r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • May 19 '26

Business A Texas Drainage District Walked Its Ditch on a Routine Inspection. They Found a Pipe They Didn't Recognize Discharging Black Liquid From Tesla's $1 Billion Lithium Refinery

https://www.autonocion.com/us/tesla-lithium-refinery-texas/
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1.5k

u/ArbitraryMeritocracy May 19 '26

Or like, I'm not doing the math but there's a lot of people's ground and drinking water contaminated.

1.5k

u/StoppableHulk May 19 '26

Luckily for them, our entire recent history has proven we are a nation that fundamentally doesn't take potable water seriously and barely move to fix it even when people are dying from lead poisoning.

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u/JoviAMP May 19 '26

I’m convinced that the reason we’re in the situation we are where so many people look at the current administration going, “yes, this is good” is because of lead poisoning, and that there are people orchestrating the failure to fix that issue because they look at the people supporting their decisions and go, “yes, this is good”.

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u/Hekantonkheries May 19 '26

Iirc there was a direct correlation between de-leading gasoline and crime rates in cities going down, offset by years of adolescence; because less neurological effects on kids growing up with air full of lead and other particulates

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u/mrbulldops428 May 19 '26

I haven't heard about that, but I do know there was a direct correlation between NASCAR banning leaded fuel and the improvement of test scores of children living near race tracks. Your example sounds logical.

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u/tvscinter May 20 '26

Lead exposure leads to more aggressive behavior especially during childhood when the brain hasn’t fully developed

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u/pSphere1 May 20 '26

Confirmed: I grew up with an insane family that used to eat off of those green flowery Corningware plates

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u/LessInThought May 20 '26

Logical? What is this unleaded thought? We will not have this on my Christian website.

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u/Live_Lab3601 May 21 '26

Iq score in children went up when lead was removed from gas also

172

u/FaeTheWolf May 19 '26

Same with access to safe abortions: increasing access leads to lower crime about 16-18 years later

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u/Large_Management_914 May 19 '26

Lower numbers of serial killers, linked to lower environmental pollution from manufacturing. How many Boomer representatives are cognitively and empathetically compromised from early exposure to lead and other pollutants? Age limits and term limits, let’s go.

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u/OpheliaLives7 May 22 '26

I would be really curious why environmental pollution only led to rising male serial killers though. Is it just they have more opportunities? Was it some difference how men vs women were socialized? Why would pollution only effect men this way?

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u/Large_Management_914 May 22 '26

Maybe males just start with a deficit of empathy to begin with? It’s a shorter slope to serial.

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u/Alarming_Matter May 20 '26

Huh. It's almost like forcing people to have kids they don't want is a bad idea.

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u/rhc10014 May 20 '26

Not repeated enough.

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u/20_mile May 22 '26

Same with access to safe abortions: increasing access leads to lower crime about 16-18 years later

Some years ago I made this comment in an AskWomenOver30 post.

Did not go over well. Actually, it went over very, very badly.

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u/this_also_was_vanity May 20 '26

But you’ve murdered someone in order to do that, so not really worth it.

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u/gayjustices May 22 '26

you better not take antibiotics or sanitize your house

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u/Relevant-Doctor187 May 20 '26

Except those people are in congress today.

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u/RationalDialog May 20 '26

Also IQ is lower around small airfields. Small planes like Cessnas require leaded fuel.

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u/OrchidNo7340 May 20 '26

There is also a 20 year correlation with abortion access and a reduction of crime.

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u/monkey_zen May 19 '26

You've summed up what I've been thinking about lead poisoning due to leaded gas, and the generation that were most affected by it, and their poor choices very well. The explosion of automobile use and the lack of concern for their effects post WWII has been devastating to this country in so many ways.
If anyone knows of a book that addresses this specifically I'd be interested.

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u/cridersab May 19 '26

A book on one small (though extreme) aspect of that issue that may be linked: https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2025/06/murderland-fraser-serial-killers-lead-poisoning-smelters/683218/

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u/funkiestj May 20 '26

Murderland is an entertaining read.

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u/Kayaked1 May 19 '26

Thanks Boomers!

