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One on One with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Author, "What The Eyes Don't See" — Transcript

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0:00here's the plan this happened in Flint
0:06but this can happen anywhere you know I
0:08did this research and it was all based
0:10on numbers and statistics and and the
0:13science of the data but I realized that
0:16every single number in my research was a
0:19kid
0:19dr. mona hanna-attisha or dr. mona as
0:23she's called is a pediatrician at
0:25Flint's public hospital and a professor
0:27at Michigan State University's College
0:29of Medicine in 2014 a high school friend
0:32who worked with the EPA told dr. Mona
0:35about concerns that their drinking water
0:36in Flint was tainted with lead it was at
0:40that same time the city changed its
0:42water source from the Great Lakes to the
0:44nearby Flint River in an effort to save
0:46money tests later revealed elevated
0:49levels of lead in their water coming
0:51from the river as a pediatrician you
0:54know I literally took an oath to protect
0:55children I took an oath to make sure
0:58that they're not only healthy today but
1:00that they have the healthiest future
1:02ahead of them
1:03fueled by her passion to help her young
1:06patients dr. Mona along with a few
1:08allies and experts looked for answers
1:10she was either ignored or denied access
1:13to records and data she did her own
1:15research and found evidence that
1:17supported her friends claim is results
1:20are concerning and when our national
1:23guiding organizations tell us primary
1:26prevention is the most important thing
1:27and that lead poisoning is potentially
1:29irreversible then we have to say
1:32something for high-risk groups
1:34especially those infants who are on the
1:36formula and the pregnant moms we we
1:39would say no tap water after going
1:42public with her findings state officials
1:44refuted her claims which made her fight
1:46back even harder she eventually
1:49testified before Congress along with
1:51fellow flynch crusader single mom leanne
1:54walters and yes the the levels of lead
1:56in my water were higher than hazardous
1:58waste levels she had complained of her
2:01tap water smelling and tasting foul and
2:03brought it to the attention of
2:05washington DC water expert
2:07Edwards together they brought the crisis
2:09to light then President Barack Obama
2:12drank filtered Flint water to reassure
2:15residents as he sent millions of dollars
2:17in federal aid to the water crippled
2:19city yeah the water around this table
2:21you know was Flint water that was
2:24filtered and it just confirms what we
2:27know scientifically which is that if
2:31you're using a filter if you're
2:32installing it then Flint water at this
2:35point is drinkable that does not I want
2:40to repeat and negate the need for us to
2:42go ahead and replace some of these pipes
2:44scientists with Missouri American water
2:46were called to Flint to help in their
2:48creature lives they run 300 tests a
2:51month we are testing every day here
2:54looking for things in the water that
2:55could immediately make people sick
2:57things like e.coli or coliform or
2:59whatever kind of bacteria might show up
3:00in a water sample so we're testing the
3:03raw river water we're testing it as it
3:05goes through our distribution system
3:06we're testing the taps here on our
3:08premises and then we actually go out
3:09into the community and we have partners
3:11out there where we'll take samples of
3:12their tap water because we want to make
3:14sure the water as it gets to the
3:15customer is the same as it leaves our
3:17facility Brian Russell with Missouri
3:19American Water says most pipes are
3:21lead-free in the st. Louis metro area
3:23however if any lead is found in a
3:25service line they'll replace it for free
3:27if you have questions about what's in
3:29your water we actually produce an annual
3:31it's called a consumer confidence report
3:32basically we're showing you what we find
3:35in our water every year it's posted on
3:37our website every water systems required
3:38to share with their customers so if you
3:40have any questions you can get on our
3:41website mo a.m. water common flinch has
3:44replaced more than six thousand lead
3:46pipes but nearly ten thousand are left
3:48state leaders insist the water quality
3:51is restored but residents are weary and
3:53still drink bottled water dr. Moniz says
3:56regaining their trust could take some
3:58time this is a story that of where
4:01science was was very much denied was
4:03disrespected it was ultimately our
4:05science that spoke truth to power and we
4:08are very much leaning on the incredible
4:10science of child development and
4:12stress and resilience to make sure that
4:14our children succeed two and a half
4:17years later dr. Mona recounts her life
4:19story the discovery of lead in the water
4:22and the disaster aftermath and her book
4:24but the eyes don't see next in this
4:27first person one-on-one with dr. mona
4:29hanna-attisha presented by st. louis
4:32county library and eight gctv we are in
4:36the plant the central plant of the
4:38Missouri American Water in Chesterfield
4:40Missouri and dr. mona hanna-attisha
