Killing Me Softly: Toxic Waste, Corporate Profit, and the Struggle for Environmental Justice

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring
Review: "Killing Me Softly" by Eddie Girdner and Jack Smith is a highly readable study of the environmental justice movement and the toxic waste industry. The book skillfully blends economic theory with a real-life case study to create a work that is both deeply thought-provoking and dramatic in its narrative. Thoroughly researched and persuasively argued, "Killing Me Softly" is an excellent book for both students and general readers who may be interested in environmental politics.

Girdner and Smith devote the first two chapters explaining how pollution is a systemic problem that is related to capitalism, production and the profit motive. Toxic waste in particularl is associated with the growth of the petrochemical industry in the post-World War II era, which not coincidentally has witnessed the rise of the modern waste disposal industry. The reader understands how the regulatory system seeks merely to contain (but not eliminate) waste and how the market tends to offload this waste onto the poor. The authors draw on Marx to explain that this process is historically linked "to the continued process of enclosure" of the commons but with the goal to "enhance the bottom lines" of the politically-powerful corporations that produce and dispose of these wastes.

Girdner and Smith then introduces us to the environmental justice movement which seeks to test the theory of grassroots democracy against the reality of corporate control. While minorities and women are most often targeted and disproportionately bear the costs of pollution, the authors argue that the case of Mercer County, Missouri demonstrates that the core issue is class, which in turn is rooted in capitalism's tendency to produce profits for the privileged few at the expense of the many.

The chapter about how the close-knit community of rural Mercer County organized to resist the "obliteration of a way of life" by a major corporation is a remarkable story that is written in a compelling manner. The people's ingenuity and determination to persist and continue their struggle in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds is truly inspiring. The authors go on to share some of the lessons learned from the citizen's victory in Mercer County to provide guidance to others.

Ultimately, Girdner and Smith's work helps us recognize the necessity for the environmental justice movement to transcend race and national identities and become a much broader movement that struggles against inequality and capitalist exploitation. In the final chapter, the authors propose six principles for a form of local, sustainable development that would allow people to achieve "peace, fulfillment, and happiness" in a way that is not dependent on the pursuit of material acquisition.

I highly recommend this exceptional book to everyone.

Rating:
Summary: A gritty, realistic, pull-no-punches survey
Review: Collaboratively researched and written by Eddie J. Girdner (Professor of International Relations, Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey) and Jack Smith (Professor of English and Philosophy, North Central Missouri College), Killing Me Softly: Toxic Waste, Corporate Profit, And The Struggle For Environmental Justice is a gritty, realistic, pull-no-punches survey and expose of the toxic waste industry and its relentless expansion. Stressing the need for environmental justice in a society that tends to consider the homes of poor people to be "not sufficiently polluted", Killing Me Softly is a much-needed and clarion call for the importance of conservation, ecological responsibility, environmental protections, and corporate/governmental reforms in the modern age.

Rating:
Summary: The political economy of toxic waste
Review: This book gives you an introduction to industrial pollution from a Marxist perspective. In this case, "Marxist" just means that the authors are willing to look at corporate causes, and show how the government interacts with corporations to ensure profits. Their description of the system is very good. In fact, it would be impossible to refute. They show how US taxpayers pay the cost for cleanup, then major chemical firms buy the cleanup companies and make a profit off of their own pollution.

After a brief but comprehensive overview of the chemical industry, public relations ("greenwashing"), and the history of dumping chemicals in poor areas, the authors turn their focus to a fight in Mercer County, Missouri. They tell the story of local activists trying to stop Waste-Tech, Inc.'s attempt to set up a toxic waste incinerator. Through public pressure, they struggle to defend their own health.

If you want a good book on the environment, try this one. The authors know how the system works and, although detractors may disregard their emphasis on the profit motive, everything here rings true. The footnotes are extensive, leading you to additional information.

Rating:
Summary: The political economy of toxic waste
Review: This book gives you an introduction to industrial pollution from a Marxist perspective. In this case, "Marxist" just means that the authors are willing to look at corporate causes, and show how the government interacts with corporations to ensure profits. Their description of the system is very good. In fact, it would be impossible to refute. They show how US taxpayers pay the cost for cleanup, then major chemical firms buy the cleanup companies and make a profit off of their own pollution.

After a brief but comprehensive overview of the chemical industry, public relations ("greenwashing"), and the history of dumping chemicals in poor areas, the authors turn their focus to a fight in Mercer County, Missouri. They tell the story of local activists trying to stop Waste-Tech, Inc.'s attempt to set up a toxic waste incinerator. Through public pressure, they struggle to defend their own health.

If you want a good book on the environment, try this one. The authors know how the system works and, although detractors may disregard their emphasis on the profit motive, everything here rings true. The footnotes are extensive, leading you to additional information.