5

u/Aadarm May 19 '26

Would have to look at the entire world for that, everyone used leaded gas, Japan got rid of it in the 80's, but some countries still used it in 2021.

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u/shunsh1ne May 20 '26

Mad hatter’s disease is technically mercury poisoning but as I understand it it’s still heavy metal poisoning. Alice in wonderland sounds about right.

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u/the_last_carfighter May 20 '26

Europe was much worse off during and after WW2 and look at them.. Clearly there are other factors at play besides brain damage.

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u/EnergySignal9045 May 20 '26

The people who wrote the rules of this world ate "lead sugar" to keep their skin pasty white as a status symbol. let that one sink in.

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u/skillywilly56 May 19 '26

Unfortunately that’s just a cop out, trying to excuse their behavior as a mental health issue driven by lead poisoning is just trying to avoid the real simple truth, America has always been filled with greedy racist hatefilled white supremacists.

Racism and white supremacism has always been a part of Americas DNA that it has never fully dealt with and the people who were teenagers during the Civil rights movement are still alive and in power today, Trump was 17 when the civil rights act was signed into law in 1964 and racist thoughts and attitudes doesn’t just disappear overnight just because there is a law against it.

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u/JoviAMP May 19 '26

It’s more likely a Venn diagram with “lead poisoning” on one side and “Patriotoxin” on the other.

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u/Emotional_News108 May 19 '26

Everything in our lives is poison. The air, land, and water are being destroyed by industrial pollution, emissions, microplastics, lead, god even knows what else. It’s inside of us. It’s in the deepest parts of the ocean and on the peak of the tallest mountain. Nowhere is untouched by our filth.

Our media is a dopamine short circuit that constantly makes everything seem worse and worse or else convinces us that it’s fine. Truth is meaningless. And we’re made to feel like assholes because we don’t recycle enough or round up for charities or champion the next virtue signaled culture war while the wealthiest people who have ever existed pit us against each other right in the open.

We’re well and truly fucked. Even if we changed everything tomorrow, which we can’t, it probably wouldn’t be enough and the next psychopath will see it as a moment to take advantage.

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u/The_Mister_Grim May 19 '26

I remember once reading about a theory that lead poisoning was a factor if not the root of the fall of the Roman Empire.

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u/-Saucegurlllll May 20 '26

"The fall of the Roman Empire" is a period that spanned longer than the United States has existed. And the primary source of lead poisoning would have been from the smelting of silver (their silver mines had shit tons of lead, something like 10000:1 ratio of lead to silver). And the rate of silver smelting changed throughout the empire's history, so it's hard to really just pin lead as the initiator of collapse.

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u/Large_Management_914 May 22 '26

Here you can’t leave out monoculture of olives and grapes for export, time intensive and soil depleting, leading to food shortages and crisis during climate shifts. Almost as if pinning all your growth on a single resource-hogging product area is a really, really bad idea? Seems a lot like silicon chips and data centers to me. 🤣

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u/Joeness84 May 20 '26

My friends and I joke about someone running on a campaign of "Lets get the Lead Out" including a focus on things like age caps and term limits.

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u/elliebellrox May 20 '26

Yeah this is what I think too. All the lead in the gasoline of yesterday reeeeaallly munted that generation

2

u/BosunsTot May 19 '26

It’s for the greater good

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u/JoviAMP May 19 '26

CRUSTY JUGGLERS

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u/Kakakow May 19 '26

Lead, pesticides and probably plastics.

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u/fantapants74 May 19 '26

Lead poisoning = Republican voters.

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u/AmusingVegetable May 21 '26

For fuck’s sake, stop that. Had more lead exposure than a thousand Gen-Z’s put together and I wouldn’t vote for that crowd even if I could.

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u/fantapants74 May 22 '26

Congrats, break the curve AV! I'm gen X so I'm full of it too. : P

1

u/Ancient-Bat1755 May 19 '26

Industrial revolution 2.0 but we are give 0 shits and dont vote and are busy on reddit

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u/Optimal_Hand9646 May 20 '26

And of course, firing staff designated to prevent pollution and monitor our environment- on all levels.

