The Federal Government must then be placed in charge. The State government cannot be trusted to get this right. So, instead of declaring a federal disaster zone, President Obama must declare the same version of martial law that Governor Snyder declared over the cities of Flint and Detroit. He must step in and appoint a federal emergency manager in the state capitol to direct the resources of both the state and federal government in saving Flint. This means immediately sending in FEMA in full force. It means sending in the CDC to determine the true extent of not just the lead poisoning in the water, but also the latest outbreak that has been discovered in Flint -- a tenfold increase in the number of Flint people who've contracted Legionnaires Disease. There have now been 87 cases since the switch to the Flint River water, and ten people have died. The local hospital has also noted sharp increases in a half-dozen other toxins found in people's bodies. We need the CDC. The EPA must take over the testing of the water, and the Army Corps of Engineers must be sent in to begin replacing the underground pipes. Like the levees in New Orleans, this will be a massive undertaking. If it is turned over to for-profit businesses, it will take a decade and cost billions. This needs to happen right now and Obama must be in charge.
Evacuate any and all Flint residents who want to leave now. They've suffered long enough and, until the water is truly safe, no one should have to stay there who doesn't want to. The state and FEMA should move people into nearby white townships that are still hooked up to Lake Huron water.
For those who choose to stay in Flint, FEMA must create a temporary water system in each home. One idea that has been suggested is to deliver two 55-gallon drums to every home in Flint. Each day water trucks will arrive to fill them with fresh clean glacial water from Lake Huron. The drums will have taps attached to them. People can't be expected to carry jugs of water from buildings that are miles away.
In the end, we will need to create a new economy and bring new employment to this town that created the middle class, that elected the first black mayor, and that believed in and created the American Dream. They deserved more than to be poisoned by their own Governor -- a Governor who thought that, because the people in the town were politically weak, he could get away with this unnoticed and without a fight. He figured wrong.
A crime against humanity has been committed against the people of Flint, making them refugees in their own homes. Tell me honestly: if you were living in Flint right now, and you learned that your children had been drinking lead-filled water for two years, and then you discovered that the Governor knew this and the state lied about it -- tell me, just how fast would your head be spinning? With your children now poisoned, and with the poisoning continuing" is the word "nonviolence" dominating your thoughts right now? Are you absolutely, stunningly amazed how peaceful the people in Flint have remained? Are you curious how much longer that can last? I hope it does. If you want to help Flint, sign the petition, demand that the federal government take action, and then get involved yourself, wherever you live, so that this doesn't happen to you -- and so that the people we elect know they can no longer break the law as they rule by fiat or indifference. We deserve much better than this.
For a better world,
Michael Moore
BREAKING: ACLU Sues Over Lead Contamination of Drinking Water in Flint, MI In the past two years, the blood lead levels of children in Flint have doubled and in some cases tripled. The ACLU of Michigan and other organizations filed suit today to ask a federal court to step in and secure access to safe drinking water for the people of Flint, Michigan.
The poisoning of Flint's drinking water happened because the state installed unaccountable officials to run the city. Their reckless cost-saving measures contaminated the city's water supply and put the city's residents at risk.
Our lawsuit asks a federal court to compel the city and state officials to follow federal requirements for testing and treating water to control for lead. It also asks the court to order the prompt replacement of all lead service lines at no cost to Flint residents.
This crisis has garnered national attention as a result of the work of ACLU of Michigan on-staff investigative reporter, Curt Guyette. He found that government irresponsibility caused the contamination, which led to rashes and hair loss--as well as cognitive impairment in children.
Nearly 40 percent of the city's residents, most of whom are African American, live in poverty. Learn more about what the ACLU is doing to protect vulnerable people who live in Flint.
We will update you as this situation develops. Thanks for standing by us -- support from people like you makes impactful work like this possible.
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