4:41thank you so much for joining us he's
4:43great to be with you thank you so have
4:45you been in a water plant I've been in a
4:48water plant before that's great to be
4:50here well we're glad to have you here
4:51and you know we share with our viewers
4:52how misery American Water Works in this
4:54filtration system because you know with
4:57your book what the eyes don't see you
4:59know knowledge is power and you shared
5:01that knowledge with us and truly not
5:03only gave you power but the Flint
5:05Michigan residents as well and the rest
5:06of the world
5:07do you agree absolutely so the the
5:09reason I wrote this book was to to
5:11educate folks about about water about
5:14environmental and justice about public
5:16health issues but really about the power
5:18that we all have within us to open our
5:21eyes and to create change so it's it's
5:24great to be with you and it's great to
5:26share that message with folks over here
5:28after this arduous journey what's been
5:31the most surprising thing that's come
5:32out of all this
5:33good a minute yes I think the most
5:35surprising thing and probably the most
5:37positive thing have been all the ripple
5:39effects of the Flint water crisis so the
5:42Flint water crisis was it was a tragic
5:44disaster but we have learned so many
5:46lessons that we're hoping to make a
5:49difference in other communities so you
5:51know city after city is now being
5:53informed about their water they're
5:55taking action and they're working to
5:57protect the health especially of
5:58children so that's been kind of the most
6:01surprising and the most uplifting thing
6:02of this crisis is that we have made an
6:05impact at a much broader and greater
6:07level and that leads me to my question
6:08about what's the latest with Flint
6:10Michigan in the water supply that's an
6:12update yeah so Flint is still under a
6:13public health emergency the people of
6:15Flint are still on bottled water or
6:18filtered water and that's because our
6:20pipes are being replaced
6:22so for 18 months we were on this
6:24untreated corrosive water
6:26that ate up our lead pipes and those
6:29were damaged and those need to replace
6:31and we've already replaced about 6,000
6:33of them which is great and we have about
6:349,000 to go and because of that
6:37infrastructure earth-moving work it has
6:40the potential to disrupt the lead scale
6:43that's underneath and for that reason
6:44people need to remain unfiltered or
6:48bottled water until their pipe is
6:49replaced where's the money coming from
6:51so the money to replace the pipes is a
6:54mix of State dollars and federal dollars
6:56to replace those pipes and a great thing
6:59that's happened because of Flint is that
7:01now the state of Michigan recently
7:03passed a rule to work on replacing all
7:06of the pipes in the state all of the
7:08lead pipes once Flint replaces their
7:11lead pipes we're actually only going to
7:13be the third city in the nation that's
7:14replaced their lead pipes there's lead
7:17in plumbing everywhere especially the
7:19mid Midwest and the Northeast and we all
7:22have to learn from Flint and invest in
7:24in the infrastructure work to get the
7:26lead out of our plumbing so truly get
7:29the lead out the old saying goes is that
7:31because of those areas of in West and
7:32northeast are more industrialized
7:34they're older cities and these older
7:36cities used a lot of Ludden plumbing and
7:38we actually didn't restrict lead in our
7:40service lines which are the main lines
7:42that go from the water main to your home
7:44until 1986 but we actually didn't
7:47restrict lead in our in our fixtures
7:49like our faucets are especially our
7:51brass fixtures until 2014 so this led in
7:55all of our plumbing the release can be
7:57minimized with optimal treatment which
7:59is called corrosion control but to truly
8:01protect folks we should get rid the let
8:04out so your pediatrician you come back
8:07to your home state of Michigan and
8:09settle in Flint which you knew well and
8:13people might say why did she do that but
8:15because that's your home and I love the
8:17fact that you leaved your family life
8:18and being an immigrant into the story
8:20was that an easy thing to do and to
8:23write and why was that important yeah so
8:25weaving these different stories was like
8:27like walking on a tightrope so it was
8:30hard to strike the right balance but it
8:32was important for me to share the Flint
8:35story in my first verse invoice first
8:38person voice but
8:39you couldn't really learn about my role
8:41in this crisis without learning about me
8:43because that has shaped Who I am that
8:46has shaped what I do and where I work
8:49and my response to this crisis so yes I
8:51am a first generation immigrant we came
8:53to this country when I was four years
8:54old
8:55fleeing oppression fleeing tyranny
8:58fleeing the dictatorship of Saddam
9:00Hussein and I was welcomed into this
9:02country with open arms and my family
9:05very much lived at American Dream and I
9:08have that lens of really waking up every
9:10day grateful to be in this country
9:12grateful to serve my community but also
9:15knowing what what injustice is and
9:18knowing what what what you know what
9:21people in power can do to vulnerable
