A Resource Mobilization Analysis of a Failed Environmental Protest

As citizens seek safety and redress from a proliferation of environmental dangers, there is a need to explore citizen protest in environmentally troubled communities. This case study examines a failed protest in the community with the country's number one toxic waste dump. The paper employs resource mobilization as a theoretical lens through which to study this protest. The paper examines factors that favored mobilization (opportunities to challenge elites, ability to mobilize resources, organizational coherency, and recognition by those in power); and factors that worked against mobilization (investment in the system, tactics, emphasis on expertise, and opposition from elites). The paper concludes by discussing why the protest by the grassroots group in this town failed to garner widespread community support. Implications for environmental