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That really isn't a good assumption. The West is undergoing a bureaucratic collapse where incompetent or out right maliciously corrupt people are subverting reg

That really isn't a good assumption. The West is undergoing a bureaucratic collapse where incompetent or out right maliciously corrupt people are subverting regulators. I dont trust regulators and have a five stage reverse under the sink filter. Result? In the last five years in my little section of the midwest: - I've dodged Pb poisoning when my local water authority switched corrosion inhibitors (note, this is after Flint MI) - I've dodged vinyl chloride poisoning from the Palestine OH fire that Federal regulators pretended was a nothing burger until dead cows started showing up everywhere. Not to mention the countless times the lines are fixed and the water comes out brown (this is "safe" because it's iron oxide. Except it is only mostly iron oxide plus all the crud that has caked onto the pipes.) Best case scenario I trust the regulators. Even then F- ups happen and Id rather have a filter I keep myself.

startupsfail 3y ago
Yes, and it’s a good idea to not trust bottled water as well. You could have some grandpa in Nevada having his own ideas how « Real water » should taste. And then its gets grandfathered and sold at WholeFoods. https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/10/jury-awards-229m-to-victims-of-real-water-tainted-with-rocket-fuel-chemical/ https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/10/jury-awards-229m-to-v...
- thsksbd 3y ago
  I avoid bottled water too. A PhD in mtls science on plastics will do that to you.
PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
You could move to my small village in New Mexico and join the water board. There's about 70 of us on the water system, and we could use more people to help provide oversight. The well itself is about 500 yards from my front door, and the water tank and pump house are right up the hill, I go by them on most morning walks.
- thsksbd 3y ago
  No thanx. Spanish cartographers were very clear about the suitability of the Southwest to sustain human life: Ari-zona. Zona Arida.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
    > McClintock concluded that the name probably derived from a native place name that sounded like Aleh-zon or Ali-Shonak, which meant “small spring” or “place of the small spring.” https://azlibrary.gov/collections/dazl/arizona-almanac/meaning-arizona https://azlibrary.gov/collections/dazl/arizona-almanac/meani... Humans have documented remains close to this village going back 4000 years, and likely were here much longer than that. The creek has (so far, even in the worst drought in 1200 years) never stopped flowing.
crazygringo 3y ago
> The West is undergoing a bureaucratic collapse where incompetent or out right maliciously corrupt people are subverting regulators. I don't know where you're getting this from. Generally speaking, regulations and enforcement are tighter than they've ever been. That doesn't mean they're perfect, but you're going to have to show some evidence it's getting worse. I really don't think you want to go back to the 1970's and 1980's, or the 1940's and 1950's. I mean, I totally believe you about your water -- I just don't know where you get the idea that it was better in the past. If anything, you as a consumer just didn't have the ability to detect it or filter.
- thsksbd 3y ago
  I didn't complain that there aren't enough regulations. I mean that the people involved in them are corrupt and incompetent which makes them easy prey to the industries they regulate.
  - crazygringo 3y ago
    That's why I didn't say "regulations", I said "regulations and enforcement". Corruption has generally gone down significantly over the decades, and knowledge and training have gone up. I'm not saying there aren't problems, but you're presenting a narrative where bureaucracies are "collapsing", when the reality is that things have actually been improving in general, and quite a great deal.

startupsfail 3y ago

Yes, and it’s a good idea to not trust bottled water as well. You could have some grandpa in Nevada having his own ideas how « Real water » should taste. And then its gets grandfathered and sold at WholeFoods. https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/10/jury-awards-229m-to-victims-of-real-water-tainted-with-rocket-fuel-chemical/ https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/10/jury-awards-229m-to-v...

thsksbd 3y ago
I avoid bottled water too. A PhD in mtls science on plastics will do that to you.

PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago

You could move to my small village in New Mexico and join the water board. There's about 70 of us on the water system, and we could use more people to help provide oversight. The well itself is about 500 yards from my front door, and the water tank and pump house are right up the hill, I go by them on most morning walks.

thsksbd 3y ago
No thanx. Spanish cartographers were very clear about the suitability of the Southwest to sustain human life: Ari-zona. Zona Arida.
- PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
  > McClintock concluded that the name probably derived from a native place name that sounded like Aleh-zon or Ali-Shonak, which meant “small spring” or “place of the small spring.” https://azlibrary.gov/collections/dazl/arizona-almanac/meaning-arizona https://azlibrary.gov/collections/dazl/arizona-almanac/meani... Humans have documented remains close to this village going back 4000 years, and likely were here much longer than that. The creek has (so far, even in the worst drought in 1200 years) never stopped flowing.

crazygringo 3y ago

> The West is undergoing a bureaucratic collapse where incompetent or out right maliciously corrupt people are subverting regulators. I don't know where you're getting this from. Generally speaking, regulations and enforcement are tighter than they've ever been. That doesn't mean they're perfect, but you're going to have to show some evidence it's getting worse. I really don't think you want to go back to the 1970's and 1980's, or the 1940's and 1950's. I mean, I totally believe you about your water -- I just don't know where you get the idea that it was better in the past. If anything, you as a consumer just didn't have the ability to detect it or filter.

thsksbd 3y ago
I didn't complain that there aren't enough regulations. I mean that the people involved in them are corrupt and incompetent which makes them easy prey to the industries they regulate.
- crazygringo 3y ago
  That's why I didn't say "regulations", I said "regulations and enforcement". Corruption has generally gone down significantly over the decades, and knowledge and training have gone up. I'm not saying there aren't problems, but you're presenting a narrative where bureaucracies are "collapsing", when the reality is that things have actually been improving in general, and quite a great deal.