9:23populations so it was with that
9:25perspective that that I do my work and
9:27and wrote this book after all the
9:30attacks that came after you
9:32what was that like at that point was
9:33that one of the hardest things to deal
9:35with was the backlash part of the story
9:37is about the about how to be an activist
9:41about how to resist and it's it's not
9:44easy it's easier for us to go about our
9:47daily jobs to clock in to clock out and
9:49to be blind to what's going on around us
9:52and it is hard and there was a knot in
9:55my stomach that wouldn't go away and my
9:57heart rate was up and there were
9:58literally times that I just crawled into
10:01a ball with the sheets over my head but
10:04a spark lit inside me and that spark was
10:08the realization that this was not about
10:10me and it doesn't matter how I felt it
10:13was about it was about kids and it was
10:15about their entire future and that is
10:17absolutely what woke me up and got me
10:19back into this fight let's talk about
10:22the government because that was really
10:24frustrating to read you would send an
10:26email crickets no matter it seen
10:28whatever level you sent sent an email to
10:30say hey I've got these concerns or I've
10:32got these statistics whatever it might
10:34be that you were sending them that was
10:37just it seemed unconscionable yeah it's
10:38mind-boggling and that gets at the title
10:41of this book what the eyes don't see
10:42because it's about people and problems
10:45and places that we just choose not to
10:49see that we choose to ignore you know
10:52let's you know we don't have
10:53to answer that their emails those are
10:54those people in that far away city you
10:57know they're gonna be okay this is just
10:59temporary
11:00and that's not right that is part of our
11:02role in the Civic Society is being
11:04engaged and caring for the most
11:06vulnerable among us and you had support
11:08from your family that had to be huge
11:10because that it's really hard to do
11:12something just alone and your hospital I
11:14was really impressed with some of your
11:16administrators who back to you when the
11:19going went tough absolutely I was lucky
11:22and another kind of lesson of the story
11:23is the value of team you've building a
11:27village around you and you are never
11:29alone sometimes we think we are alone in
11:31our struggles but we sometimes have to
11:33kind of get out of our boxes and we find
11:36folks who look different than us and
11:38have different professionals than us but
11:40really care about the same things that
11:42we care about so it's important to work
11:45together to solve problems so you hold a
11:47press conference that the hospital does
11:49which is affiliated with the University
11:51so you've got some politics going on
11:54there because the university is kind of
11:55balking somewhat they write if every
11:58freshman they they they didn't really
12:00know the scope of the problem they
12:01weren't as informed right so you have
12:03your study that you did and it was
12:05basically as a pediatrician looking at
12:07the health concerns of the children that
12:09you're saying correct
12:10so as you're as you're doing this press
12:14conference you're getting some of the
12:17state and local government officials are
12:19freaking out basically or as you put it
12:21going nuts and what helped you propel
12:25you to just let's let's move on and
12:27let's just do this thing yeah once again
12:29it was the kids so as a pediatrician you
12:32know I literally took an oath to protect
12:34children I took an oath to make sure
12:36that they're not only healthy today but
12:38that they have the healthiest future
12:40ahead of them holding a press conference
12:42is not what doctors usually do it was
12:46kind of a form of academic disobedience
12:48when you when you do research you're
12:49supposed to publish and present and it's
12:51supposed to go through that peer-review
12:52process but that takes a long time and
12:55our children did not have another day
12:57but it was my very much my professional
13:00obligation but also my moral and my
13:03ethical obligation to stand up for these
13:05kids
13:06these were children who who no fault of
13:09their own lived in a city that was
13:11almost bankrupt that lost democracy that
13:14didn't treat its water properly and you
13:17know that the two live in a city - you
13:20know that should not be the consequence
13:22of your future you know we had the kids
13:25it was not their fault and as a
13:27pediatrician it's my job to be their
13:29advocate and to use my voice for them
13:31wonderful could you ever threatt feel
13:33threatened all through this process um
13:37not really
13:38you know I people were worried about me
13:41especially my mom they were really
13:44worried especially after the you know
13:46the backlash happened and people's jobs
13:48were lost but I've never felt threatened
13:51maybe you know I should but I can't live
13:54my life that that way I need you know
13:56it's all about moving forward and you
13:58had the whole community behind you - I
14:00mean how could they not go behind you
14:01except for those who wanted to put
14:04everything under there under the rug
14:05we're just horrifying are you still
