University of California Irvine Environmental Analysis and Design Questions Final Questions Question on the Final across Collapse and Planet of Slums: Dr

University of California Irvine Environmental Analysis and Design Questions Final Questions

Question on the Final across Collapse and Planet of Slums:

Drawing on the Study Guides, Powerpoints, video clips and Diamond’s 12 Challenges: What are the choices that we must make if we are now to succeed in improving sustainable prospects for 21st Century Southern California?

Question from the discussion of Flint’s water crisis:

2. “There is no single cause for a crisis like the one still occurring in Flint; it requires a perfect storm of causes. Pointing a finger at any specific cause for this crisis does not diminish the fact that the legacy of past policies in areas like housing, employment, the tax base and regionalization are all interconnected to the present. Identifying one bad actor doesn’t indicate there aren’t others… The contamination of Flint’s water is deplorable, but it is only a symptom of a much larger disease, one that poisons all our structures and systems.”

What do you consider the major causes? Who are bad actors and why? Based on your study, what is the larger disease?

CLEAN WATER
3. Why is access to clean water so difficult in local and global contexts?

Changing Environment: STRONGER STORMS/SEA LEVEL RISE
4. Were Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy examples of environmental surprise?

SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
5. Why won’t we act? Resources for Answering Question 1
Power Points:
The following are the instructional powerpoints to review for the final. You will find the
files on the http://sites.uci.edu/whiteleye8/weekly/
COLLAPSE:
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Diamond Framework
Key Diamond Insights
Easter Island
Angkor
Maya
Guns, Germs and Steel
Applying the Diamond Framework
Applying the Wilson Framework
Applying the Ferguson Framework
PLANET OF SLUMS
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33 LA-Treason of the State?
34 Orange County Homeless
35 Planet of Slums
36 Restroom Justice in Mumbai (the Davari Slum has 850,000 dwellers
37-41 Roots of Inequality
JARED DIAMOND’S 12 MOST PRESSING CHALLENGES
DESTRUCTION OR LOSES OF NATURAL RESOURCES
1. At an accelerating rate, we are destroying natural habitats or else converting them to
human made habitats.
2. Wild foods…contribute a large fraction of the protein consumed by humans…About
two billion people, most of them poor, depend on the oceans for protein.
3. A significant fraction of wild species, populations, and genetic diversity has already
been lost…
4. Soils of farmlands used for growing crops are being carried away by water and wind
erosion at rates between 10 and 40 times the rates of soil formation…
CEILINGS ON NATURAL RESOURCES
5. The world’s major energy sources, especially for industrial societies are fossil fuels:
oil, natural gas, and oil.
6. Most of the world’s freshwater in rivers and lakes is already being utilized for
irrigation, domestic and industrial water, and in situ uses such as boat transportation,
corridors, fisheries, and recreation.
7. The amount of solar energy fixed per acre by plant photosynthesis, hence plant
growth per acre, depends on temperature and rainfall.
HARMFUL THINGS THAT WE GENERATE
8. Many industries manufacture or release into the environment toxic synthetic
chemicals in large quantities.
9. Alien species are transferred to another place where they are not native.
10. Human activities produce gases which escape into the atmosphere.
POPULATION ISSUES
11. The world’s human population is growing. More people require more food, space,
water, energy, and other resources.
12. What really matters is not the number of people alone, but their impact on the
environment.
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PROBLEMS ARE NOT SEPARATE FROM EACH OTHER
In fact, they are linked: one problem exacerbates another or makes its solution more difficult.
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CALIFORNIA IS LESS APPEALING NOW THAN WHEN DIAMOND MOVED HERE
By world standards, Southern California’s environmental problems are relatively mild. This
is not an area of imminent risk of a collapse.
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COMPLAINTS ABOUT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
The complaints voiced by virtually everybody in Los Angeles are those directly related to our
growing and already high population…
Resources for Answering Question 2
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Michael Moore video ROGER AND ME about the founding of the American auto
industry in prosperous Flint, Michigan
NOVA program POISONED WATER (find under Objective 6)
STUDY GUIDE prepared by Professor Whiteley. (FLINT WATER CRISIS)
the conclusion of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission report from 2017 titled: THE
FLINT WATER CRISIS: SYSTEMIC RACISM THROUGH THE LENS OF FLINT.
The Flint Water Crisis Study Guide: Government Failure and Intransigence, Lead Poisoning of
Children, Death from Legionnaires’ Disease, and Systemic Racism
John M. Whiteley
School of Social Ecology
“The Flint Water Crisis is a story of government failure, intransigence, unpreparedness,
delay, inaction and environmental injustice.”
Governor’s Flint Advisory Task Force 2017
Unusual Aspects of the Flint Crisis Requiring Introductory Explanation