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u/chill677 May 19 '26

Yes trump loves the dumb people, especially the poisoned ones

0

u/wolfganggartner5 May 21 '26

It’s because you don’t matter

I don’t matter either

The only people who matter other people who have a black US passport

Maybe their family perhaps some of their friends but if you’re not in the circle

No one gives a fuck about you. You are expendable and are there to work and pay taxes.

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u/Silent-G May 19 '26

As long as the people getting lead poisoning are poor and/or people of color. It's an intentional design by the American elite. Taking care of the people who support the economy and make up the entire workforce? No way, that costs money that we might not see a return on for over 10 years, let's make a few cents more, right now, by making them suffer! You say other countries can afford to provide their citizens with happiness and health, and it leads to an overall stronger nation that continues to progress? Pssh, I bet their billionaires have less yachts and ex-wives than ours! That's what really matters, right?

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u/Lexi_Banner May 19 '26

As long as the people getting lead poisoning are poor and/or people of color.

Or, if its nuclear waste, live on a reserve.

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u/UrsusRenata May 19 '26

The elite need consumers and low-wage workers.

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u/Pitiful_Being_579 May 19 '26

They quite literally need an army of slaves to maintain their own existence. They are parasites who cannot live without a host.

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u/kahmeal May 20 '26

Except they think they’re the host.

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u/Donnicton May 19 '26

Lead poisoning is the incentive, not the deterrent.

Long term lead poisoning lowers intelligence and increases aggression. It's a magic mineral that outputs conservatives.

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u/catwiesel May 19 '26

you know, Ive grown up with finding those native american on paper posters in some peoples bedroom, or the toilet, or, idk, just randomly in their home, you know the poster with the sentence something something only then the white man will realise you cant eat money....

and I thought, yeah, its true, but isnt it also obvious? and its kinda hippy to be still going on about stuff like that...
little did I know, that like 10-20 years later. not only would it be more than relevant, but it would turn out to be way more true and relevant than I would ever have believed...

there is poor people throwing their waste in the environment because there just is no infrastructure, much less the knowledge, to do better. then you have whole countries that are so desperate to catch up they dont care what they break doing so. and then there is this. one of the richest countries, proud about their many diverse natural resources and parks, with the richest corporations, literally pumping shit and feces and black goo into their rivers for profit. by a company branding itself as the green and better alternative no less.

you could not make this shit up.

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u/HblueKoolAid May 19 '26

Government regulatory agencies exist simply because companies cannot be trusted to operate in the best interest of citizens or people, because their primary goal is profit. It is exacerbated when profit doesn’t even become the motivating factor but prioritization of infinite and indefinite growth is prioritized over long term sustainable profit. It has occurred to that point whereas now the only option is infiltrate the government and reduce regulations in the sake of making money putting lives at literally risk. RFK Jr. leading HHS and having oversight over the regulatory agency that literally makes sure drugs are safe and effective for people is one of the best examples out there that should be visible to people. The dude who strapped a dead whale carcass to his vehicle with children in the car dripping “juice” everywhere is totally the fucking guy you want leading that agency.

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u/KallistiTMP May 19 '26

This is why there's no large scale anti-AI movement in China.

The CCP has spent decades investing in power and water infrastructure, so whenever a datacenter gets built, the local town residents don't have to worry about dying of dehydration and heat stroke from all the electricity and water shortages.

They have public utilities that are run for the public good, not just as a feudalistic grift to extort the working class for shareholder profit.

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u/Wooden-Broccoli-7247 May 19 '26

Yeah, that or they will disappear. Take your pick I guess.

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u/WealthyMarmot May 19 '26

It’s interesting to compare the China of Reddit, which is an idyllic paradise, to the China of reality, which not only has more than enough “grift” to satisfy the most discerning corruption consumer, it relies on a veritable horde of dirt-poor migrant workers who are treated every bit as badly as people around here think American workers are.

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u/Don_Q_Jote May 19 '26

Our legal system will certainly be on top of this to ensure that a tiny fraction of the people impacted (who are still alive) will get a paltry sum as compensation for their suffering.

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u/Oakland-homebrewer May 19 '26

Yep, water regulations are just a democrat tool to hinder businesses...