14:07working at the clinic absolutely so I am
14:09still a pediatrician I still take care
14:12of kids but more importantly I have the
14:14privilege and the honor of directing a
14:16lot of our recovery work so I now direct
14:19the pediatric public health initiative
14:20where we are building a model public
14:23health program to make sure that our
14:25kids not only recover but thrive this
14:28book is also so much about a story of
14:30hope and we are using science based
14:34interventions evidence-based
14:35interventions to make sure that we do
14:38not see the consequences of this crisis
14:39this is a story that of where science
14:42was was very much denied was
14:44disrespected it was ultimately our
14:46science that spoke truth to power and we
14:49are very much leaning on the incredible
14:51science of child development and toxic
14:54stress and resilience to make sure that
14:56our children succeed it's wonderful know
14:58you went to Congress a couple of times
14:59right and testified what was that like
15:01um it was surreal
15:03so much of what's happened over these
15:05last few years have been did that just
15:07happen like pin let me pinch myself but
15:10you know that once again was a privilege
15:12to be able to to share what happened and
15:14hopefully to inform our legislators
15:17about what was going on but really to
15:20kind of the national implications that
15:22this happened in Flint but this can
15:24happen anywhere because all over the
15:26country we we have places that are
15:28losing democracy we have places where
15:30infrastructure is deteriorating we have
15:33ongoing environmental and Justices we
15:35have a disrespect for science so Flint
15:37is not alone and it was important to
15:39share the story of Flint to make sure
15:41that we can proactively take action so
15:43that we see no more Flint's I mean I
15:46guess it was somewhat altruistic
15:48initially to change the water source to
15:50save money for quote the residents but
15:54oh and I want to talk about your head
15:56shaking at that had that one press
15:58conference in fact it was brought out in
16:01national media as well but yeah I had to
16:04I had to look that up and sure enough
16:05they're giving spewing out some
16:07statistics and you're going wrong and
16:09that really kind of got you some more
16:11attention didn't ya unexpectedly so
16:13absolutely so I've never had a poker
16:15face and if I don't agree with something
16:18you see it and and you know they were
16:20there was efforts to minimize the crisis
16:22and I didn't agree with it so I shook my
16:24head so what happened after that at that
16:27point people came to you said well she's
16:30agreeing with the guard that's at the
16:31podium so you know I right away shot off
16:35an email to the governor's office saying
16:37hey you know this this is not right you
16:39know these statistics are not right and
16:42then once again spoke with the media and
16:44really tried to clarify things let's
16:46talk about the current political climate
16:48has it impacted Flint in any way
16:50absolutely the current political climate
16:54has set up the recipe for more Flint's
16:57to come because of what's happening with
17:01the EPA really kind of almost
17:03permanently dismantling the EPA
17:04threatened cuts to regulations that
17:07protect our air and our water the epa
17:10has this incredible opportunity to learn
17:11from flint and to strengthen the rule
17:14the lead and copper rule which governs
17:15lead and water that rule is weak that
17:18rule has not caught up with a science of
17:20no safe level of lead exposure so there
17:23is an opportunity right now to
17:25strengthen that and the epa has taken a
17:27pass they are not tightening that
17:29regulation so there's a concern about
17:31what's happening nationally not only to
17:33our mental regulations but public health
17:35funding access to health care through
17:39the ACA that all continued threats of
17:42that repeal children's health insurance
17:44other programs that support our most
17:46vulnerable populations so all of this is
17:49connected to Flint and to our recovery
17:51but also other communities where
17:53children throughout our country suffer
17:55from very similar toxicities so it could
17:58be LED exposure but it could also be
17:59poverty or exposure to violence or lack
18:02of nutrition so there are so many
18:04children waking up with very similar
18:06situations as children in Flint and and
18:09we can fix it we can proactively address
18:11that so nobody has to go through these
18:13situations how are the kids doing how
18:15have you seeing a difference and those
18:16numbers are going down in terms of lead
18:19contamination absolutely so since we you
18:22know since we share the information
18:23publicly that there was lead and water
18:25you know people have taken precautions
18:26there's filters there was bottled water
18:28delivery children's lead levels went
18:31down after that that was a great public
18:33health success story and we are in a
18:36very objective way quantifying how the
18:39kids of Flint are doing actually how the
18:40whole population is doing we were
18:42recently funded by the Centers for
18:43Disease Control to build a flint
18:45registry very much like other exposure
