Prof. Aseem Prakash and collegaue on the Washington Post's Monkey Cage blog remind that water problems are not just isolated to places like Flint, MI.
What do Flint, Mich., and Victoria, B.C., have in common? Huge water-quality problems that suddenly are getting some attention.
Victoria, a tourist haven, promises visitors a beautiful harbor and glorious scenery on the west coast of Canada. However, the city recently announced plans to begin treating millions of gallons of raw sewage that discharge daily into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It may seem strange that Victoria has gotten away with this for so long, but because tourists didn’t complain, treating sewage was not a priority for the city. Flint, of course, is in news for negligently providing polluted and lead-contaminated water to its residents, although its residents and even General Motors complained about it.
The authors go on to give several reasons why we ignore water quality until politicians are coerced into action.