A true American hero, Lois Gibbs has been at the forefront of the environmental movement in the United States for nearly three decades. In 1978, Gibbs became concerned about reports of chemical waste in her neighborhood in Niagra Falls, New York, and wondered if the unusual health problems in her own children and those of her neighbors were a result of exposure to leaking chemical waste. Upon discovering that her neighborhood sat on top of 21,000 tons of buried chemical waste at the now infamous Love Canal, Lois, with no prior experience in community activism, organized her neighbors into what became known as the Love Canal Homeowners Association and began years of struggle against local, st aet, and federal governments. Eventually more than 800 families were evacuated, and cleanup of Love Canal began. Her efforts led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "Superfund," still used to locate and clean up toxic sites throughout the United States. Lois is now the Executive Director for the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice and has been recognized extensively for her critical role in the grassroots environmental justice movement. In 2003, Lois was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She has receive an honorary Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Cortland and another from Haverford College.
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