This is an actual PSA that the city of, Flint, Michigan, posted to the city website in 2015. For those unaware, in 2014 the city's leadership decided to tap into the Flint River rather than the Detroit water supply, all in an effort to save money. This discount infrastructure project released incalculable amounts of lead particles into the city's water supply, leaving residents with unsafe drinking water, water for bathing, and even water for hospitals and other critical services necessary for the city's day-to-day operations. Thousands of children in the city continue to show dangerous levels of lead contamination, a fact revealed by blood tests performed by an independent research organization (lead exposure in children can lead to any number of developmental issues, including reduced cognitive abilities, permanent brain damage, and reduced IQ); the city did not inform its citizens of the water contamination until these blood tests received media attention, yet still the city's officials made efforts to downplay the situation's severity, occasionally even resorting to a concerted effort to tamper with evidence of the pollution's existence. To this day, nearly five years later, despite the city's eventual, begrudging switch to the Detroit water supply, the Flint water supply still contains unhealthy levels of contaminants. In an age of 24-hour news cycles, many Americans have forgotten the people of Flint and the inhumane conditions that they must contend with, despite their living in the wealthiest nation on the planet. This post is meant to be a reminder: don't forget the people of Flint. Recent news update for those curious: http://www.newsweek.com/flint-bottled-water-michigan-lead-flint-water-crisis-844547 #flintmichigan #rememberflint #saveflint #everyonedeservescleandrinkingwater
