We Need New Heroes, Not The Same Old Politicians To Solve Our Mounting Water Woes
The Water Issues Keeping Us Up At Night Are Not Getting Better; An Iowa Cancer Report Misses the Mark
With Super Tuesday behind us, the ramp up to the 2024 presidential election has got me thinking…
Where is the talk about our water? Where is the plan to invest more in one of the resources that matters most to the survival of life on this planet? Who are the candidates addressing our serious water concerns?
For years and years, I’ve been teaching one very simple concept: Superman is not coming. If you are waiting for someone to come and clean up your water, I’m here to tell you: No one is coming. I don’t mean to be such a downer, but I’ve been shouting from the rooftops for years about the water crisis. It’s not getting better.
Here’s a snippet from an email I received recently from Dianna in New Jersey. Her words are in sync with what thousands of people write to me—at a rate and pace that I cannot keep up with.
My fellow activist members and me remember you from a young age watching the movie that was made about you and your activism. We respect your work and fight for the people. We would have never thought in a millions years that we would be reaching out to you with our own concerns of our hometown's tap water. We are from a small town in New Jersey. After putting our home town’s zip code into the EWG tap water database, we were alarmed at what has come up.
Actually, every zip code we have put in has us concerned. A water crisis anywhere is a water crisis everywhere. One of the contaminants has a risk of changing blood chemistry. This is the most alarming! Mostly all others have cancer-causing risk.
I do see where there is a filter that they recommend. However, the realness of explaining to everyone how important it is to address these concerns to the city officials, not having backlash or retaliation, and then trying to help all those who can't afford filters is where we may need your help.
I also followed your town hall meetings for the Ohio train derailment and have realized that it's a major issue that is being swept under the rug. We see that the Ohio River basin connects to a large number of communities and then dumps into the Mississippi River. It seems like we are in some kind of water war and being poisoned at alarming rates.
I worked in healthcare for over 20 years and have since retired. I have my own palliative care organization, and I am seeing a cancer boom like never before. Most of the contaminants I am seeing in the taps are cancer causing and some 400 times the health recommendation. This is keeping me up at night.
I hear you, Dianna. These issues keep me up at night too. My hope is to show you that you are not alone in these concerns and that these issues are bigger than one person or one community working to solve them.
Yes, we need to vote in November, but we also need to steer the conversation toward water. I want more people to understand that there’s a water crisis happening everywhere, not just in your community.
Plus, here are my best tips on taking action:
Toxic Water Concerns
Concerns about contaminants in our water are real concerns that need to be addressed at the local, state, and national level. They need to be addressed by the water operators and municipal water districts.
While I appreciate that people write to me, I’m one person. People trust me more than their elected officials. A foul-mouthed, short-skirted blonde woman from Kansas! What we need is more people to mobilize and act in this upcoming election and everyday leading up to it—and everyday after it.
We can’t survive without access to clean water or water at all. Without water, it is literally GAME OVER for all of us.
Pollution problems persist and toxins are everywhere, stemming from the hazardous wastes of industry and agriculture. We’ve got more than 40,000 chemicals on the market today with only a few hundred being regulated. We’ve had industrial byproducts discarded into the ground and into our water supply for years.
The companies who dump these toxins know they are harmful. They have always known it. Big Ag knows. Big Chemical knows. The government knows it too. The EPA most certainly knows it.
These issues affect everyone—rich or poor, black or white, Republican or Democrat. Large and small communities everywhere think they are safe when they are not.
Just look at the latest news from Chemours: “Incorrect financial data could have misled shareholders, employees, and the public about the value and stability of the company.” Business as usual over there.
Not to mention we have a major backlog of Superfund sites. In late February, the U.S. EPA announced a third and final wave of more than $1 billion for cleanup projects at more than 100 Superfund sites across the country. This funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will launch new cleanup projects at 25 Superfund sites and continue other cleanups at over 85 Superfund sites.
It sounds like good news except that we have more than 1,300 Superfund sites on the National Priorities List (NPL), which is a list of the most serious sites identified for long-term cleanup. Interestingly, New Jersey has the highest amount of superfund sites of all states. About 53 million Americans live within three miles of a Superfund site, including 17 percent of all U.S. children under the age of five.
Here’s a map of superfund sites across the U.S. to gain some perspective.
Another thing that has my blood boiling is a new report from The Iowa Cancer Registry, a population-based cancer registry that has served the State of Iowa since 1973.
Iowa has the second-highest and fastest-rising incidence of cancer among all 50 states. About 21,000 new cancer cases are expected to develop this year and 6,100 Iowans will die from cancer, Iowa Cancer Registry Director Mary Charlton said in announcing the new report.