18:48based registries like the World Trade
18:50Center registry this is going to be our
18:52way to share how how Flint kids are
18:55doing and how fun kids are adult helpful
18:57adults are doing but unlike other
18:59registries that just track folks the
19:02point of this registry is to get people
19:03connected to all the awesome services
19:06and resources we've been able to bring
19:08in so that in five 10 15 years I hope to
19:11share with you not the consequences of
19:14this crisis but rather the consequences
19:17of our proactive and positive work to
19:19limit the impact of this crisis and then
19:22we also hope to share our best practices
19:23with other cities that are suffering
19:25from very similar issues we take tap
19:28water for granted don't we who doesn't
19:30it is America it is the 21st century
19:33Michigan is the this is a mitten state
19:36we are literally surrounded by the Great
19:38Lakes surrounded by the largest source
19:40of fresh water in the world and I wasn't
19:43naive to start but but who doesn't think
19:45that when you turn on your
19:47tap it comes up out okay in my head I
19:50imagined the scientists like the ones
19:52who work here with test tubes in their
19:54hands making sure that our water is safe
19:57so this is this is not this is not
20:01America this is not this century I talk
20:03a lot my book about about the history of
20:05public health I talk about the cholera
20:07epidemics of London in the nineteenth
20:09century and we've learned so much since
20:12then we now know how to disinfect water
20:13and treat water but we have to make sure
20:16that the treatment of water is the the
20:18purpose of that is public health and not
20:20minimal compliance you kind of mentioned
20:22this early but what would you hope a
20:23reader would take away from your book
20:25I hope the reader takes away the the
20:27terrible lessons from Flint but more
20:29importantly I wrote this book to share
20:32with readers the role of activism the
20:35role of being defiant the role of being
20:37informed and awake and alert and
20:40involved in your communities I we are at
20:43a time in our nation of growing
20:45movements people are waking up people
20:48are getting involved in their
20:49communities so I want readers to know
20:51that this is not just a story about
20:52Flint but this is a story about how you
20:54can get involved in your communities and
20:57and make the lives of especially our
20:59most vulnerable children better wherever
21:01you are dr. Mona he's your pediatrician
21:04but you're sounding less like a doctor
21:05more like a politician do you think
21:07you'll ever run for office no I am
21:09committed to to my kids in Flint and I'm
21:12committed to kids everywhere so not at
21:14this time still your true love isn't it
21:16absolutely I you know I wake up every
21:19day and it's not work I am privileged
21:21and I honored to care for children they
21:24inspire me they're the ones that wake me
21:26up every day
21:26so where do things stand now with your
21:29role in with the water crisis that's
21:32continuing because they're still trying
21:33to climb on the ladder there are you
21:36totally committed to being a doctor
21:37there or do they call on you i direct
21:40this new public health initiative and
21:42that's where i spend most of my time
21:44not as much taking care of that one kid
21:46at a time but taking care of the
21:48population of children so I've gone from
21:51holding one little hand to really hold
21:53in the hands of of the city of children
21:55I'm so working on those big public
21:58health initiatives things like early
21:59literacy programs
22:00and access to health care and nutrition
22:03services so all these things that we
22:05know promote children's development the
22:08reason I wrote this book over two years
22:10ago when I started writing this book
22:11because I knew the nation's attention on
22:14Flint with fade understandably there's
22:16other things in the news but I wanted a
22:19vehicle to put a spotlight back on Flint
22:21to remind people that hey Flint is still
22:23here we have long term needs and long
22:26term resources but we are also doing
22:29awesome things and Flint does not equal
22:31disaster Flint equals recovery and hope
22:34and it's happening it is happening we
22:36are doing great things and that aren't
22:38really being done anywhere in the
22:40country and that's what we want to share
22:42we want to share how how you know we
22:44rolled up our sleeves we took this
22:46tragedy we rolled up - I rolled up our
22:48sleeves really committed to the children
22:51and you know going back to the early
22:53stages of we write in the book you
22:56really went back to your roots as a high
22:58school and you were somewhat of an
22:59activist then and your and your dear
23:02friend that you grew up with you said
23:03you had two girlfriends and one of them
23:04was with the EPA absolute and she said
23:06hey this is kind of happening and you
23:08know alert yeah so my my involvement in
23:11this water crisis really came late in
23:13the game and it happened out of really
23:15pure serendipity hanging out with two
23:17high school girlfriends so hang out with
23:19your hang out with your girlfriends and
23:21one of them happened to be a water
