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this seems very tangentially related to urban planning but I can't think of which forum it belongs
Flint, MI.
Providing safe water to people is urban planning, one hopes. Numerous kids there have been poisoned with lead. A national disgrace.
Apparently what happened is they started using water from the Flint River instead of what they had been using. Because the pH was lower, it was more corrosive and ate away the rust/crap from the inside of the water mains, taking with it lead, that had deposited over some years.
They're finding it in NJ school drinking fountains.
Providing safe water to people is urban planning, one hopes. Numerous kids there have been poisoned with lead. A national disgrace.
Apparently what happened is they started using water from the Flint River instead of what they had been using. Because the pH was lower, it was more corrosive and ate away the rust/crap from the inside of the water mains, taking with it lead, that had deposited over some years.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think this is exactly what happened. Yes, the water source was changed. And, yes, this (along with neglecting to change additives to the water supply to compensate for the change of source) changed the pH of the water. This caused the water to dissolve the protective coating of minerals that built up on the inside of the pipes over time.
I guess the exact makeup of this coating would be different for every water system, depending on region, and source of water. Here, in Youngstown, where I've done my share of amateur plumbing, our pipes develop a hard white coating of minerals. If you have "hard water," your pipes probably have this coating, too, and I'm pretty sure it's what the pipes in Flint had, until the change in pH caused it to dissolve.
Unfortunately, lead pipes were commonly used to connect cities' water systems with home plumbing systems up into the 1930s. And even after that, lead was still used in solder until the 1980s. Even today, most faucets and plumbing fittings made of brass contain a small amount of lead. In Flint, the more acidic water--after dissolving the mineral protective coating--then started to leach lead from the plumbing, itself.
Many cities have lead pipes in their water systems. Even if a city is able to replace their portion of the system--their water mains--with pipes that do not contain lead, the pipes leading from the city's water main to each home's plumbing system may also need replaced with a pipe that doesn't contain lead. (if the house was built in the 1930s, or before) And, that length of pipe is usually the responsibility of the homeowner, because it would just be far too expensive for the city to have to maintain it all. This is especially problematic in a city like Flint, where the city can't even afford to replace their own water mains, let alone the supply lines feeding each house.
Quote:
They're finding it in NJ school drinking fountains.
I think this is more common than most people realize. I work in an architect's office, and we work with many local school districts. I know we've received calls from some of the districts about finding slightly elevated levels of lead in their water. This usually happens at areas where sinks, fountains, etc. aren't used regularly. If water sits for awhile, it can absorb lead from the tiny amount found in brass fittings, faucets, and even solder, if that area of plumbing was installed before 1986.
Children are being poisoned now. Lets do something to fix that now. Not wait for someone else, don't fix it next year, fix it now.
I've proposed something like this a few times, to people who say they care about poor kids getting poisoned. Interest level: zero. Once I get past my frustration at this institutional apathy, I begin to get the reason: they're lawyers and lobbyists.
The War on Poverty has been around since LBJ announced it in January of 1964. We've been fighting it ever since. Why? There are well over 100,000 governmental employees whose job depends on that war. If the war were actually, you know, won, then we could lay off 100K+ employees who are no longer needed. Hence, we now have 100K+ governmental employees who actively fight against winning this war.
The War on Drugs has been around since at least Richard Nixon's speech in 1971. We've been fighting it ever since. Why? There are well over 100,000 governmental employees whose job depends on that war. If the war were actually, you know, won, then we could lay off 100K+ employees who are no longer needed. Hence, we now have 100K+ governmental employees who actively fight against winning this war.
Government employees do not have any incentive to actually *fix* any effing problem. They have an incentive to study it, which requires a budget and staff. And to study it more, requiring more staff and budget and promotions and larger paychecks.
The War on Poverty has been around since LBJ announced it in January of 1964. We've been fighting it ever since. Why? There are well over 100,000 governmental employees whose job depends on that war. If the war were actually, you know, won, then we could lay off 100K+ employees who are no longer needed. Hence, we now have 100K+ governmental employees who actively fight against winning this war.
The War on Drugs has been around since at least Richard Nixon's speech in 1971. We've been fighting it ever since. Why? There are well over 100,000 governmental employees whose job depends on that war. If the war were actually, you know, won, then we could lay off 100K+ employees who are no longer needed. Hence, we now have 100K+ governmental employees who actively fight against winning this war.
Government employees do not have any incentive to actually *fix* any effing problem. They have an incentive to study it, which requires a budget and staff. And to study it more, requiring more staff and budget and promotions and larger paychecks.
You are entirely right.
"War on drugs"? It's a war on US citizens. You want to use drugs, take them home and take them in the privacy of your home? That's your business. There is no Constitutional justification for government intervention. None at all.
Lead contamination. Kids with lots of energy who could be put to work solving this problem.
My idea: lets look at where the kids have elevated lead blood levels. It's likely coming from someplace they are playing. Lets have some rudimentary lab work done - not too costly. Then, lets get out there with some shovels and skim off the contaminated soil. (When I say 'lets', I mean, me too. I'm not too good to pick up a shovel.) Then, lets put down some clean fill. Fix the effing problem.
Children are being poisoned now. Lets do something to fix that now. Not wait for someone else, don't fix it next year, fix it now.
I've proposed something like this a few times, to people who say they care about poor kids getting poisoned. Interest level: zero. Once I get past my frustration at this institutional apathy, I begin to get the reason: they're lawyers and lobbyists. They want to get somebody else to do something. They'd never imagine picking up a shovel. I gather that that is beneath them. They all went to the same schools, all speak the same language, all belong to that social service subculture.
I once heard it said of some Conservative lawmaker that he'd give his lunch to a hungry kid on the street, but veto a school lunch program in Congess. Members of this subculture are just the opposite. Getting their hands dirty - unthinkable. Um, that's my lunch, kid.
This is naked class snobbery. Just listen to them: their kneejerk put downs of our country. That in itself is a class marker, demonstrative of a profound ignorance of history. Sorry, no time to listen to you: gotta dash off to another catered lunch so's I can defend the poor unwashed.
Just don't ask me to touch them.
Excellent idea. Why not get teens to do it after school rather than getting into fights and making babies?
"Qualified" = you work for somebody who contributed to some politicians slush fund.
With some elementary training and some simple PPE, I could lead a crew and start cleaning up things tomorrow. But I guess we need to wait for the "qualified."
Might wait till 2100.
03-06-2018, 10:19 PM
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Slowing down of strong effective productive Logistics when that much clutter occurs going overboard. Conversing around in circles endlessly is emerging or already constant political nightmare. Well balancing each official’s own energy into other stages allows legitimate honorable progress. Even when discriminating against the poor with derogatory apprehension, at least further assist them with kind deeds. Avoiding or at least significant reduction from corrupt surroundings is able to happen in our dynamic flowing society. Including destitute citizens receiving the materializing support they deserve. Typically, they already genuinely work hard, and are victims in the system, not criminals.
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