Ch.6: The Rise and Fall of the Environmental Coalition

At this point we’ve seen that there were middle class, working class, and African-American forms of environmentalism.

Hurley argues that, after a while, ALL realized that the key was pollution reduction and that they had THIS in common.

Ch.6: The Rise and Fall of the Environmental Coalition II

This allowed Hatcher, and others, “to construct a multiracial and multiclass environmental coalition around the issue of coke oven pollution.”

To do so meant moving from simple ideas about regulatory reform to explicitly anti-corporate policies.

You can see the danger in this I hope. The corporate backlash was coercive, hard line,

uncooperative and powerful.

Ch.6: The Rise and Fall of the Environmental Coalition III

I want to stress the contingencies of the (social/environmental) political moment in the early 1970s.

The role of the federal government, through the War on Poverty & white-staffed VISTA workers is key to the coalition. (p.141)

Also, Hurley points to the importance of Hatcher’s constructive employment of gang members in his campaign.

This is some coalition, huh?

Ch.6: The Rise and Fall of the Environmental Coalition IV

NOTE the use of scientific and technological expertise to overcome corporate objections like: “but there’s nothing we can do… we’re already using the best possible practices.”

IMPORTANT: Neither the science alone, nor the coalition building by itself would have been enough for any level of success in reducing emissions from the coke ovens.

Both were necessary, esp. for working class whites to come on board -- such folks were threatened by black success far differently than their middle class cousins.

Resources Note how the power & resources of the company

were used to prolong the struggle and delay implementation via the courts.

Note the necessity of relatively good economic health for environmental regulation, social programs and multi-class/racial coalitions.

Again, the context is absolutely key. The early 70s, a minority mayor, an issue in common across and within race and class lines, federal and court support, healthy economic times and only one company to take on.

Key Point/Conclusion

JOB BLACKMAIL works much better under poor economic conditions than it does under good doesn’t it?

A CONSEQUENCE OF THIS, then, is that urban and working class environmentalism depends on economic health much more than middle income environmentalism and the protection of aesthetic and athletic natural areas.