This Study Guide to the Flint Water Crisis introduces a number of terms and historical
circumstances which require understanding in order to evaluate contextual factors which
influenced this case study.
Flint, Michigan’s Historical Importance and Rapid Decline
The City of Flint was the birthplace of General Motors, and an important contributor to the
vibrancy of the automobile industry in the United States. The first 20 minutes of the
documentary by Michael Moore entitled Roger and Me captures this.
General Motors severely downsized in the 1970s by relocating 38,000 previously secure and
well-paying jobs, Flint went from being a prosperous city of nearly 200,000 to a struggling city
of less than 100,000 with 40 percent of the population living in poverty.
Flint’s Population Based on the US Census
• 1960: 196,960
• 1970: 193,317
• 1980: 159,611
• 1990: 140,761
• 2000: 124,963
• 2010: 102,434
• 2014: 99,002 (not census)
• 2017: 96,448 (not census)
Michigan’s Emergency Fiscal Management Law
This law allows the Governor to suspend the authority of an elected City Council and appoint an
Emergency Fiscal Manager. Flint was not the first city in Michigan to have authority vested in
an Emergency Fiscal Manager. But Flint was found to be $25.7 million in debt.
In 1990 Michigan passed Public Act 72 authorizing the state to appoint an emergency fiscal
manager over distressed schools and cities.
December 2011-August 2012
Michael Brown service as Flint emergency manager
August 2012 -July 2013
Ed Kurtz serves as emergency Flint fiscal manager
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November 2012
Michigan voters overturn Public Act 72
December 2013
Michigan legislature passes Public Act 436. This new law was immune from
referendum by Michigan voters
July 2013 –October 2013
Michael Brown again serves as Flint emergency fiscal manager
October 2013 –January 2015
Darnell Earley serves as Flint emergency fiscal manager
January 2015 –April 2015
Jerry Ambrose serves as Flint emergency fiscal manager. With a $7 million state
loan to Flint, the fiscal disaster was declared over
Legionnaires’ Disease
An outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease killed 12 people and sickened at least 87. Legionnaires’
Disease is a lethal form of pneumonia which was caused in Flint by low chlorine in Flint water.
According to Michael Swanson of the University of Michigan who has been studying
Legionnaires’ for 25 years:
“It’s a pneumonia, but what’s different about it is, we don’t share it like we do the flu or
common cold…It’s caused by a bacterium, Legionella pneumophila that grows in
water…If you don’t have a robust immune system, the microbe can cause a lethal
pneumonia.”
“It was the change in water source that caused the Legionnaires’ outbreak.”
A report by National Public Radio included the following:
“…a complex of factors may be responsible for low chlorine levels during the crisis. In
additional to killing microbes, chlorine can react with heavy metals like lead and iron,
and with organic matter from a river. That means lead and iron in the water may have
decreased the amount of chlorine available to kill bacteria.”
Nick Lyon, the former head of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and Dr.
Eden Wells, Michigan Chief Medical Executive, were charged with involuntary manslaughter in
the Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak. The new Attorney General authorized the dismissal of the
involuntary manslaughter charges against Lyon and Wells pending further investigation.
Lead Poisoning in Children
Facts about lead exposure
• Lead poisoning is a totally preventable disease.
• Lead exposure can harm young children and babies–even before they are born.
• Even children that seem healthy can have high levels of lead in their bodies.
• Children can get lead in their bodies by breathing or swallowing lead dust, or by eating
soil or paint chips with lead in them.
• Removing lead-based paint improperly can increase the danger to your family.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates reveal that about half a million
children between the ages of one and five living in the U.S. have an elevated level of
lead in their blood.
Lead is more dangerous to children than adults because:
• They often put their hands and other objects in their mouths that can have lead dust on
them.
• Their growing bodies absorb more lead.
• Their brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead.
Children between the ages of 1 and 3 who live in low-income housing built before 1978 are
especially at risk. In early 2005, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a new
policy addressing lead in children’s metal jewelry. There have been cases where children who
swallowed or repeatedly sucked on jewelry items containing lead developed high blood lead
levels. Since 2004, the Commission has recalled over 150 million pieces of toy jewelry that were
sold in vending machines and through other outlets.
Effect of lead in the body
Lead poisoning can affect just about every system in the body yet often produces no definitive
symptoms. The following are some of the most common symptoms of lead poisoning. However,
each child may experience symptoms differently. Lead poisoning may cause:
• Damage to the brain and nervous system
• Behavior and learning problems; slowed growth
• Hearing problems
• Headaches
• Anemia
Lead is also harmful to adults, who may suffer from:
