Analyze

I published this news article about a hunger strike against Formosa Plastics that occurred in Texas this fall. Despite the extremity of a 30-day hunger strike, the protesting tactic has not gained attention from national media outlets. At the time I published this article, two small environmental organizations had announced the beginning of the strike, but none continued to cover the event in the unfolding weeks. While activists are driven to take on dangerous protest tactics, little communication of these tactics has carried across mass media.

The article itself introduces Formosa Plastics through its reputation as a "serial offender" of environmental and workplace safety regulations. I list several statistics on legal fines that Formosa Plastics has accumulated overtime, using these quantities to demonstrate the scale of their harm to environmental and human health. An important limitation of this storytelling strategy, however, is that many of Formosa Plastics' actions go undocumented, and even when documented, do not lead to legal consequences. Furthermore, we should still strive to acknowledge the harms committed by Formosa Plastics that are technically within legal limits.

1. How has CRPE adapted its strategies and approaches in response to changes in the political and social landscape, and what are the organization's priorities for the future?

2. What advice would you give to individuals or organizations interested in working on environmental and social justice issues in low-income communities and communities of color, based on CRPE's experiences?

3. How does CRPE measure the impact of its work, and what data or metrics does the organization use to track progress?

4. Can you provide examples of some of CRPE's most significant successes in addressing environmental and social justice issues, and the strategies that were employed to achieve these successes?

This organization is based upon supporting grassroots movements with the necessary legal to represent and support local activists effectively. CRPE also consciously makes an effort to represent historically underrepresented and marginalized communities.

California Green Zones | (CRPE) wrote a piece regarding CRPE and spoke highly of this organization and its efforts to support underserved communities in the San Joaquin Valley.

Kern Community Foundation, Fresno County, and King Community Activists are groups from the local area that support and collaborate with CRPE.

Mainstream agricultural farming is conducted within this area. It produces an obscene amount of pollution that is toxic to the local community, but at the same time, the industry is a significant employer for the local area.

CRPE seems to be proud that they are working within the San Joaquin Valley in one of the most polluted areas in the nation, “West of the Mississippi.” It also claims that by empowering locals with the necessary resources, they can amplify the already “robust vision for change” as well as “the willpower [of the community] to make it happen.”

They share the cases they are actively working on and provide further details and documentation of how those legal battles proceed. I feel as if the information itself is credible because of the validity of the organization's purpose and then the team of active lawyers working on each case. 

CRPE seems most proactive around legal advocacy work. They support and represent the needs of the communities they work with to help them reach their goals.

The most recent document relating to their Financial Statement is from the 2015 fiscal year. From what is detailed in the statement, the majority of their financial expenses come from grants.