By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Erin Brockovich the “real” Erin Brockovich, not movie star Julia Roberts urged Rider University students not to quit in the face of problems, and particularly if those issues are related to health and the environment.
Ms. Brockovich, who was the subject of the 2000 film bearing her name that starred the actress, spoke to about 200 people last Thursday at the Bart Luedeke Student Center at Rider. Her remarks to the students, staff and the public mixed caution about environmental issues with messages of personal empowerment.
”You (students) were babies you were 7 years old when the movie came out. The movie is 12 years old, but the issue of environmental problems is more important (than ever) today,” she said.
She was invited to speak during Rider’s Earth Month Film and Speaker Series.
The biographical film focused on Ms. Brockovich’s research into groundwater contamination by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and its impact on the lives of the residents of Hinkley, Calif. The utility company was sued, resulting in a $333 million settlement that was paid out to more than 600 residents of the town.
”We were not about quitting or giving up. That is the foundation of my life and work today. I believe in justice, morality and fair play. I have to (try to) right a wrong, even if I don’t think I can,” said Ms. Brockovich, who was a file clerk in a law office when she discovered that PG&E had knowingly released chromium into the town’s pond since 1958.
Ms. Brockovich said she has been “out here” for more than 20 years, focusing on environmental issues. Among her latest interests is the looming global water crisis, which is highlighted in the soon-to-be-released film “Last Call at the Oasis.” It will be released nationwide next month.
The United States runs to the aid of Africa, which is facing a major water crisis, she said, but nothing is done about the potential water shortage in the United States. She said she hopes that “Last Call at the Oasis” will increase awareness of the pending problem and stimulate a solution for it.
She also predicted that “we are on a collision course” with nature unless steps are taken to examine and mitigate the problem. Unless changes are made, “we will have the biggest crash of all,” she said. It is time to find new ways to conduct business and to give back to the planet that society has taken so much from, she added.
”The environment is either our enemy or our ally, depending on how we take care of it. It is our economy and our business. If it fails, we fail,” Ms. Brockovich said.
If the bank runs out of money, it’s just a matter of printing more money, she said. But if the world runs out of trees, oil and natural gas, and water well, they are not so easily replaced, she said. And that is the danger the world is facing, she added.
One of the biggest problems, Ms. Brockovich said, is deceit and secrets and that is what endangers the public welfare. Pointing to corporations, she said that instead of lying about the contamination they have caused and spending money on lawsuits to defend themselves, they could have used that money to clean up the water and soil.
Ms. Brockovich said she learned about deceit and honesty as a teenager. As a high school student, she skipped school one day to socialize with her friends. When her father found out, he wrote a letter to her about deceit and deceptiveness. She said she re-discovered the letter around the same time that she began to pursue the Hinkley contamination issue.
The universal truth is that it’s not deception, but “our loss of respect for ourselves and others” that is key, she said. Respect, honor and honesty are “what keeps us moving” but moving away from those values is what causes one’s downfall, she added.
Ms. Brockovich said it is also about getting involved. People have the choice to become involved or to look the other way. They often choose not to get involved because they don’t think they can make a difference, she said, but that’s not always true. One person can make a difference, she said.
But it’s not just the choices that individuals make it’s the choices that companies make, Ms. Brockovich said. PG&E chose to cover up the contamination and the result was a lawsuit. If the company had chosen to do the “right” thing, the lawsuit would never have been filed and lives would not have been lost to cancer, she said.
”This is your wake-up call,” Ms. Brockovich said.
It is time to change how people interact and deal with the environment, she said. It’s never too late, and history does not have to repeat itself. Stepping back “lets you see how we got here,” she said.
”Every one of us has a different journey in life. I have made many mistakes and taken many mis-steps. The hardest part of life is finding the solution to the problem in front of me in front of us. Do not quit or give up. That is the key to moving forward and finding a solution,” Ms. Brockovich said.