• Difficulties during pregnancy
• Reproductive problems in both men and women
• Anemia
• Kidney damage
• High blood pressure
• Digestive problems
• Nerve disorders
• Memory and concentration problems
• Muscle and joint pain
High levels of lead may also cause seizures, coma, and death. The symptoms of lead poisoning
may resemble other conditions or medical problems. Always consult your child’s doctor for a
diagnosis.
https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=lead-poisoning-in-children-90-P02832
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Systematic Racism
In 2017, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission reported on the Flint water crisis with an
important subtitle: “Systemic Racism Through the Lens of Flint.”
A key paragraph captures the meaning of “systemic racism”:
“Reviewing the historical government actions impacting the living and health conditions
of Flint residents, i.e., the legacy of Flint, was sobering and left a deep impression. We
must come to terms with the ongoing effects of “systemic racism” that repeatedly led to
disparate racial outcomes as exemplified by the Flint Water Crisis. This can no longer be
ignored.”
The Michigan Civil Rights Commission went on to observe: “The people of Flint have been
subjected to unprecedented harm and hardship, much of it caused by structural and systemic
discrimination and racism that have corroded your city, your institutions, and your water pipes,
for generations.”
The Backstory of the Flint Water Crisis
The Flint River had been the drinking water source for the City of Flint until the 1960s. Flint
signed an agreement then to get water from a new pipeline which brought water from Lake
Huron.
February 2004 U.S. Geological Survey, MDEQ and Flint Water Utilities Department
“The source water area for the Flint emergency intake includes 96 potential
contaminant sources.”
July 2011 Rowe Engineering Report
“A detailed investigation of potential courses of contamination has not bee completed.”
November 29, 2011
A review team determines the City of Flint is $25.7 million in debt.
March 26, 2013
MDEQ’s Michael Alexander
“The Flint River from just upstream of the City of Flint to the upstream end of the
Holloway Reservoir is not meeting designated uses for:
• Fish consumption due to PCB in fish tissue and water column.
• Total and partial body contact due to E. coli in water column.
• Other indigenous aquatic life due to nutrients and phosphorus in the water
column.”
March 26, 2013
MDEQ District Supervisor Stephen Busch
Continuous use of the Flint River would:
“Pose an increased microbial risk to public health (Flint River vs. Lake Huron source
water).”
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“Pose an increased risk of disinfection by-product (carcinogen) exposure to public
health (Flint River vs. Lake Huron source water.)”
“Trigger additional regulatory requirements under the Michigan Safe Drinking Water
Act.”
March 27, 2013
MDEQ’s Jim Sygo responds to colleague Stephen Busch:
“…we are in a situation with Emergency Fiscal Managers so it’s entirely possible that
they will be making decision relative to cost.”
Annotated 2014 Timeline
March 7, 2014
Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley informs Detroit Water and Sewage Department
that Flint will switch to Flint River water and discontinue water service with DWSD using
Lake Huron Water.
March 26, 2014
Stephen Brooks, MDEQ water safety engineer:
“…I would like to make sure everyone is on the same page on what Flint will be required
to do in order to start using their plant full time.”
April 16, 2014
Michael Glasgow, Water Treatment Plant operator for the City of Flint:
“…I would like to make sure we are monitoring, reporting and meeting requirements
before I give the OK to start distributing water.”
April 17, 2014
Mike Glasgow
“I do not anticipate giving the OK to begin sending out water anytime soon. If water
is distributed from the plant in the next couple of weeks, it will be against my
direction.”
April 23, 2014
MDEQ’s Stephen Busch to MDEQ Spokesman Brad Wurfel:
“While the Department is satisfied with the City’s ability to treat water from the Flint
River, the Department looks forward to the long term solution…”
[The long term solution was to be a new pipeline for Flint from Lake Huron which was
starting construction]
April 25, 2014
Press Release from Flint Department of Public Works Director Howard Croft:
“The test results have shown that our water is not only safe, but of the high quality
that Flint customers have come to expect. We are proud of that end result.”
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Flint Mayor Dayne Walling states:
“It’s regular, good, pure drinking water, and it’s right in our backyard.”
May 15, 2014
[a top EPA official in Washington, D.C., Mike Eisenberg, is informed of health complaints
about Flint water]
U.S. EPA’s Jennifer Crooks, Michigan’s Drinking Water Liaison, about citizen Lathan
Jefferson’s complaint about rashes caused by the Flint water:
“He asked me for free drinking water lab analysis, which I was unable to provide.
He only wants to speak with someone from EPA headquarters.”
June 2014
[responding to numerous water quality complaints]
Flint Mayor Dayne Walling:
“It’s a quality, safe product…I think people are wasting their precious money
buying bottled water.”
[Important note: In January of 2016 U.S. EPA determined that the City of Flint and MDEQ did
