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Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#211

Post by ghaff »

StillBored wrote: post #175
andrelaszlo wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wanted to see what Flint looks like, so I dropped the little yellow streetview guy randomly. I ended up on Asylum Street (!). I'm at a loss for words: https://goo.gl/maps/UuPPKQK5MoF2 https://goo.gl/maps/KunFSxxRFWA2 https://goo.gl/maps/yg1NH6ZMkFJ2 https://goo.gl/maps/xVi2n8muHV32 https://goo.gl/maps/pAQEyZSAEw92 https://goo.gl/maps/ssGZRAdiQak (memorial garden?) https://goo.gl/maps/B2waNiVfeut https://goo.gl/maps…

A few years ago before the oil boom in west Texas, I was going to run a camera through some of the towns that were off major highways, and compare them with some of the little towns in a Mexico or some other place we consider poor. In many ways the ones in Texas look worse because the population was dying as well, houses with the roof caving in, main streets without a single open business, etc. I'm often surprised by…

In the Northeast at least, there are a fair number of old brick mill buildings that have been renovated and have tech and other tenants. I worked in one in Nashua NH for a few years and there was an apartment complex just down the street in another former textile mill.

However, as someone else said, you don't renovate these kind of properties because it's cheaper than building a generic business park. You do it because you're willing to spend extra for something with history and character.

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#212

Post by non-prophet »

StillBored wrote: post #175
andrelaszlo wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wanted to see what Flint looks like, so I dropped the little yellow streetview guy randomly. I ended up on Asylum Street (!). I'm at a loss for words: https://goo.gl/maps/UuPPKQK5MoF2 https://goo.gl/maps/KunFSxxRFWA2 https://goo.gl/maps/yg1NH6ZMkFJ2 https://goo.gl/maps/xVi2n8muHV32 https://goo.gl/maps/pAQEyZSAEw92 https://goo.gl/maps/ssGZRAdiQak (memorial garden?) https://goo.gl/maps/B2waNiVfeut https://goo.gl/maps…

A few years ago before the oil boom in west Texas, I was going to run a camera through some of the towns that were off major highways, and compare them with some of the little towns in a Mexico or some other place we consider poor. In many ways the ones in Texas look worse because the population was dying as well, houses with the roof caving in, main streets without a single open business, etc. I'm often surprised by…

I suspect the choice to build new may be due to remodeling costs that exceed new construction costs. Abatement of asbestos and lead paint along with bringing electrical, etc up to code is expensive. This may be a case where regulation results in government failure by constraining economic development opportunities. Anyone have any experience bringing a multi-hundred year old industrial facility up to office space code?

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#213

Post by rasz_pl »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #188
dsg42 wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because he's from Sweden, which doesn't allow it's cities to reach this state. Western countries should not look like this.

Exactly. Except you can do that in Sweden because it has 9 million people and a tiny inhabited area in comparison.

Yes, yes, and you cant get decent internet in LA/NY downtown compared to middle of Fuk nowhere in europe due to population density as well!

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#214

Post by yummyfajitas »

tptacek wrote: post #204
yummyfajitas wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reread what I wrote. I didn't suggest we shouldn't help the humans in Flint. I suggested we should do so in a way that solves the problem for the humans once and for all. The comparison to Florida is silly. Florida gets a lot of money that a) is for the national good (naval bases) and b) follows humans around (SS/medicare). The fact that humans work in NY and retire to Florida doesn't mean that we somehow owe Flint a…

No, once again, Florida's figure does not come from military spending.

I don't know where you are getting the data. Google suggests to me that Florida gets $2.02 per dollar invested.

https://wallethub.com/edu/states-most-least-dependent-on-the...

In any case, the specific source of federal largess to Florida is not relevant to my main point. Namely, help the humans rather than the municipality.

In much the same way, if it were a for-profit corporation that was failing horribly, I'd suggest giving the former human workers limited assistance designed to get them back into the workforce and letting the corporation die. That would be true even if other corporations get corporate welfare (which I also oppose).

Since you seem to favor the municipality over the humans, one might ask why?

To avoid status quo bias, lets ask why we shouldn't shift other programs to favor municipalities over humans, e.g. social security goes to the state where work was performed rather than the individual human who did the work?

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#215

Post by andor436 »

nashashmi wrote: post #78

I just took a look at the Map of Michigan. I realized after zooming into Flint to try to understand where the water was coming from that Michigan has many, many bodies of water scattered all around the place. Plus they are right next to the world's biggest lakes. And yet they never took care of their water supply? The one state with so much fresh water has little regulation on keeping water protected. I keep wonderin…

The water sources themselves are ok. (They could be much cleaner of course.) It's the aging and decaying infrastructure that brings the water from the source to a Flint homeowner's sink that is causing the issue. Lead is not in the source water; it's in the pipes, solder joints, fixtures, etc. When the State switched Flint over from Detroit's Lake Huron source to the Flint River, the water chemistry change was not correctly accounted for, and thus caused excessive amounts of lead to leach into the water on its way through the system.

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#216

Post by Lawtonfogle »

vox_mollis wrote: post #136
Lawtonfogle wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'm at a loss for words: Why are you are a loss for words? This doesn't look significantly different from the town I grew up in (well near). I feel like I'm missing something.

Bear in mind this is HN. Upper-middle-class people tend to originate from upper-middle-class homes. What many of us grow up in is found to be "shocking" to the Brahmin class.

I guess I come from a different world. This looks like areas I use to walk down as a child.

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#217

Post by vkou »

paulajohnson wrote: post #79

So in ten years time someone is going to kill someone and blame it on the lead he was poisoned with when he was a kid. What would the just result be in such a case?

No sweat off the backs of the officials responsible for this disaster.

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#218

Post by babygoat »

flubert wrote: post #104
ionforce wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious what excuse the anti-liberals come up with once their children are diagnosed with lead.

Aren't places like Flint and Detroit pretty much poster children of progressive thought? I think anti-liberal people use them as case studies to attract converts, as in, look what you get if you have one-party Democratic rule for 50 years and strong unions, and other progressive notions.

Where on earth did you get that idea?

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#219

Post by Kalium »

rickdale wrote: post #39

I'm glad to see this on HN. Flint is often a forgot about place in the world. I grew up there and now live outside of Flint. My dad was murdered there. But I always think Flint is prime for opportunity. The people need basic essentials, water, food, shelter. But the infrastructure to build factories is there. Power, train lines, the whole deal. It's really a shame. The sad part is, the people are still hell bent on s…

I'm from Michigan. The unhealthy adherence to the golden days of yore is one of the reasons I left.

I won't waste time and energy trying to help people who really, really don't want the kind of help that might actually accomplish something.

Re: Flint, MI: So much lead in children’s blood, state of emergency declared

#220

Post by rasz_pl »

nashashmi wrote: post #78

I just took a look at the Map of Michigan. I realized after zooming into Flint to try to understand where the water was coming from that Michigan has many, many bodies of water scattered all around the place. Plus they are right next to the world's biggest lakes. And yet they never took care of their water supply? The one state with so much fresh water has little regulation on keeping water protected. I keep wonderin…

Clean water is bad for business.
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