This paper portrays the formation, development, and possible solution of the tri-state water crisis between Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. To do so, it focuses first on the claims of each state along with a brief explanation of each states’ riparian claim to the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) and Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ATF) Basins as this is a necessary basis of understanding in order to see why stakeholders took the steps that they did and to grasp the gravity of the situation. From here, the focus moves more towards Atlanta, as the citizens there had the most at stake during this dispute. Next, a history of the dispute is outlined, beginning with the reasons for constructing the Buford dam, and continuing through last recommendations from the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The historical section provides basic facts to support the decisions made by different courts and reveals the logics of how these decisions were made. In conclusion, the paper outlines current conditions and recommendations for addressing the tri-state water crisis.…
The battle between the three states Georgia, Alabama, and Florida about water rights within the Flint River Watershed has led to the decline of the important watershed. The debates started when Lake Lanier was created for water benefits, such as hydropower and flood control. However, once Georgia started using the lake as a source of drinking water, Alabama and Florida became enraged, and the current day argument was initiated. Experts state that if the three states continue to argue over water rights instead of protecting the environment and its inhabitants, the region that the watershed encompasses will endure significant and permanent damage. The focus of the disputes between the states have mainly focuses on the Chattahoochee River. The…
Flint, Michigan as of today is going through a crisis. Contaminated water has polluted the cities’ tap water. This incident consequently caused the city so much money and problems for the people especially such as health problems. This disaster is from the exposure of amount of lead that the water became poisoned with.…
Margaret Mead once said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.” In Bolivia, these citizens were the local people of Cochabamba who rallied together and fought for what they believed was just, the right to clean drinking water. By pushing out a large corporation and going against the government, this ‘Water War’ became known as a “public uprising against water prices” (Olivera, Oscar). Named after large protests in opposition to the privatization of the city’s water system and spikes in the resident’s water bills, this battle showed how the unfair treatment of an underdeveloped Latin American country by the United States and World Bank could create unrest within a group. The ‘Water War’ has become…
In January 2016, President Barack Obama declared a federal state of emergency in Flint, Michigan (Kennedy, 2016, par. 44). Initially, the declaration of a state of emergency might evoke thoughts of a natural disaster or of an armed conflict, which are not incorrect assumptions. However, this state of emergency was declared for an event much less spectacular, but nonetheless urgent— the contamination of Flint’s water supply.…
Politically speaking, the Flint water crisis was a failure by the government from the smallest locality all the way to the most powerful man in Michigan. This crisis has brought light to the fact that politicians do not always have their constituents’ interest nor safety as priority. While there is no single person to bear all the blame, this incident has been a learning experience for people to stand up for themselves and take matters into their own hands when the government fails to do what they are supposed to…
The main sociological theory that is evident in this film is that of Karl Marx and the Conflict Theory. Flint can be seen as a stage in which the bourgeoisie and the proletariat battled for power. The bourgeoisie owners of General Motors exploited the proletariat workers and took what they needed for 80 years to serve their bottom line which was profits and power.…
Government officials are responsible for allowing the Flint water crisis to reach this detrimental point. According to the PBS news station, for one and a half years, people were drinking water contaminated with lead, yet government officials claimed that everything was fine. In this scenario, the public have no clue that their water, which they drink, bathe in, wash clothes and dishes in, and water their garden with, is toxic. They don’t know that this water can have several, very serious impacts on their and their children’s health, such as, learning disabilities, slow growth, insomnia, memory loss, and liver and kidney problems.…
The situation in Flint, Michigan can be seen from many angles. The angles I saw it from were the conflict theorist’s view, social interactionist view and the functional analysis view. The conflict theory view is looking at who has the power, how they’re using the power, and who they’re influencing with it. A conflict theorist would view Roger Smith as using his power to ruin the town of Flint, Michigan. He became the CEO of General Motors and started to make changes right away when he found he had the power to change. He started this by laying off many auto workers at the Flint auto plants so General Motors could make new plants in Mexico. General Motors was making record profits when he decided to do this. The auto workers that were laid off had a hard time finding other jobs because there were none out there. Moore shows those who struggle after they were laid off or affected by General Motors. He stresses that those people have been treated unfairly. He views social classes in the area as Karl Marx would view them. The wealthy are seen as heartless and the poor are seen as innocent laborers. This causes a conflict between the two social classes. When the jobs were destroyed, extreme unemployment rates arose and it let to high crime rates and stealing food and…
Environmental health in this country should not be based on race or wealth. Yet, prior to the change in water source, these same neighborhoods in Flint have already seen their children’s blood lead levels higher than those in surrounding cities. Factors including dilapidated housing, fewer water samples tested, lack of preventative maintenance to support corrosion control, and fewer children getting the screenings they need due to lack of funding. Consequently, lower income families are found to have been the most vulnerable population hit by this crisis. As stated in our own Environmental Health text book, “The concept of environmental justice denotes the equal treatment of all people in society irrespective of their racial background, country of origin, and socioeconomic status” (Friis, 2012, p.…
The current controversy that exists within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is based on how well they can react and respond to a crisis. Using examples such as Flint, Michigan’s lead introduction into the drinking water system, the EPA is put to the test on not only how well they can contain the situation, but also how they respond and react to the situation at hand. This article was written by Rebecca Leber, a political news editor, where she focused on climate and environmental policies. Leber is a liberal political journalist based out of Washington DC, who has been featured in The Guardian, Wired, and Huffington Post. In this article, her primary argument is based around the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency did not…
A tragedy has struck the people of Flint, Michigan. One that has come as a great shock to some, but an inevitable occurrence to others. The government that once elected to switch to the polluted waters of Flint is now scrambling to think of solutions to the destruction it has caused. Regardless of what residents thought about switching their water supply from the Detroit river to the Flint River before, it is something that affects everyone now. The tragedy of the Flint Michigan Water Crisis represents failure to recognize the severity of our environmental impact. Now the people of the city are left to live through it and eventually correct the problem.…
The Flint water crisis is an environmental issue that is yet to be resolved. Many people's lives and jobs are at stake because of this troublesome situation, there seems to be no solution to this catastrophe but there is, it's just difficult to achieve. You always hear of environmental issues commencing, however, have you ever heard of them concluding? Will you ever hear of one…
Conflict theory is a paradigm that sees social conflict as the basis of society and social change, and emphasizes a materialist view of society, a critical view of the status quo, and a dynamic model of historical change (Ferris and Stein 22). The Conflict paradigm describes the inequalities that exist in all societies around the globe. Conflict is particularly interested in the following inequalities race or ethnicity, sex or gender, age, religion, ability or disability, etc. Every society is plagued by inequality based on social differences among the dominant group and all of the other groups in society, according to the Conflict paradigm. When sociologists analyze elements of society from this perspective, they look at the structures of wealth, power, and status and the ways in which those structures…
“Conflict Perspectives”-- "According to conflict perspectives, groups in society are engaged in a continuous power struggle for control of scarce resources. Conflict may take the form of politics, litigation, negotiations, or family discussions about financial matters (Kendall, 01/2014, p. 25). "The conflict perspective is not one unified theory but rather encompasses several branches. One branch is the neo-Marxist approach, which views struggle between the classes as inevitable and as a prime source of social change. A second branch focuses on racial–ethnic inequalities and the continued exploitation of members of some racial–ethnic groups. A third branch is the feminist perspective, which focuses on gender issues (Kendall, 01/2014, p. 26).…