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EPA earmarks $3 billion to replace lead pipes nationwide
(medicalxpress.com)
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this post was submitted on 03 May 2024
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That sounds like a lot. It isn't. It's a drop in the bucket. So is the $15 billion.
https://www.nrdc.org/resources/lead-pipes-are-widespread-and-used-every-state
No way is $15 billion going to be enough to dig up and replace that much lead piping.
Probably not, but it sure beats $0.
I'm not trying to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, but this is being sold as a cure when it's a band-aid.
True, wish they'd add, "This will fix approximately x% of pipes across the nation!"
But I know why they can't do that, "politics", because there is a considerable amount of people who would say, 5/10/15%! That's awful, I'm voting for the guy who founded the lead pacifier company! He's tall!
But.. when you consider :
1, We consider cave people to be stupid
2, Not enough time has passed for the brain to evolve since we were cave people
It makes a bit more sense, we truly are standing on the shoulders of giants. Or in other words, humans are real ducking dumb. We're all cave people.
Cave people didn't have lead poisoning either
The main thing it is not a federal task force or anything, so it will be funding given to state and local governments that have already failed or even outright refused to replace lead pipes.
Like for example: DeSantis will replace pipes in certain areas but will undoubtedly only identify them in others.
Guess which areas won't be getting them replaced first if at all in terms of demographics...
They don't have to be dug up. The first step is chemistry - Flint was fine with lead pipes until they switch water sources to something with a different composition (ph I think - but there are other factors and we should get expert chemists to speak here not laypeople like us). Anywhere that lead pipes exist we need monitoring to ensure that the water doesn't dissolve lead, once we have that in place the pipes don't leach much lead and we can do a slower replacement when the pipes need to be replaced anyway.
We also have technology to put a plastic liner in existing pipes for much less than digging the pipes up. It doesn't work for all situations, but when it does is a lot cheaper and should be investigated for any pipe that is expected to last a long time.
Even with that there is still a nonzero amount of lead in the water. Source: my city that does exactly that and the test results they publish.
I hate this.
You already know just from the tone that fuck all is going to happen.
The answer is... do both. Fix the problem while finding ways to mitigate costs while ensuring the problem gets fixed.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-would-it-cost-to-replace-all-the-nations-lead-water-pipes/
From the article:
Seems like just a drop in the bucket! HAHAHA, ha... ehh...
I know you're saying the $15b is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of fixing the problem, but it's also a drop in the bucket compared to tax revenues right?
Like how much is bezos worth, can't you guys just guillotine him and use the money to fix the pipes?
I'd rather just tax him a whole lot than continue our proud tradition of state murder. We already do it to possibly innocent death row prisoners.
That kind of money is reserved for a month of bombing, sorry