kicker
marthatest
deck
Getty Images
By Justine van der Leun
Like many of you, we've been reading the New York Times "Toxic Waters" series with a mix of horror and confusion. AOL Health decided to take a closer look at their coverage of tap water, which exposed half a million violations of water pollution laws by manufacturers and other workplaces over the last five years, including dumping toxins thought to cause cancer. Most distressingly, state governments and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declined to prosecute the majority of offenders that flout the Clean Water Act, which regulates the integrity of the nation's bodies of water. With 40 percent of U.S. community water systems in violation of the Safe Water Drinking Act, which sets drinking-water quality standards and is directly linked to the Clean Water Act, 23 million people received low-quality drinking water. We wondered: Could we become part of the estimated 19.5 million Americans that fall ill each year from drinking water contaminated with parasites, bacteria or viruses? To better understand the report, and the future of American water overall, we spoke to James Workman, author of the book "Heart of Dryness: How the Last Bushmen Can Help Us Endure the Coming Age of Permanent Drought" and co-founder of SmartMarkets
Getty Images
By Justine van der Leun
Like many of you, we've been reading the New York Times "Toxic Waters" series with a mix of horror and confusion. AOL Health decided to take a closer look at their coverage of tap water, which exposed half a million violations of water pollution laws by manufacturers and other workplaces over the last five years, including dumping toxins thought to cause cancer. Most distressingly, state governments and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declined to prosecute the majority of offenders that flout the Clean Water Act, which regulates the integrity of the nation's bodies of water. With 40 percent of U.S. community water systems in violation of the Safe Water Drinking Act, which sets drinking-water quality standards and is directly linked to the Clean Water Act, 23 million people received low-quality drinking water. We wondered: Could we become part of the estimated 19.5 million Americans that fall ill each year from drinking water contaminated with parasites, bacteria or viruses? To better understand the report, and the future of American water overall, we spoke to James Workman, author of the book "Heart of Dryness: How the Last Bushmen Can Help Us Endure the Coming Age of Permanent Drought" and co-founder of SmartMarkets
Getty Images
By Justine van der Leun
Like many of you, we've been reading the New York Times "Toxic Waters" series with a mix of horror and confusion. AOL Health decided to take a closer look at their coverage of tap water, which exposed half a million violations of water pollution laws by manufacturers and other workplaces over the last five years, including dumping toxins thought to cause cancer. Most distressingly, state governments and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declined to prosecute the majority of offenders that flout the Clean Water Act, which regulates the integrity of the nation's bodies of water. With 40 percent of U.S. community water systems in violation of the Safe Water Drinking Act, which sets drinking-water quality standards and is directly linked to the Clean Water Act, 23 million people received low-quality drinking water. We wondered: Could we become part of the estimated 19.5 million Americans that fall ill each year from drinking water contaminated with parasites, bacteria or viruses? To better understand the report, and the future of American water overall, we spoke to James Workman, author of the book "Heart of Dryness: How the Last Bushmen Can Help Us Endure the Coming Age of Permanent Drought" and co-founder of SmartMarkets
preview