‘Sacrifice Zones’ Author to Speak, Sign Books at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Steve Lerner, author of “Sacrifice Zones: The Front Lines of Toxic Chemical Exposure in the United States,” will speak at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 205 Smith Hall (Alabama Museum of Natural History) on The University of Alabama campus.

A reception and book-signing will follow. The event is free and open to the public.

“Sacrifice Zones,” published by MIT Press, looks at 12 communities, from Brooklyn, N.Y., to Pensacola, Fla., that opposed industries and military bases that caused disproportionately high levels of chemical pollution. Lerner calls these low-income neighborhoods “sacrifice zones.” He argues that residents of a new generation of sacrifice zones, tainted with chemical pollutants, need additional regulatory protections.

Lerner is the author of “Eco-Pioneers: Practical Visionaries Solving Today’s Environmental Problems” (1998) and “Diamond: A Struggle for Environmental Justice in Louisiana’s Chemical Corridor” (2005).

Co-sponsors of the event are UA’s New College, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and the American studies, criminal justice, geography and gender and race studies departments. For more information, contact Margaret d’Souza at 205/348-8400 or mdsouza@nc.ua.edu.