https://lemmy.world/comment/6461060

      • EmmaGoldman [she/her, comrade/them]M
        hexbear
        52
        6 months ago

        Actually most of the US has unsafe drinking water, and there are over a million kids in the US at any given time currently suffering from acute lead poisoning. The EPA's 15ppb action level is much higher than it should be, and even in spite of that nearly half of Americans are getting water above the action level limit thanks to cheating on water testing, deferring action, and local governments outright lying to people.

        • joaomarrom [he/him, comrade/them]
          hexbear
          30
          6 months ago

          I was going to make a joke about our site's "ppb action level" but over a million kids with lead poisoning is just fucking bleak, goddamn

          I live in the Global South and I drink water straight from the tap because it's safe, meanwhile the US is sending ungodly amounts of money to Ukraine and Israel while children's brains melt from heavy metals back home

          desolate

          • EmmaGoldman [she/her, comrade/them]M
            hexbear
            24
            6 months ago

            The issue is far from localized to the US. A third of water in Canada is above the more reasonable 5ppb limit here. Many global south countries don't even really bother with testing for things like lead or cadmium because there are far more prevalent contaminants to worry about.

            So, yeah. Like 1/2 of the world is basically just letting kid's brains melt from lead and doing nothing about it. Test your own water, you're likely to be surprised.

              • EmmaGoldman [she/her, comrade/them]M
                hexbear
                11
                edit-2
                6 months ago

                And plane heads have been crybullying an entire planet into allowing them to keep blasting leaded AVGas exhaust directly into the atmosphere where it's most poisonous for the most people. We've had a functional unleaded Aviation fuel with 80UL since 1981 and these dudes just keep screaming "Waaah you're making my casual hobby less fun! What about all those poor farmers who have to fly their own planes to cropdust, are you gonna force them to buy a new plane???" Even though that's bullshit, the excuse has been working for 40 years! 91UL has been commercially available since 2003, and nobody even cares that it requires at worst a retune.

        • Dirt_Owl [comrade/them, they/them]
          hexbear
          28
          6 months ago

          If I were to put on a tinfoil hat for a second, I'd say that the lead poisoning is on purpose. We saw how it sucked the empathy and critical thinking out of older people, maybe thats the idea. Easier to keep capitalism going when no one has the mind to stop it.

        • ReadFanon [any, any]
          hexbear
          21
          6 months ago

          The EPA's 15ppb action level is much higher than it should be

          This is a disgusting fact.

          To think that the US has set a ppb level like that, which they not only meet but regularly exceed, and meanwhile hexbear has no defined ppb action level and it's definitely not meeting a 15ppb daily posting level routinely.

          Lift your game, guys.

    • buh [any]
      hexbear
      49
      6 months ago

      Yet people still use it, indicating market demand for water regardless of the lead content smuglord

      • envis10n [he/him]
        hexbear
        17
        6 months ago

        Big Water did COVID to distract us from their corruption!

      • wtypstanaccount04 [he/him]
        hexbear
        23
        6 months ago

        Reminder that Flint got huge amounts of press coverage and international outrage because it was white America

        Are you kidding? 56% of people in Flint are black, it's a famously black city!

        https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/flintcitymichigan

        • ReadFanon [any, any]
          hexbear
          7
          edit-2
          6 months ago

          Good point. Clearly I don't know my US demographics.

          I've edited my comment above pointing out that I was completely wrong. I'm going to retcon this as "Michigan is recognisable to the western world".