R-E-C-T Research Paper

Who knew that Flints water could be deadly? Everyone should be allowed to have the same clean water to bathe in, drink, cook with, and to have fun in. Unfortunately, residents in Flint could not do this for quite some time. These residents were bathing and drinking from this water before the founding of high lead levels in it. Not only was it because of the high lead levels, but the pipes were very old as well. Due to actions made by the city council this caused a lot of problems for the residents in the city of Flint. This effected children, pregnant women, and the elderly the most. Many lawsuits were filed against the city of Flint. It was so serious to the point that Governor Snyder had to declare a state of emergency. This took place January 5th of 2016. High levels of lead in the water and old pipes lead to lawsuits, the sickness of Flint residents, and the city of Flint not doing their job.

After her family fell ill she contacted Mark Edwards. After Edwards conducted research he found 133 times the EPA lead limit. (Paynter 96-97) The author wrote, “The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality told Waiters the Problem was likely inside her house only” (Paynter 97). This shows that the government avoided a serious problem by telling Walters that the problem was in her home. This is while her family fell very ill and the Department of Environmental Quality completely ignored her concerns. However, not only do the people of Flint believe that the government has been absent through this crisis; so does Hillary Clinton, the Democratic representative for this year’s presidential election. When asked about the water crisis in an interview with James Comey, Clinton states that, “[Snyder] acted as though he didn’t really care.” This shows that even other politicians are dumbfounded by Governor Snyder's actions towards this. This statement did not stop others politicians to attack Snyder. Senator of Vermont Bernie Sanders did not hold back. He went as far as calling for his resignation.

On December 3rd, 2015, the mayor of Flint, MI Karen Weaver declared a state of emergency because of the high levels of lead in the water supply. Two weeks later President Obama directed FEMA to help provide equipment and resources to the citizens affected, including providing bottled water and local water stations around the city. On March 21st, 2016, Governor Rick Snyder came out with an outline that addresses the agencies goal to help fix the crisis. It focused on providing professional support for children under 6 with elevated lead levels, replacing water fixtures in public facilities, replacing the city’s 8,000 lead service lines, and increasing resources for schools. (Michigan.gov. 2017). Through April to July 2016, nine state officials and employees face criminal

An attempt to save money by changing water sources by an indifferent government caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, negative health effects, and a total loss in faith in the government of Michigan. Although measures have been taken to mitigate these problems, their effects have already marred the city of Flint and its

The contamination began in April 2014 after the source of the town’s water supply was switched from Lake Huron to the Flint river in order to reduce governmental costs. This was done despite the fact that the Flint River had a strong history of pollution. Among this pollution included car parts, a dead body, and high levels of chemicals. (Semules par 5). Once the pipes were switched there were several complaints of the water having a foul smell and metallic taste (Foley par 4). In the beggining the government denied that anything was wrong despite the fact that lab examinations of the water proved otherwise. Two years after the Flint water crisis gained media attention, the Senate passed a bill that would provide Flint residents with water, but this is

The city of Flint is 70 miles away from the costs of the Great Lakes which hold the greatest sources of fresh water, yet there residents still can't get clean tap water. 15% of homes in Flint Michigan are boarded up ,40% of the people are in poverty , high unemployment rate, and consistently on a list for most dangerous places to live in the nation .In an attempt to cut budget cost in 2014 Flint stop getting pre treated water from the city of Detroit . Problems began when the city started using water from the Flint river .Flint River is 19 times more corrosive than Lake Huron (Detroit water source) . City and state officials denied for months that there was a serious problem by that time, supply pipes had sustained major corrosion and lead

The Flint Water Crisis has quickly joined the ranks of Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance, Kwame Kilpatrick, and the state of Michigan’s highways as nationally televised disappointments to come out of Michigan. This paper will look at the facts surrounding the causes, current situation, and remedies for the Crisis while also confronting the ethical and unethical acts of key figures associated with the Crisis.

