Welcome to Litsy!

The Flint water crisis was a tragedy brought on by a true clusterfuck of people and policies at local and state levels. There were many times it could‘ve been prevented, and it was going on long before the national media showed up. Clark covers the crisis from start to finish and the precipitating factors that caused it. A great piece of reporting!

This was a very insightful red about the struggles of those living in Flint. I had heard about some of this on the news, but didn't realize it was way deeper than what was said on the news.
I can't even imagine having to live through this.

This made me so angry! It also brought some hope in fighting back and making people listen to the problem.
Intense disappointment in what the state of Michigan did to the people of Flint and anger at that and their ignoring the people. And lying to them.
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My next audio.
One of the many racial issues that makes me so angry. And yes it is very much a racial issue because you bet this would never happen in a predominantly white city and if it did you can bet that it would have been fixed almost instantly and not STILL be an issue.

Just and sustainable change requires reckoning with the past even while cultivating a transformational future.

The wisdom of lived experience must be a valued and necessary part of policy making.

Flint, MI Littens!

Does anyone know if this literary festival still gets put on? Who has gone? Who wants to go again?

Lived experience is as important as technical training.

That‘s deep.

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DAMN the absolutely visceral reaction that I just had after I read this passage hit me right down to my gut and into my veins!! #truthbomb #fuckpovertylevelliving

🤯🚨⚠️ 🚨⚠️🚨 🤯

What exact amount of risk is acceptable for innovations that build the economy, the culture, and the great cities of America?

How my morning started today! #Bookly #levelup

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When the problems become too large then we must gather together in common interest to find a mutually beneficial answer.

Michigan lies like a handprint in the water. An assertion of the human self in the wild sea. I am here.

But when we are all connected to the water, and each other, it is life-giving—holy, even.

Such a good book about everything that went into this massive crisis. Detailed, but not overwhelmingly so, and extremely well researched and written. You‘ve seen me adding quote after quote, and there are so many more that I could‘ve put up. Just a great book though it‘s certainly depressing that it needed to be written.

“Two national studies ... described how hazardous waste facilities were consistently located in places where people of color tended to live. This fact is so persistent that race is the very best predictor of the presence of pollutants, even when controlled for other factors such as income and property values.” #science #FlintWaterCrisis #environmentalracism

“Cities around the country now felt unable to take their pipes for granted. Flint‘s story was a wake-up call. A 2016 investigation by the National Resources Defense Council found that fifty-three hundred water systems were in violation of federal lead rules.”

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Holy crap. #InfrastructureDecade?!

#FlintWaterCrisis #science
“The accolades made the station‘s Steve Carmody uneasy. He was proud of what the news service had done, but he also thought about what might have been different. ‘It just gnaws on me,‘ Carmody said, ‘that when people were saying they can‘t drink this water in May or June of 2014, I was taking “Don‘t worry, it‘s safe,” as an answer from state officials.‘”

“The surge [of people with Legionnaires Disease] was one of the worst-ever national epidemics, and it did not escape the notice of the health care community. But a coordinated response was not to be. What followed was an extraordinary tale of buck passing and turf guarding by an alphabet of agencies: Michigan‘s environmental and health departments, Flint‘s public works department, and the Genessee County Health Department.” 😳😱😡😡😡 #science

“One EPA official said, ‘I don‘t know if Flint is the kind of community we want to go out on a limb for.‘” O RLY?!?!!!! 🖕🏽🖕🏽🖕🏽🖕🏽🖕🏽🖕🏽🖕🏽🖕🏽 forever.

As they say, back on my bullshit again since this FINALLY came back on my Libby shelf. But truly, speaking of bullshit, Michigan and Flint officials ... W O W. #science

I keep having to take breaks from this book because I‘m so angry. But the people of Flint don‘t get breaks. Their pipes still aren‘t fixed and they still don‘t have clean water - or democracy. Death to the emergency manager system! #science #watercrisis

No one—not taxpayers, not school districts, not the state, and not the federal government—wanted to pay to fix an expensive infrastructure problem. Therefore, many preferred not to know if the children in their communities were drinking less in their water. There was no onus to act if there was no proof.

THIS BOOK IS MAKING ME SO FURIOUS.

So well-written and so very depressing. #nonfiction #science #flintwater

On to this month‘s second book about the Flint water crisis, this one by a journalist.

This is a terrific look at the Flint Water Crisis. Not only does it work through the decisions and events that led to the widespread lead poisoning of the citizens of Flint, but delves into Flint and Michigan‘s history and some other mass poisoning events (lead in DC, Love Canal). It‘s really well done and tremendously readable.

Why read fiction when a true story delivers a page-turning thriller with mystery and murder❓The story of Flint‘s water crisis is a warning to us all to keep up the fight against racism, environmental injustice, government negligence, and personal greed. Nothing symbolizes trust in the public good more than water utilities. 💧

Five stars.