What did lois gibbs do
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Lois Marie Gibbs
Executive Director, Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ)
In the spring of 1978, a 27 year-old housewife named Lois Gibbs discovered that her child was attending an elementary school built on top of a 20,000 ton, toxic-chemical dump in Niagara Falls, New York. Out of desperation, she organized her neighbors into the Love Canal Homeowners Association and struggled more than 2 years for relocation. Opposing the group’s efforts, though, were the chemical manufacturer, Occidental Petroleum, local, state and federal government officials who insisted that the leaking toxic chemicals, including dioxin, the most toxic chemical known to man, was not the cause of high rates of birth defects, miscarriages, cancers and other health problems. Finally, in October 1980, President Jimmy Carter delivered an Emergency Declaration, which moved 900 families from this hazardous area and signified the victory of this grassroots movement.
Once families were relocated from Love Canal, Lois’s life was changed forever. During the crisis, she received numerous calls fro
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Lois Gibbs Love Canal Papers
In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day on April 22nd, we are highlighting the papers of environmental activist Lois Gibbs as our current featured collection.
Born in 1951, Lois Marie Gibbs is an environmental activist and organizer who formed the Love Canal Homeowners Association after discovering that her entire neighborhood of Love Canal, Niagara Falls, New York, had been built on a toxic waste dump.
Gibbs had become increasingly concerned about her children’s health in the late 1970's. She read newspaper accounts of a landfill in Love Canal, noticed a pattern of health issues throughout her neighborhood, and began to investigate the problem on her own. She discovered that a field next to the neighborhood’s elementary school and homes had been a dumping ground for 20,000 tons of toxic chemicals.
That shocking discovery spurred Lois to lead her community in a three-year struggle to protect their families from the hazardous waste buried in their backyards. By t
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Lois Gibbs
American activist
Lois Gibbs | |
|---|---|
Lois Gibbs speaks to environmental groups who oppose sulfide mining near Lake Superior north of Marquette, Michigan | |
| Born | (1951-06-25) June 25, 1951 (age 73) Grand Island, New York |
| Occupation | environmental activist |
| Years active | 1978-present |
| Notable work | Dying from Dioxin (1995); Love Canal The Story Continues (1998) |
| Children | 4, including Michael Gibbs |
| Relatives | Harry Gibbs (first husband) |
| Awards | Goldman Environmental Prize, The Heinz Awards in the Environment (1999) |
Lois Marie Gibbs (born June 25, 1951)[1] is an Americanenvironmental activist. As a primary organizer of the Love Canal Homeowners Association, Lois Gibbs brought wide public attention to the environmental crisis in Love Canal. Her actions resulted in the evacuation of over 800 families.[2] She founded the non-profit Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste in 1981 to help train and support local activists with their environmental work. She continues to work with the organization, renamed the Center for Heal
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