I also explored Ryan Felton’s use of the persuasive appeals; Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. These appeals were used to inform the audience (Flints Residents, homeowners, and the government) about what happened, since there were some speculations and no governmental entity have claimed responsibility for the crisis. Almost every agency has pointed and blamed the author for not taking the necessary actions and not taking the residents’ complaints to account, even though they were already complaining ever since the switch happened. However, volunteers from all over the country poured with their support to the city. Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, finally acknowledge the crisis in October, when he said “the situation was far graver than he initially understood”, he also announced a “12 million-dollar plan to reverse Flint's water source back to its previous supplier the city of Detroit” (Felton). Residents however are still hesitant on trusting the governor. However, the majority is still in shock about how was it that poisoned water flew in to their homes for Months. The city and its people are slowly adjusting back to their normal lives; however, the damage is already

Flint in Michigan is located 70 Miles away from the shores of large fresh water bodies, the Great Lakes. Despite this close proximity to the fresh water bodies, the residents have not been able to get the clean water. The water supply of Flint in Michigan in the United States has undergone serious water contamination crisis. The water crisis started in April 2014 (Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, 2016). The contamination of drinking water began when the source of water was changed from the treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River. This later led to a serious contamination of the water due to lead contamination hence creating more danger in the public health. The Flint River had a corrosive nature and caused lead from the old pipes to leach into the water supply. This caused heavy metals in the water supply. This posed serious health problems. For example, six thousand to twelve thousand children were exposed to the contaminated water. The blood-lead level in children increased. The alteration in the water source was the main reason behind the water crisis in Flint.

The people of Flint did not keep their mouths shut when they seen all the worrisome problems that popped up. Flint can thank one woman in particular for bringing the nation’s attention to what was happening. LeeAnne Walters is a thirty-seven year old mother of four who was not going to sit around while her family was withering away. She knew there was a serious problem not being dealt with in the summer of 2014. Her three-year-old twins got a rash when they had a bath. She could no longer leave them in the tub to soak. One of her twins had extreme reactions to the water. Gavin’s skin would become scaly and red where the water line stopped. Later her water turned brown and her family avoided tap water as much as possible. The twins got a bath in bottled water each week and bath with baby wipes the other days. Over time, the symptoms slowly disappeared (Lurie). Simple tasks like brushing their teeth, bathing, and cooking were incredibly complicated and expensive. Gavin and Garrett were not the only ones being affected. Her son had numerous trips to the hospital for abdominal pain, all the members of her family were losing hair, and at one point she lost her eyelashes. In January 2015, Flint declared that the city's water had dangerous levels of trihalomethanes. That came from the disinfectant that was supposed to treat the water. Exposure to these chemicals can cause liver, kidney, and nervous system

The Flint water crisis is an issue that has been plaguing the state of Michigan for over two years and has no feasible end in sight. The neglect of various government officials and employees has culminated in a public health danger for thousands of Michigan residents, by way of consumption of water with high levels of lead. Though the individuals deemed responsible for this deplorable situation have lost or resigned from their positions, and some criminal charges have been brought about, there is still a lot that has to be done to try and repair the damage that they did.

However, rather than try to deal with the problems that were being brought to the government’s attention, the Snyder administration covered up the problems and discredited the scientists or doctors that tried to warn people of the problems. There have been multiple credible studies involving Flint’s water crisis. For example, a doctor performed blood tests on children in the Flint area and uncovered a significant increase in the number of children who had increased levels of lead in their blood. She immediately brought her findings to the attention of various agencies in the Snyder Administration but she was largely ignored. Another researcher came to Flint to get a sample of water; he placed a nail in the water and after a week the nail began to rust immediately. He brought his document and proof to the Governor administration and this person, yet again, was discredited and marginalized. Meanwhile, one of the largest manufacturing companies in the world, whose Flint manufacturing plant refused to use the water because it caused engine parts to corrode. Despite many examples of significant problems with the water in Flint, Governor Snyder dismissed the problem until children were being diagnosed with lead poison that when he figured it was time to address the

Many people believe that Governor Snyder should resign as a result of being negligent when it comes to this serious issue. His leadership is questioned because it took so long for him to acknowledge it and apologize for it. In Snyder’s speech spoken about in an article from The Washington Post he apologizes by saying “I’m sorry, and I will fix it”. He provided a plan to solve the problem, which has been long awaited by people who are already negatively effected. The question is: Should he be forgiven and trusted to make the necessary drastic change? The people who were forced to drink toxic water for a year and a half by the government may go with the

There are two sides to this story, the government of Flint, MI and the people who reside

As you indicated our governmental institutions need to develop special agendas to prevent genocide among the less fortunate. In his video Moore that it is difficult to process how Governor Snyder immorally, decided to detach the Flint’s population from their fresh water source, which was Lake Huron, to hook them to the lead polluted water of the local river. He had no qualms poisoning young children, elders, and the whole population of Flint, but he was astonished when he was notified that the GM’s cars were being damaged by the same water. Promptly, he acted and spent $440,000 to provide fresh water for this company. For the lead poisoning that he committed against the people of Flint, he certainly deserves to be in jail for the rest of his