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Eastern Bandy-Bandy (Vermicella annulata), givin’ em the old razzle dazzle (defensive display), family Elapidae, found throughout eastern and northern Australia
Venomous.
photograph by Ken Griffiths
Translation: As far as we're concerned, we dun it, but we refuse to admit to that in any way that will stand up in a court of law.
Jul 9, 2025
The Flint water crisis began in 2014, after lead-contaminated drinking water was found to be leaching out from aging pipes into homes citywide.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Natural Resources Defense Council, with help from other activists and nonprofits, have released statements on the recent progress, celebrating the milestone.
The statements which they chalk up the crisis to “cost-cutting measures and improper water treatment,” that the state “didn’t require treatment to prevent corrosion,” after a “a state-appointed emergency manager” switched the water supply to the Flint River.
There is no safe level of lead exposure; each nanogram causes harm. In addition to long-known risks, such as damage to children’s brains and certain cancers, there is also significant evidence that exposure to lead is linked to numerous cardiovascular diseases, including stroke and heart attack.
The coalition mobilized the citizenry and filed a lawsuit against Flint and Michigan state officials to secure safe water. The result was a settlement in March 2017, under which a federal court in Detroit ordered Flint to give every resident the opportunity to have their lead pipe replaced at no cost, as well as conduct comprehensive tap water testing, implement a faucet filter distribution and education program, and maintain funding for health programs to help residents deal with the effects of Flint’s tainted water, according to the NRDC.
The coalition then returned to court six times in six years to ensure the city and state kept to the timeline, which was delayed by COVID-19, and other reasons which The Detroit News described as “spotty record-keeping” and “ineffective management.”
On July 1st, the State of Michigan submitted a progress report to a federal court confirming that, more than eight years after the settlement, nearly 11,000 lead pipes were replaced and more than 28,000 properties were restored where the maintenance had taken place.
Of the 4,200 buildings where lead pipes are known to still be in service, their owners have either left the properties vacant, abandoned, or have declined the free replacement under the Safe Water Drinking Act. The coalition has said it will continue to monitor city and state progress on these remaining lines.
“Thanks to the persistence of the people of Flint and our partners, we are finally at the end of the lead pipe replacement project,” said Pastor Allen C. Overton of the Concerned Pastors for Social Action, one of the organizations that sued the city. “While this milestone is not all the justice our community deserves, it is a huge achievement.”
23 years old and I just made the connection that people on the northern hemisphere have a different view of the moon than people on the southern hemisphere.
I was a whole like, 40ish years old when I went to the equatorial region for the first time. My North American ass went to Colombia and first off, could not fuckin handle the fact that while it felt like summer (80-90F, humid), the sun went down on the dot of 6pm every night and rose at 6am every morning. There I was at 7pm fully beliving it was midnight, because it was both dark and hot. Like, I'm used to early dark! but it's cold when it's dark early! I could NOT handle it.
And then, there in the dark, pitch-midnight-summer-black at 7pm, up pops this lovely crescent moon and it is
fucking SIDEWAYS
i had NEVER EVER EVER realized, despite knowing my whole life that the moon is a spherical object rotating around Earth, also a spherical object, that it would be at different angles from different spots on Earth.
It's the MOON! How can it be DIFFERENT! My poor patient partner drew me a diagram and I was like listen I know all of that but I cannot actually handle it. Nobody warned me the moon looks different.
So yeah my feeble mind was BLOWN, all y'all world travelers/residents can laugh at me now. Knowing it is one thing, experiencing it is something else, and I did NOT see it coming.
I remember being in the pagan scene in my twenties and being faintly annoyed by the omnipresent triple moon symbol: )O(
... because I'm from the southern hemisphere and it Doesn't Look Like That here. And (O) does not look anywhere near as cool.
