The crisis in Flint, Michigan has been a topic that has been on my radar since the problem arose. The fact that our government can blatantly lie to its constituents about the quality of their water is appalling. Many politicians do not understand the facts that have directly come from the poisoning of their water supply from lead. The story is that the politicians knowingly poisoned and neglected to protect the citizens of Flint, Michigan by abstaining from doing a number of safety precautions before switching the water source of the city from the Detroit River to the Flint River. The facts are clear. In this article, it said the highest recorded level of lead recorded was 13,000 ppb, which is 866 times the federal guideline. Lead poisoning can also be seen in its effects on the brain, especially in children, of which in Flint, 12,000 have high levels. This leads to the statistic that the third-grade reading level fell by almost 30 percent! Another horrible aspect of this situation is the fact that many of the families in Flint are not affluent enough to do much about the situation.
Not only that but now the pipes are contaminated, making it harder to readjust. There are still 12,000 homes, many with children, that have not had their pipes replaced. The politics of this case blow my mind. It blows my mind that 15 Michigan officials believed that they had no part in causing the poisoning. Yet, this is analogous to someone disagreeing that a bruise resulted from falling on the steps. The bruise resulted from the action because of the contact. Similarly, the contact with lead by drinking the poisoned water created lead poisoning in the citizens because there was simply no other source it could have come from. The evidence of lead poisoning is clearly related to the fault of the politicians in the misstep of not properly testing the Flint River before making the switch. These 15 lawmakers were, in fact, rightfully charged with involuntary manslaughter. Oh, wait, yes, the state did help! They instated subsidies for the citizens in 2016! Oh wait, it was revoked in 2017. Oops, well, nevermind.
In addition to that mess, the politicians even allowed for Nestle, a huge company, to take more water out of their water supply in a Michigan well. The power of large corporations is unwavering in environmental science issues, and it makes me heated. It demonstrates the power of money over morals and the power of money over environmental safety in our government.
Even today in Flint, the politicians cut back on the water bottle supply to the city, making it even more difficult for the citizens to stay clear of lead poisoning. The government is even charging these impoverished citizens with more than $800, one of the highest rates for tap water during the worst years of lead pollution. There needs to be changed. The government needs to reinstate these programs and save the future of our country.