It's Pub Day for Superman's Not Coming!
It’s been four years in the making. I still remember the spring day back in 2016 when my agent called me with an exciting project—writing a book with THE Erin Brockovich. The movie about her life came out in 2000, which is the year I graduated from journalism school, so she’s always been a hero of mine. I penned a book proposal (after many calls with Erin) and we sold it to Knopf/Pantheon Books in October 2016.
The book is now here, all 362 pages and 500+ footnotes. This was a labor of love, sweat, and tears. I even broke my back at one point in the midst of final edits. But I’m so happy with the final product and so grateful for the thoughtful reviews and press.
Here’s a little more about the book:
Water. It’s the single most necessary element to sustain life. We can no longer take for granted the simple act of filling up a glass of clean water from our kitchen sink. Officials don’t want to admit it, but we are in the midst of a major water crisis that is beyond anything you can imagine. Pollution problems persist and toxins are everywhere. Without access to clean air, water, and food it’s GAME OVER for all of us. We can’t possibly live without these valuable resources.
When Erin first started her work in the Mojave Desert town of Hinkley, California in 1991, she saw children suffering with terminal cancers, constant nosebleeds, and chronic fatigue. Other residents were dealing with multiple miscarriages, Crohn’s disease, lupus, breast, lung, brain, and lymph cancers. She helped uncover that Pacific Gas & Electric had been leaking toxic chromium-6 (also known as hexavalent chromium) into the groundwater, poisoning the town’s water supply and causing health issues for its residents for more than 30 years. This case became the largest medical settlement lawsuit in history (at the time), awarding $333 million in damages to more than 600 people.
But she didn’t stop there. She’s used her platform for years to help spread the message of personal empowerment and encouragement for people throughout the world: to stand up against the Goliaths in our midst. To make right when we see wrongs.
Unsafe levels of chromium-6 have been detected in tap water in all 50 states, affecting more than 200 million Americans, according to 2016 research from The Environmental Working Group. What’s more is that federal regulations are stalled, despite the fact that scientists say chromium-6 causes cancer even when ingested in extremely low levels. We need a federal mandate to set strong, health-protective standards for levels of this contaminant in drinking water. Without it, states will continue to use inconsistent and potentially unsafe guidelines, leaving citizens confused about the safety of their drinking water.
But that’s not even the half of it. Other major water problems are commonplace in communities across the country, including issues with lead. Thanks to toxic lead exposure in the public water system in places like Flint, Michigan, children are now at risk for developing behavioral issues, lowered IQs, and developmental delays. The science is clear: even after lead exposure stops, the effects can be permanent. A June 2016 Guardian investigation revealed that at least 33 cities throughout the East Coast are using water-testing methods that “cheat” EPA standards so that final reports look clear, even when lead levels are too high.
Meanwhile we’ve reached an “oh shit” moment with PFCs (petroflourinated chemicals). Both PFOA and PFOS are byproducts of industry—chemicals used to make carpets, clothing, furniture fabric, paper packaging, and nonstick cookware. In May 2016, the EPA significantly lowered the “safe levels” for these pollutants in our water supply, based on standards that assume lifetime exposure rather than drinking these chemicals for only a few weeks or months. These new standards created instant water contamination crises for many cities and towns—14 systems exceed the federal threshold for PFOA and 40 systems are above the limit for PFOS.
We’ve got trouble in 18 states and Guam. Research has linked PFOS exposure to immune suppression, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, reduced fertility and possible cancers in the bladder, colon, and prostate.
Recent research has found that drinking water for more than six million Americans contains unsafe levels of industrial chemicals PFASs (polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances) linked to cancer and other serious health issues. According to one study, the actual number of people exposed may be even higher, because government data for levels of these compounds in drinking water is lacking for almost a third of the U.S. population—about 100 million people. This crisis continues and in 2020 NY Gov Andrew Cuomo announced maximum contaminant levels for PFOA and PFOS in New York's drinking water, which are among the lowest in the U.S. for PFOA and PFOS at 10 parts per trillion.
Not exactly the picture of a healthy, happy America.
Sadly, agencies fail; government fails; and regulations fail. Agencies don’t want to find the kind of data that Erin’s come to know, and many of them work around the loopholes in the laws set up to protect us, just to save a buck. For instance, instead of spending the money to fix old pipes and update our systems, money-crunched municipalities are adding chemicals like ammonia to drinking water as a quick fix, which is only causing more issues. Alarms are sounding throughout the world because of greed, corruption, and lack of transparency at the local, state, and federal levels.
All this misconduct isn’t happening somewhere far, far away. It’s in our backyards and our homes. These issues don’t see any boundaries of rich or poor, black or white, Republican or Democrat. All kinds of people everywhere are being taken advantage of when it comes to water. We have a security issue, it’s a false sense of security—that we’ve all been lulled into—and it’s time to wake up.
This isn’t a book about the environment; it’s about your life. The fight for the protection of our natural resources is a fight for our lives. It’s time to stop feeling helpless and hopeless and get in the driver’s seat. It’s time to start asking questions and get involved. You can save yourself, your family, your community, if you act now.
Here are links to articles about the book: