Assignment 5A- Detroit's Local Opportunities
1. Group fights lake diversion in Wis. - Plant bid to tap 7M gallons a day draws ire, Mich. Scrutiny by Leonard Fleming for the Detroit News
b. The article is about a nonprofit group called For Love of Water (FLOW) fighting a recent plan to let a Foxconn manufacturing plant withdraw over seven million gallons of drinking water from the Great Lakes, specifically Lake Michigan. The article goes on to speak about the ongoing fight between public utility organizations such as Governor Rick Snyder and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the grassroots movement led by For Love of Water.
c. Problem- The problem that this article talks about is the blurry line in the Great Lakes compact which talks about the ability for corporations to get permits from officials is the water usage is for public purposes. For Love of Water is arguing that a manufacturing plant taking over seven million gallons of drinking water is not for public purposes if the manufacturing company are the only ones profiting. This added to the fact that many areas of the world have continued to become dryer and dryer due to global climate change is a real issue for the Great Lakes area. For Love of Water is asking the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Regional Body and Compact Council to withdrawal from the water diversion plan because Foxconn is taking water from a public water basin to serve their own private interests, which not only is in violated with several laws in the Great Lakes area but also threatens to lower the overall amount of drinking water which is already shrinking from factors outside of the region like global climate change.
d. People- The people that are going to be affected by this decision include Foxconn Corporation specifically their manufacturing plant in Wisconsin located on Lake Michigan, For Love of Water, anyone living in or on any of the Great Lakes especially Lake Michigan, and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Regional Body and Compact Council which has authority the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
2. State had warned of Flint 'deficiencies' by Jonathan Oosting for the Detroit News
b. The article is about the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan but more specifically the new actions by Governor Rick Snyder who has decided that the state of Michigan will no longer be giving free bottled water service to the city. This decision comes right after the lead Surface Water Treatment Engineer Robert London sent a letter to Flint Mayor Karen Weaver stating that there is over 10 unresolved issues and a list of unfinished recommendations the city of Flint has failed to complete. However, this decision is being met head-on by the Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich who serves the city of Flint who says that that the Governor and his associates have been sending mixed signals on what the city is supposed to do.
c. Problem- The problem the article address is that Gov. Snyder has decided to stop free bottled water service for the city of Flint due to “unresolved issues,” the city has neglected to take care of. He also has decided to stop the service because the Flint water system according to his spokeswomen Anna Heaton is “producing very high quality drinking water... that is backed up by both state and independent testing results.” The problem with the Governor’s decision is that the water that is coming out of the new Flint water system does not reach everyone in the city due to the lack of piping to the new reservoir and the water that is currently being pumped into the city is not trusted by most citizens due to residents being told tainted water from the same source was safe to drink. The problem with the Flint water crisis has an underlying theme of mistrust and lack of communication between the city itself and the officials in the state’s capital. The tension has grown so high over the stopping of the bottled water service that Senator Weaver and other Flint leaders have threaten a lawsuit against the state if something is not done.
d. People- Citizens of Flint, Governor Snyder, Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, the Surface Water Treatment engineers, the residents of Detroit who are now sharing a water system with the residents of Flint.
3. 1 in 7 Highland Park kids lead poisoned - Detroit has second highest proportion of children with elevated levels on state list by Karen Bouffard for the Detroit News
b. This article addresses the lead-poisoning outbreak in Highland Park which is a city just north of the metro area of Detroit. The lead-poisoning has been found in one in seven kids in the area due to the older homes in the area having lead paint that has begun to peel. However, the article does not stop in Highland Park it goes on to talk about how much higher the Michigan percentage of children with lead-poisoning is than the national average. The articles also goes onto talking about what the state recommends to provide your children a safe home by first getting an environmental history test for children with any signs of poisoning as well as getting any house inspected before moving in. The Health Department of Detroit has paired up with Wayne State University and begun testing houses of pregnant mothers in the city limits to help lower the likelihood of the problem continuing.
c. Problem- The problem stated in this article is the extremely high levels of lead poisoning not only in Highland Park where one in seven children have lead poisoning but also the state in general. Michigan has the second highest proportion of children with lead poisoning and this percentage is so high due to the extreme levels in the cities of Detroit and Flint. The issue with Michigan’s level of lead poisoning is that it is coming from two different sources. While children in Detroit and surrounding areas are exposed lead paint that is peeling off their walls due to the age of their homes, the children of Flint are consuming unsafe water that contains high levels of lead and other metals. The problems is very hard to fix because the areas that are hit hardest with these problems are typically low income residential areas that do not have the resources or time to chip off of the old paint and replace it, and in the case of Flint they have very little access to clean water so it is a risk they have to take. The problem stems from low income areas just not having the resources to do something about it as well as the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan not really helping until now.
d. The children and their parents that live in areas such as Highland Park and Flint, and the officials from Detroit who are now taking a stance against it.
