Abstract
Broadcasted in 2000, Erin Brockovich could be a great illustration of the "environmental justice movement". Indeed, while no one takes her seriously, a young woman begins to investigate a suspicious case involving the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. She discovers that the company is trying quietly to buy land that was contaminated by hexavalent chromium, a deadly toxic waste that the company is improperly and illegally dumping and, in turn, poisoning the residents in the area. As she digs deeper, Erin finds herself leading point in a series of events that would get her involved in one of the biggest class action lawsuits in American history against a multi-billion dollar corporation. The environmental justice movement has emerged over the last two decades as a result of increased awareness of the disproportionately high impacts of environmental pollution on economically and politically disadvantaged communities. It was the product of the intersection between the civil rights and environmental movements. The movement brought together issues of social, economic, and political marginalization of minorities and low-income communities, and concerns over pollution hazards in neighbourhoods and in the workplace.
