Question: John and the Habitat for Humanity Dilemma

Imagine yourself in John Reynold''s position. What would you do? What are the social (or contextual) influences on how John thinks about his situation? Are they all equally relevant?

John Reynolds is a Research Chemist in Alabama. He also volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. In his volunteer work, he receives a lot of personal fulfillment as well as lines on his vita and credit towards "service in the community" at the laboratory where he is employed. One weekend, John sees a documentary film called Blue Vinyl. It essentially criticizes the polyvinylchloride-related industries for not using environmentally safe procedures, and for allowing PVC derivative compounds to leach into water tables. The current theory is that these compounds can later cause cancer in the human body. John was especially surprised to learn that vinyl siding on homes is considered to be one of the main contributors to groundwater and water table pollution. The documentary noted that a variety of home builders receive special incentive discounts to use vinyl siding. One such builder is Habitat for Humanity, which has used inexpensive vinyl siding in its homes for years, because Habitat receives vinyl siding at a reduced rate from the vinyl industry as a corporate tax shelter contribution. John does some research in respected journals, and decides that the link between vinyl products and cancer gives him cause for concern. What would you do in this case?

Blue Vinyl is a 2002 documentary film directed by Daniel B. Gold and Judith Helfand. Dubbed the world''s first toxic comedy, it highlights the hazards of bio-accumulation, pollution, and the make-up of what we commonly hope are benign plastics. It was shown at the Sundance Film Festival and received rave reviews from Roger Ebert. To be fair, some of the critics noted the final version of the film was edited to eliminate conflicting information and a woman who claimed to have a vinyl-related cancer later changed her diagnosis to another disease. There were other issues raised about the documentary's credibility. Still, the film became the centerpiece of a campaign to educate and persuade industry change in producing vinyl products. You may view the film at Blue Vinyl documentary or see clips at Highlights of Blue Vinyl documentary.