Well guess what? Iowa farms use more weed killers (237 million pounds) and apply more commercial fertilizer (11.6 billion pounds) every year than any other state, according to state and federal data. These chemicals are known to contaminate both soil and water and leave pesticide residue in the harvested grains, according to reporting by Keith Schneider in Circle of Blue.
But what does the report credit for high cancer rates? Binge drinking. Iowa has the highest rate of binge drinking in the Midwest and the fourth highest incidence of alcohol-related cancers in the U.S., according to the report.
Listen, of course, alcohol can be a contributor to cancer. But in my opinion, the real story is right here:
Iowa’s increase in cancer incidence appears to have started around 2012, according to the C.D.C. and the Iowa Cancer Registry. That rise in incidence occurs about 20 years, the scientifically accepted cancer latency period, after the start of Iowa’s rapid industrialization in farming.
“Is alcohol responsible for the increase in cancer incidence here since 2014? I personally doubt that,” James Merchant, a retired professor of occupational and environmental health, and former dean of the University of Iowa College of Public Health, told Circle of Blue.
“Having a high cancer rate doesn’t immediately translate to its being caused by industrial agriculture,” he continued. “Although I think there is just a strong reason to look very hard in that direction.”
Read the whole story here. Tell us what you think in the comments below.
Climate & Infrastructure
As if poisoned water wasn’t a big enough issue, the last decade has had some of the hottest years on record. Earth’s average surface temperature in 2023 was the warmest on record, according to an analysis by NASA.
As our climate changes, and we experience more droughts, floods, superstorms, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels, we are seeing greater strains on our water supplies, infrastructure, and economy.
Unsupervised industry pollution combined with failing infrastructure is a recipe for disaster. To add insult to injury, the more polluted the water becomes, the more chemicals we need to treat it, which perpetuates the cycle.
Major and minor U.S. cities and towns have deteriorating water infrastructure and old pipes contaminated with lead. Residents in rural areas often depend on unreliable, untested, or unsafe wells.
Many of the country’s water infrastructure problems stem from a general lack of investment, according to the EPA. But we also can’t ignore issues related to changing climate.
Last year, the president approved an emergency declaration for Louisiana, as the state battled saltwater intrusion along the Mississippi River contaminating drinking water and threatening water infrastructure.
Extreme drought across the state pushed water levels in the Mississippi River Basin to near-record lows. As the river’s flow rate weakened, a surge of saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico pushed upstream, polluting drinking water for thousands of residents south of New Orleans.
On February 20, the White House announced $5.8 billion in funding that will go out to every state and territory to help fix an ailing water infrastructure that puts millions of Americans’ health at risk.
Is that number enough to tackle the huge issues we face?
Darren Olson, head of the American Society of Civil Engineers Committee on America’s infrastructure, told CNN, “The water sector needs all the investment it can get, but when you start to look at what the funding gap is for our water infrastructure, drinking water, wastewater, stormwater—all that is promised is like just one-tenth of what we need.”
In the 1970s, Olson said the federal government used to spend 63 percent of the money needed for capital spending for water infrastructure. That number dropped to 9 percent in 2017, according to the US Water Alliance.
States and individuals paying higher taxes have to pick up that cost, but the expense is too much, he noted.
“In my opinion, clean water is something that requires federal direction, federal leadership, and more federal investment,” Olson said.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Sir.
A Newsletter Recommendation
Anya Kamenetz, is a former NPR reporter and award-winning nonfiction author who writes The Golden Hour, about well-being in the climate crisis. She believes that addressing climate anxiety can help overcome an important barrier to action, and that our young people really need it.
One climate justice educator said, “If you are in the climate education or organizing space, I highly recommend checking this resource out. Great articles, very empathetic and real stories and ideas.”
Check out this post on climate emotions with lots of resources and action steps:
Feeling overwhelmed by these issues? We need more people to speak up and speak out. Here’s some of my advice on that. Have other suggestions? Let us know in the comments below.
Thank you Erin for this information rich report. As a climate justice activist, I see the great similarity in attitudes and inaction of our institutions - both public and private - in responding to the existential environmental and climate problems that we have brought upon ourselves.
The new heroes: "They're not here, they're not coming" - in the words of Don Henley. It is up to us as individuals to let our politicians and corporate executives know that it is not OK to do business as usual, that they need to put the planet before profits or else. If enough of us do that, persistently, then maybe it will make a difference.
As for myself, I'm trying to make a difference: with my consumer behavior, with my little protest marches, and with my Substack.
Why are city’s not required to inform residents they reside mere feet from an indoor/outdoor EPA Superfund hazardous waste dump site? Harvester Square Sycamore, Illinois 1996-present