March 23, 2016
Jim Lynch, Chad Livengood and Jacob Carah
Flint — Gov. Rick Snyder’s (click here) own Flint water task force issued a stinging report Wednesday, accusing his administration and others in government of “failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction and environmental injustice” in the contamination of Flint’s water supply.
The Snyder-appointed task force focused on the failings of state government at multiple levels, particularly the handling of Flint while the city was under the control of emergency managers appointed by the Republican governor.
“Emergency managers made key decisions that contributed to the crisis, from the use of the Flint River to delays in reconnecting to DWSD (Detroit Water and Sewerage Department) once water quality problems were encountered,” a report summary reads.
“Given the demographics of Flint, the implications for environmental injustice cannot be ignored or dismissed.”...
There is a face and a name to the Flint Water Crisis.
January 27, 2016
By Colby Itkowitz
In Flint, Mich., (click here) there is a famous block of concrete that for decades has served as a community message board. Like an old-school Facebook feed, residents use it to post personal news, images, upcoming events and commentary in sprawling graffiti.
This week, several residents went to “The Block” (or “The Rock,” depending on whom you ask) with a message. In big, black capital letters they painted: “YOU WANT OUR TRUST?? WE WANT VA Tech!!!” Underneath they wrote “PSI” and circled it in red with a line through it. It stands for Professional Service Industries Inc., the independent business the city had wanted to hire to test its water for contamination, and which the residents don’t trust.
Marc Edwards, (click here) a civil engineer, is playing a vital role in ensuring the safety of drinking water and in exposing deteriorating water-delivery infrastructure in America’s largest cities. An expert in the chemistry and toxicity of urban water supplies in the United States, he has made significant advancements in a broad array of areas, including arsenic removal, coagulation of natural organic material, and the causes and control of copper and lead corrosion in new and aging distribution systems. Melding rigorous science, concern public safety, and dogged investigation, Edwards’ recent work focused on the identification and analysis of lead contamination in the Washington, D.C. area’s local water supply....
A Chat with Professor Marc Edwards (click here)
May 6, 2014
...I started out in the medical school (bio-physics) and became disillusioned with the direction of the field. This was the early 1980’s and students were going into the professional schools with high empathy and high ideals, and they often came out the other end with an attitude that patients were objects and should be treated accordingly. This loss of empathy in med school training was later scientifically documented, we are paying a high price for it, and steps are being taken to try and counter it.
Around that time I saw a presentation on Love Canal and was inspired by the ability of environmental engineers to serve the public, and I was also enamored with the first canon of civil engineering that states your primary responsibility is to serve the public welfare. Without ever having taken a single class in the subject, I switched fields after finishing my undergraduate, and did an MS, PhD, Post-doc and eventually became an academic in environmental engineering. It was one of those things that probably should have been a disaster but turned out for the best....
Jim Lynch, Chad Livengood and Jacob Carah
Flint — Gov. Rick Snyder’s (click here) own Flint water task force issued a stinging report Wednesday, accusing his administration and others in government of “failure, intransigence, unpreparedness, delay, inaction and environmental injustice” in the contamination of Flint’s water supply.
The Snyder-appointed task force focused on the failings of state government at multiple levels, particularly the handling of Flint while the city was under the control of emergency managers appointed by the Republican governor.
“Emergency managers made key decisions that contributed to the crisis, from the use of the Flint River to delays in reconnecting to DWSD (Detroit Water and Sewerage Department) once water quality problems were encountered,” a report summary reads.
“Given the demographics of Flint, the implications for environmental injustice cannot be ignored or dismissed.”...
There is a face and a name to the Flint Water Crisis.
By Colby Itkowitz
In Flint, Mich., (click here) there is a famous block of concrete that for decades has served as a community message board. Like an old-school Facebook feed, residents use it to post personal news, images, upcoming events and commentary in sprawling graffiti.
This week, several residents went to “The Block” (or “The Rock,” depending on whom you ask) with a message. In big, black capital letters they painted: “YOU WANT OUR TRUST?? WE WANT VA Tech!!!” Underneath they wrote “PSI” and circled it in red with a line through it. It stands for Professional Service Industries Inc., the independent business the city had wanted to hire to test its water for contamination, and which the residents don’t trust.
They want Marc Edwards....
He is well regarded.
A Chat with Professor Marc Edwards (click here)
May 6, 2014
...I started out in the medical school (bio-physics) and became disillusioned with the direction of the field. This was the early 1980’s and students were going into the professional schools with high empathy and high ideals, and they often came out the other end with an attitude that patients were objects and should be treated accordingly. This loss of empathy in med school training was later scientifically documented, we are paying a high price for it, and steps are being taken to try and counter it.
Around that time I saw a presentation on Love Canal and was inspired by the ability of environmental engineers to serve the public, and I was also enamored with the first canon of civil engineering that states your primary responsibility is to serve the public welfare. Without ever having taken a single class in the subject, I switched fields after finishing my undergraduate, and did an MS, PhD, Post-doc and eventually became an academic in environmental engineering. It was one of those things that probably should have been a disaster but turned out for the best....