not anticipate or provide for corrosion controls. As a result, the highly corrosive Flint River
water in city water lines would cause hazardous lead to leach into city drinking water
supplies…” Bridge Magazine, “Poison on Tap,” p. 37.]
August 15 and September 5, 2014
Boil water advisory after fecal coliform bacteria is found in city water.
October 13, 2014
“General Motors said it will no longer use the river water at its engine plant because of
fears it will cause corrosion.” MLive.com
MDEQ Spokesman Brad Wurfel:
“I stressed the importance of not branding Flint’s water as ‘corrosive’ from a public
health standpoint simply because it does not meet a manufacturing facility’s limit.”
October 14, 2014
[Opinions of two top lawyers to Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan]
Deputy Legal Counsel Valerie Brader
“I see this as an urgent problem to fix.”
Chief Legal Counsel Michael Gadola:
“…To anyone who grew up in Flint as I did, the notion that I would would be getting
my drinking water from the Flint River is downright scary. Too bad the (emergency
manager) did not ask me what I thought, though I’m sure he heard it from plenty of
others. My Mom is a City resident. Nice to know she’s drinking water with elevated
chlorine levels and fecal coliform…They should try to get back on the Detroit system
as a stopgap ASAP before this thing gets too far out of control.”
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October 14, 2014
[context of this time period is the final weeks of Governor Rick Snyder’s re-election
campaign]
October 21, 2014
[Susan Bohm of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services alerted official
in Genesee County of concerns that Flint’s water would be linked to Legionnaires’
disease.]
Annotated 2015 Timeline
January 7, 2015
Advisory from the Michigan Department of Treasury, Management and Budget
indicating the state is “in the process of providing a water cooler on each occupied
floor…” [in the state of Michigan Office Buildings in Flint].
January 23, 2015
Snyder administration Special Projects Manager Ari Adler raises concerns about Flint
with Communications Director Jarrod Agen: “this is a public relations crisis—because of
a real or perceived threat is irrelevant—waiting to explode nationally.”
January 29, 2015
Flint Emergency Manager Jerry Ambrose declines DWSD water resource reconnection.
January 30, 2015
MDEQ Spokesman Brad Wurfel:
I don’t want my director (MDEQ Dan Wyant) to say publically that the water in Flint is
safe until we et the results of some county health department epidemiological trace
work back on 42 cases of Legionnaires’ disease in Genesee County since last May.”
Early February 2015
The Chief of Staff to Michigan Governor Snyder, Dennis Muchmore writes:
“Since we’re in charge we can hardly ignore the people of Flint…After all, if GM refuses
to use the water in their plant and our agencies are warning people not to drink it…we
look pretty stupid hiding behind some financial statement.”
Both Treasury and Flint Emergency manager Jerry Ambrose say a switch back to Lake
Huron water would result in a 30 percent increase in Flint’s already high water rates.
Flint Mayor Walling seeks $20 million from state and federal sources for debt relief for
the City of Flint.
State Representative Sheldon Neeley from Flint writes that his constituents “are on the
verge of civil unrest.”
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Shurooq Hasan, an epidemiologist for Genesee County, writes to an outside expert as
part of seeking to understand why the number of cases of Legionnaires’ Disease had
quadrupled in 2014 over the number of in 2013 (49 cases in 2014).
“We have investigated a hospital…but have expanded to include the city’s water
supply.”
February 26, 2015
Email from Jennifer Crooks of EPA to Stephen Busch and Mike Prysby (MDEQ)
“…I have been discussing the water situation with Lee-Anne Walters since January, and
she has been talking to Mike Glasgow at the plant about the black sediment in her
water…(Glasgow did test it find that the iron levels were greater than his test would
go…But, because the iron levels were so high, he suggested testing for lead and copper.
WOW!!! Did he fine LEAD! 104 parts per billion.) She has two children under the age of
three…Big worries here.”
February 27, 2015
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality makes a false statement to an
inquiry from EPA seeking explanation for high levels of lead being present in a Flint
resident’s water supply.
MDEQ falsely claims that there is “optimized corrosion control” being used in the Flint
Water Treatment Plant.
Bridge Magazine explained the importance of “corrosion control”:
“Corrosion control is a common water treatment strategy to prevent corrosive water
from corroding water lines and causing numerous problems, most notably the leaching
of lead from old pipes into public water supplies.” (p. 59)
Virginia Tech Professor Mark Edwards wrote in September of 2015:
“Effective July 1998, the federal Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) has required that all large
public water systems maintain a program to control levels of lead in drinking water from
corrosion. Moreover, the law requires the City of Flint to have a state-approved plan,
with enforceable regulatory limits for ‘Water Quality Parameters’ including pH, alkalinity
and/or corrosion inhibitor dose measured in the wat…
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