It was defeated because the site was wrong for a community that is already suffering from environmental injustice. The community worked to resolve the issue, and they were successful. It now looks as though the proposed site will become a new waterfront park. What we are fighting against is ignorance. We are fighting a blindness that plagues society with regard to environmental justice.
Environmental justice is about justice and environmental racism is about racism.
For the last half of 20th century we have fought against racism and discrimination in our schools, in housing, in our political system and in the work place. The same force that was used to bring equality and justice to those arenas must be employed now in our fight for environmental justice. No longer can we stand by and allow communities of color to literally be dumped upon. The discrimination by governments and corporations should not be tolerated. Up until now it has been easy for this to happen, but that must change.