In the United States, a devastating water crisis is occurring. Water in the town of Flint, Michigan has been contaminated with toxic substances, resulting in residents getting sick. The problem originated from a water rehabilitation project when officials decided to build a pipeline in order to draw water from Lake Huron. However, the pipeline became too expensive and was never finished. Instead officials elected to draw municipal water from the Flint River instead. Sadly, the Flint River contains a high amount of minerals and salt. The highly corrosive minerals, mainly iron, in the water reacted with the lead in plumbing pipes, producing lead-contaminated, and undrinkable water. Local residents protested that their children were getting sick
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In Robert M. Sapolsky’s book titled “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers” he describes how the human body maintains balance through a process he calls homeostasis. Homeostasis helps the body normalize itself using different regulatory methods so it functions in a stable, healthy state. During a water crisis or shortage, the body will adjust itself. “Or suppose there is a water shortage. Homeostatic solution: kidneys are the ones that figure this out, tighten things up there, produce less urine for water conservation.” (Sapolsky, 9). The Flint water crisis will cause bodies of the affected individuals to maintain homeostasis in any way possible so that they will conserve as much water as possible to ensure their survival. Additionally, the Flint water crisis has also created the most extreme kind of prenatal stress. Sapolsky argues that stressors during and before pregnancy can determine the fate of the unborn child. “It turns out that during development, beginning with fetal life, your body is also learning about the nature of the world and, metaphorically, making lifelong decisions about how to respond to the world. And if development involves certain types of stressors, some of these “decisions” cause a lifelong increase in the risk of certain diseases.” (Sapolsky 94). The Flint water crisis is undeniably a large stressor for residents and to make matters worse, the consumption …show more content…
Microcephaly is a birth defect characterized by an extremely small head and babies with microcephaly have smaller brains that might not have properly developed. Other pregnancy complications have been seen as well. Since a vaccine has not been created for the Zika virus, it would be suspected that more cases of birth defects and pregnancy complications will continue. Although the virus was first discovered in 1947, not much is known of the Zika virus. In terms of future generations, it can be assumed that more birth defects due to Zika infection will arise and they will be more common as the disease
In Robert M. Sapolsky’s book titled “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers” he describes how the human body maintains balance through a process he calls homeostasis. Homeostasis helps the body normalize itself using different regulatory methods so it functions in a stable, healthy state. During a water crisis or shortage, the body will adjust itself. “Or suppose there is a water shortage. Homeostatic solution: kidneys are the ones that figure this out, tighten things up there, produce less urine for water conservation.” (Sapolsky, 9). The Flint water crisis will cause bodies of the affected individuals to maintain homeostasis in any way possible so that they will conserve as much water as possible to ensure their survival. Additionally, the Flint water crisis has also created the most extreme kind of prenatal stress. Sapolsky argues that stressors during and before pregnancy can determine the fate of the unborn child. “It turns out that during development, beginning with fetal life, your body is also learning about the nature of the world and, metaphorically, making lifelong decisions about how to respond to the world. And if development involves certain types of stressors, some of these “decisions” cause a lifelong increase in the risk of certain diseases.” (Sapolsky 94). The Flint water crisis is undeniably a large stressor for residents and to make matters worse, the consumption …show more content…
Microcephaly is a birth defect characterized by an extremely small head and babies with microcephaly have smaller brains that might not have properly developed. Other pregnancy complications have been seen as well. Since a vaccine has not been created for the Zika virus, it would be suspected that more cases of birth defects and pregnancy complications will continue. Although the virus was first discovered in 1947, not much is known of the Zika virus. In terms of future generations, it can be assumed that more birth defects due to Zika infection will arise and they will be more common as the disease