Tonawanda Reads! Session 1 Discussion Questions

The first session of Tonawanda Reads! will be this Saturday, May 4th at the Brighton Place Library from 11:30-12:30.

To learn more about our first summer book club read here.

We will be discussing Chapter 1 and 2 at the first session, however if you have not yet read or purchased the book, don’t worry! We will catch you up. Questions? or to register email Rebecca@cacwny.org

Raising Elijah Discussion Questions:

Chapter 1:

• What part of the first chapter resonated with you the most? Why?

• On page 5, Steingraber states “Elijah Lovejoy was a persistent and uncompromising man.” Throughout the chapter, the author references social movements that oppose policies that hurt families and children. When in your life have you opposed something in an uncompromising way?

• We hear often about the dangers of smoking to pregnant women, but rarely hear about the dangers of smog, diesel fumes, “new car smell” and industrial releases. Why do you think this is? (pg 11-12).

MORE RESOURCES:

• PCB’s and Social Movements:
  • Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental Quality. Bullard, R. D. 1990
  • The effects of PCB’s on Children’s Health – NCBI
  • Daily Freeman (April 29th 2013) Hudson River PCB Drudging Begins 4th Season
• 911 and Worker Exposure
  • Short term impacts of emergency responders – NYC.gov
  • NYCOSH – 911 Environmental Exposures: Regulatory Response and Human Health
  • CNN Health (2010) Years Later 911 Workers Still Show Decreased Lung Function

Chapter 2:

• On page 33, Steingraber asks readers the following question: “If it turns out that we, as parents, can’t easily protect our children from exposure to environmental toxins like arsenic, is it better to know about the evidence of harm? or to not know?”

• On page 43, Steingraber refers to a father who states “As soon as you know, you can’t not know.”  What are some feelings that come with “knowing”. If you were the parents of the  children who used the community center, how would you have acted?

• When Steingraber goes infront of the board of directors, why do you think the board acted the way they did? (pg 43)

• Do you see any similarities between the community center board and our local town and city government?

• Steingraber speaks to the complexity of the “web of causation and responsibility” (pg 52-52). Have you ever experienced something unjust and didn’t know who to hold accountable? Did you figure out who was responsible? If so – how? If not- would you have done anything differently?

MORE RESOURCES:

• National Children’s Study
• Toxic Chemical Safety Act
• The Multinational Monitor: The Precautionary Principle
• Poison Playgrounds: An investigation into wood treated with CCA