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Water

              I saw Michael Moore on TV promoting his new movie last week, and I was reminded that not only is he from Flint, Michigan, but that community still has to use bottled water. It’s been years (at least 5, I forgot the exact number) since that community was able to trust their taps, and still nothing is being done to fix it. This fact is infuriating as someone who cares about the well-being of the whole country, but there is nothing I can do.

              Later, as I was reading about California’s 22nd congressional district, one of the facts that was part of the headline was not mentioned or discussed until 4 paragraphs down; part of the San Joaquin Valley does not have drinkable water, either.

              This was a shock. My home state, which I am so proud of, has this problem. There are people in my own state, with one of the top 10 world economies, where people have to use bottled water to do everything. The only way I was able to find out about it is because it is used to talk about something other than the president during a congressional election. Is this the only way we are going to hear about domestic tragedies, if it is politically motivated? How do we turn sympathy into action? It sickens me that this place that I rave about on a regular basis is letting our own residents live on bottled water…here…in California. This is not to be borne.

              I decided to do a quick Google search about cities in the US without clean drinking water, and there are dozens at first glance.  Diving deeper, there are at least 2 million people in this country without potable water. The estimates are between 12 and 48 states have tainted water supplies, and this affects between 2 and 140 million Americans. I will use the smallest figures because I want to avoid sensationalism and overstating the problem. I still don’t think the fact that three small states’ worth of residents not being able to drink their water is conscionable.

              I was hoping to find that someone, somewhere, cares enough to try to fix this problem in at least one affected area. I was saddened to find that there is nothing systematic in the works to solve, or even alleviate, this problem. I wanted to see why Flint still has to use bottled water, and I was only able to stomach some of the congressional hearing. The state government said it was the EPA’s fault, and the EPA said it was the state government’s fault. I spent some time on the EPA’s website to see what they have done to address this problem after the Flint blame game in congress. The governmental organization, which maintains that the oversight of water supplies is in their purview, has done nothing in this last year to clean the water. The closest they came was to reprimand a couple of companies that had tainted the water they used and were told to stop. That’s it. A governmental organization charged with protecting the environment, and they slap a couple corporations on the wrist. This is wholly inadequate.

              Now, the ability to clean water supplies is not a simple task, and the polluters are many, some with loud voices and deep pocketbooks. In light of the IPCC’s newest report on climate change, it is essential that we discuss and deal with this problem before there isn’t enough water for everyone to drink in this country. I know that sounds catastrophic and inflammatory, but I’m not overstating the problem. Water is one of the fastest ways to die from lack of something (next to oxygen and related issues).

              What does water have to do with social change? Everything. It is a long-standing psychological principle that people have to worry about their survival needs before they can focus on emotions or other people. The presence of drinkable water is one of those most basic needs. If the country is going to move forward and have an independent, informed electorate, at least 2 million people will need their water supply cleaned. I don’t want to see this nation that we see as so wonderful and advanced to start having issues that only developing countries are known for. Oh, wait, we have a homelessness, poverty, discrimination, hunger, and potable water problem throughout the nation. Never mind; we’re already there. So I guess the first step will be admitting that these problems exist domestically, and that they are not small problems. The next step would be to find a way to solve these very basic issues, or to admit that we are not the great country we have been lauding for decades and let the people die. Just saying it, even though I cannot imagine a world where that latter move is our decision.
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