4. Landfill fees axed from state budget - Legislators may still debate gov's proposal for cleanup fund by Jonathan Oosting for the Detroit News
b. The article is about the recent strike down of a budget presented to the Michigan Legislature by Governor Rick Snyder. The budget proposal was meant to increase the landfill frees for environmental cleanups in the state. He proposed this budget increase because the bond that is used currently for cleanups is almost gone therefore the state needs to appropriate the money from somewhere. However, due to this being an election year for most state representatives a Republican-led state House and Senate are hesitant to pay any increase in fees or taxes. The article goes on to talk about how necessary the increase of fees is for Michigan which is a state that is known for its rich beauty but also has some areas that depend on environmental cleanup funds for the safety of its residents like Flint and Detroit.
c. Problem- The problem the article conveys throughout is the decreasing amount of funds the state has to us for environmental cleanups and as subsidies for cities that do cleanups themselves. The state is currently going through two major cleanups including the fixing of the Flint Water System and the revitalization of many major cities in the state such as Detroit and Grand Rapids. However, there is sites on a much smaller scale that the state is searching for many to fix including the toxic contamination sites in the northern parts of the state and over 4,200 “vapor intrusion” sites throughout the state that pose a threat to the health and safety of its citizens. The problem is currently growing because of a Republican-led majority that does not see the need for an increase in fees, even though the fees in Michigan are by far the lowest of the Midwestern region. Senate Appropriations Chairman Dave Hildenbrand who is a Republican from Lowell, is leading the force to push back discussions until after November, after election season. However, the longer they push back the increase in fees the longer the already growing list of cleanup sites becomes longer and longer.
d. People- The citizens of Michigan, especially those near a cleanup site like Detroit, Flint, or any one of the 4,200 vapor intrusion sites, Governor Snyder, and the entire Michigan House and Senate.
5. Detroit police pursue peace in 'paintball wars' by Sarah Rahal for the Detroit News
b. The article is about the recent growth of ‘paintball wars’ in the Detroit area. ‘Paintball wars’ refer to the growing trend of citizens in Detroit shooting buildings with paintball guns and posting videos on social media. The trend is getting more attention however because of how far outside the city limits it is starting to spread, moving into other areas due to the power of social media. The trend is also getting more attention because people have been “upping” their efforts by shooting moving cars on highways and road threatening the safety of everyone involved.
c. Problem- The problem with the growing trend of ‘paintball wars’ can be broken into three major issues. First the more and more of these ‘paintball wars’ occur the more often the police are called to the seen therefore taking them away from responding to other emergencies. So far the police have received over ninety-five calls and this number is growing by the day. When the police respond to these calls they are potentially missing out on other life-threatening calls making this is a huge problem. The other issue with his growing activity is that when police respond to calls they are looking to charge and arrest people for this activity. The majority of people shooting the paintball guns are adults but teens are slowly becoming a part of the action with the help of the adults, this has led to more and more minors getting arrested, because the police must set an example. When minors get arrested even if they are able to get the charge off of their record, it still becomes a hindrance to the rest of their lives. Lastly, this is a problem because it is damaging the property and vehicles of others. Many windows have been broken, sides of business have paint marks everywhere, and now cars are being shot at. When a car is shot it, it becomes very hard to safely drive and therefore many people have crashed due to this. Shooting a paintball gun at a car is an unnecessary damage that could lead to the loss of lives.
d. People- Business owners, drivers, the people shooting the guns, and the Detroit police.
1.) Overall good submission. I like how your posts are laid out nicely and clearly state the questions needed to be addressed. I found the most interesting point number 3 about the lead poisoning.
ReplyDelete2.) I agree with the problem on lead poising. I think that it is terrible 1 out of 7 children have it and you did a great job describing how the problem is bad.
3.) The only disagreement has is the last topic you discussed. I think the paintball wars are an issue but not because they take calls away from other important issues. If that is the case then the police department should hire more officers. But I think police are good at having enough staffed to respond to any problems in a timely matter when they are called in.
Hello CJ, I was reading your problem assessments on topic 2 the Flint problem and I find it so interesting that they still haven't had that problem taken care of with the unsafe drinking water. Even if they have a new water system that produces clean water it still seems the problem isn't taken care of because it doesn't reach the whole of Flint which could be an opportunity for a new water plant to come in and finish up whats left.
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