Lead Pipes In The House
Critical Analysis
According to the data from the map above, what is the state of lead pipes in your state?
According to the data from the map, how many American states do NOT even track the number of lead pipes in their state?
Why do you think so many states don’t even know how many lead pipes they have?
What is one consequence of the lack of environmental tracking for the citizens of those states?
According to the data from the map, what region of the United States has the highest percentage of lead pipes per population?
Describe the connection between this map and the concept of federalism?
According to reporting from The Economist, “lead is highly toxic and can leach into water as it corrodes. High levels of lead cause health problems from heart disease to brain damage. It is especially dangerous for children. As early as the 1920s many American cities and states limited or banned the use of lead in pipes. (Lead in paint was banned in 1978 and it is no longer added to gas.) But the federal government did not fully ban the installation of new lead pipes until 1986. Even then it allowed existing pipes to remain in the ground. The trouble is, no one is sure where they all are.” Explain whether you would advocate for a federal law to count the amount of lead pipes in America.
The installation of new lead pipes was banned in 1986 when Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act, prohibiting the use of pipes, solder or flux that were not “lead free” in public water systems or plumbing in facilities providing water for human consumption. At the time "lead free” was defined as solder and flux with no more than 0.2% lead and pipes with no more than 8%. Explain what people with the following ideological belief systems would say about this law: liberals, conservatives, libertarians.
Explain what an Anti-Federalist would likely say about whether issues of environmental regulation and government intervention (I know- they didn’t have lead pipes or regulations of them in 1787 - just think of Anti-Federalist ideology when answering this) are better left to states or to the national government?
Imagine Congress passed a new law directing states to dig up all their lead pipes. What federal agency would most be responsible for writing the rules and then enforcing this law?
Learning Extension
After conducting a survey of these lead pipes in the United States, The National Resources Defense Council estimates that there is a range of 9.7 million to 12.8 million pipes that are, or may be, lead, spread across all 50 states, including those that claim to have none. Read the NRDC report on lead pipes in the U.S.
Action Extension
Locate your U.S. senators' contact information, find your U.S. representative's website and contact information, and let them know what you think the federal government should do about lead pipes.
Visual Extension
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