23:23expert Elin Bhutan's oh and she used to
23:26work at the EPA she used to work at the
23:28EPA in Washington DC when Washington DC
23:31had a very similar lead and water crisis
23:33about a decade ago
23:34and she's the one that that taught me
23:36many lessons about water but told me for
23:40the first time about the possibility of
23:41leads and water yeah you wouldn't think
23:43in this day and age we'd still have the
23:44lid I mean what we said of the chip and
23:46you talk about this in the book the lead
23:47paint from windows cells and what have
23:48you
23:49and I thought it was one of some of the
23:50scientists well that were saying I won't
23:52be in the water may be in the paint
23:53right absolutely so I didn't even know
23:56before this water crisis that we had
23:58lead in our plumbing I didn't even know
24:00that there was led in the plumbing and I
24:01am a pediatrician with an environmental
24:04and public health background and I had
24:06no idea only after this unfolded did I
24:08realize that the actual word lead means
24:11plumbing the elemental Saburo of lettuce
24:13pee
24:14which comes from the Latin plumbum which
24:16means plumbing the Romans built their
24:19aqueducts out of lead plumbing and many
24:21people hypothesize the demise of the
24:23Romans is because they use so much lead
24:25so we should have always known that
24:27there was lead in plumbing and its risks
24:29flint was a not the first time we've had
24:32a load and water crisis
24:33it happened in DC but it's happened
24:35really for about a century and a half
24:36we've had lemon water crisis ever since
24:39we put lead in our plumbing but we have
24:41lacked really the political will to make
24:44a difference into protection in this
24:46case it was about money it was about it
24:48was a cost-cutting move it was to save a
24:50few bucks that we switched from Great
24:53Lakes water to the Flint River water
24:55without treating that water properly do
24:57you ever tire of this cause or is it
25:00just because it's just been so
25:01overwhelming for two years and you're
25:03raising your family you're trying to see
25:04patients yeah no I you know this we
25:07conducted this research to look at the
25:10children sled levels in record speed it
25:12was like two weeks but it should have
25:14been like a six-month research project
25:15and that's all in the book but in with
25:18that same speed of doing that research
25:20has been that same urgency since then
25:23the urgency to put into place the
25:26interventions to protect our children's
25:28futures so so it hasn't stopped it
25:31continues and and once again I feel
25:33grateful and privileged to this work I
25:35feel grateful to be able to really
25:38protect the potential of our children
25:40what's your advice to other activists
25:43out there because did you ever feel like
25:44I'm the only voice and you know and and
25:48but you're saying anybody can be bad
25:50yeah absolutely and and that's part of
25:53the story is that it was a team of
25:54voices you know the the heroes in the
25:57story are the activists the the
25:59residents of Flint
26:00well Liz Walters was at the end Walter
26:02is an amazing mom a mom you don't want
26:04to mess with she she pushed every button
26:06she contacted the EPA she contacted Marc
26:10Edwards with the water scientist who
26:11came into Flint so it took a team of
26:14folks to uncover this crisis activists
26:16and pastors and journalists and water
26:19experts and I was really that last
26:21Domino and but it never should have
26:24gotten to me it never should have gotten
26:26to the point where
26:27children had elevated lead in their
26:29blood it should have stopped when that
26:31first mom said there's something wrong
26:33with my child when there's something
26:35wrong with my water so the lessons of
26:37this book and the story is that we all
26:40are powerful we all have loud voices and
26:45we need to keep using our voices and
26:47keep pressing every button to create
26:50change
26:51this is the story of the most important
26:54an emblematic environmental and public
26:56health disaster of this young century
26:58more bluntly it is a story of a
27:01government poisoning its own citizens
27:03and then lying about it it is a story
27:05about what happens when the very people
27:07responsible for keeping us safe care
27:10more about money and power than they
27:12care about us or our children the crisis
27:15manifested itself in water and in the
27:18bodies of the most vulnerable among us
27:20children who drank that water and ate
27:23meals cooked with that water in babies
27:25who guzzled bottles of formula mixed
27:28with that water the government tried
27:30hard to convince parents the water was
27:32fine safe when it wasn't but this is
27:36also a story about the deeper crises
27:38we're facing right now in our country a
27:40breakdown in democracy the
27:43disintegration of critical
27:44infrastructure due to inequality and
27:46austerity environmental injustice that
27:49disproportionately affects the poor and
27:51black the abandonment of civic
27:54responsibility and our deep obligation
27:56as human beings to care and provide for
28:00each other

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