-income community, packing hearings and meetings with their own workers, even providing them transportation, and encouraging a strong police presence at meetings to intimidate residents from attending. Does this sound like a company that cares about environmental justice? Shame on you, EPA for giving them a platform to spew even more propaganda.

By: Doug

Doug — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 12:58:47 +0000

I love the message of collaboration. I look forward to hearing more stories from communtie leaders like you shared in your first video in the series. Great Job!

By: Katherine

Katherine — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 12:16:03 +0000

As a person who works in communities, I know how difficult it can be to get Industry to come to the table as an equal partner. It was nice to here from a business leader that they have learned important lessons from EJ leaders and communities and are incorporating those lessons in how they do business. We need to hear from more business and Industry leaders on the same thing and then work with them to make words become reality. Great Idea to have diversity in your video series. I hope that as the series continues we will see videos that focus on local governments were many planning decisions are made. I would aslo like to see videos that focus on the great work that youth organizations are doing in this area. Also. it would be nice to hear what other federal agencies are doing on this subject, many of the issues in our communities require many different federal, statle and local agencies to be involved.

Great job on creating this video series!

By: Hector

Hector — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 02:49:05 +0000

Hmmmm I watched the video and felt that what was shared was very positive. I hope that some of the issues that have been commented on in the response section are being addressed. I looked at the other video in the series and it had a great message and taught me a few things about asthma rates.

By: William Ryder

William Ryder — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 02:26:41 +0000

I like this video – its one of the few times that I have heard business talk about working with EJ leaders and trying to do something positive in the community. I’m glad EPA is sharing different perspectives and stakeholders who are working on environmental justice. I’m anticipating the next video in the series.

By: Bradley Angel

Bradley Angel — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 18:25:06 +0000

This video is a disgrace and a violation of environmental justice.
It should have been released on April Fools Day.

How dare the US EPA’s anniversary of their alleged commitment to environmental justice feature the biggest waste company in the world with about the worst reputation for environmental racism and injustice.

This video was nothing less than blatant polluter-friendly propaganda and greenwashing.

Funny (not really) how EPA omitted any mention of the chronic violations they recently busted Waste Management for at the giant hazardous waste and PCB landfill in the Spanish-speaking farmworker town of Kettleman City. Chem Waste/WM got busted for years of illegal disposal and failure to conduct some of the required monitoring.

Funny how Sue of WM never mentions the fact that the company got their county permit based on pure racism and police intimidation, where police dogs and dozens of cops enforced racist hearing rules that gave Spanish-speaking residents half the time to testify as English speakers.

It was interesting to see the company workers wearing green shirts, the same shirts they put on their out of town workers who they brought in by the hundreds to pack a hearing on the proposed expansion of the dump and heckle residents and laugh at their concerns.

If EPA is truly interested in environmental justice they would have featured residents of Kettleman City speaking about living next to the giant WM toxic waste dump has brought about great suffering and decades of racism and injustice.
Shame on the EPA and their buddies at Waste Management.