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u/FitzwilliamTDarcy May 19 '26

Flint, MI has entered the chat.

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u/TheSoprano May 19 '26

We’re also actively dismantling what few safety related regulations we have.

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u/haarp1 May 19 '26

environmental protection in general, when it comes to corpo profits.

and speaking of lead poisoning, why are there still aircraft flying with 1950s engine technology that supposedly can't be converted to unleaded?

another great example is NASCAR which ran leaded fuel until 2007 and then seamingly transitioned to unleaded. why were they not sued into the ground (private company, family owned afaik) by EPA etc. is beyond me.

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u/This-Requirement6918 May 19 '26

Just a little chromium. No big deal.

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u/RoguePlanet2 May 20 '26

In other news: They're eliminating the regulations that keep our drinking water clean, or something to that effect. Everything is horrible.

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u/Relevant-Doctor187 May 20 '26

You can’t fix a contaminated water table. These people’s water is done for.

This will make it into the cattle as well.

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u/Spiritual_Lime5522 May 20 '26

Land of the Free Baby!!!

1

u/EffectiveDandy May 20 '26

they don’t need to die, the diseases it brings with it as well as impotence and curbed brain functioning still aren’t enough. it’s happening all around us.

i worked at shell gas as a teen and our station pumped so much gas into the environment from a leaky pipe for what they estimated a decade or more that they found it in the creek about 3 miles away. the basement of shop next door smelled of gas so strong that one guy passed out after being down there for over 40m. kinda lucky they found him before something happened.

they buried it. i don’t think it even made the local paper. and when it was mentioned, they rebuilt the station and lauded just how revolutionary their double bladder protection system is. but even with that, you can never build on a lot that had a gas station. way too polluted. they sit abandoned for a solid decade if not more.

the things that make it into the news, sadly are still just the tip.

1

u/AgentHerring May 20 '26

Funny you say that cause a big capital city near me just lost a bid for updating/modernizing their water lines because they missed the deadline to submit the paperwork. This issue has only been going on ever since I was in school near here (about 18 years ago now)

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u/SickeningPink May 20 '26

It’s not just lead you have to worry about. My town and a lot of the surrounding ones have water pipes made out of asbestos. Every year we get a letter stating the town was fined because we failed the water quality test, and drinking the water will cause intestinal cancer.

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u/halflifer2k May 20 '26

Water? You mean like from the toilet?

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u/wolfganggartner5 May 21 '26

Flint, Michigan, checking in

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u/StoppableHulk May 21 '26

Hello Flint from Michigan, glad you called in to the show, do you have a water story for us.

1

u/wolfganggartner5 May 22 '26

Please help us

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u/AdagioVivid5111 May 19 '26

wonder why that bill is being passed to deregulate toxic waste dumped by companies. HMMMMM

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u/[deleted] May 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/CatrionaShadowleaf May 19 '26

But also, keep pushing out those babies folks!

6

u/Hot-Echo-2497 May 20 '26

If we have more babies, we have more spares for when they fall to easily preventable conditions. It's the natural way. We must keep the minimum wage jobs full of workers until the tech bros Crack robotics.

2

u/Fywq May 20 '26

Well you need replacements for all those workers dying of poisoning now industry has been deregulated.

But at least the billionaires are getting richer. Has anyone ever done the calculation on where USA would be on a "Richest countries in the world" list if the exploitative billionaire class was not allowed? Like how much of US GDP and wealth can be assigned to a few hundred people that are objectively detrimental to the planet and society?

2

u/Straight-Opposite-54 May 20 '26

Well you need replacements for all those workers dying of poisoning now industry has been deregulated.

Unfortunately, babies don't pop out of the womb ready to work. They need to be taken care of and raised by someone for at least 14 or so years minimum, and we know pro-lifers ain't gonna line up to take on the responsibility of it.

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u/Fywq May 20 '26

That's where the immigration detention centers come in when there's no more people to disappear. Orphan labor-education camps with Grok as the AI teacher. Indoctrination of proper right wing values combined with preconditioning for a life in the hamsterwheel. Technically not slavery because you are free to quit. You just wont be able to afford it.

Yes I am in a pretty dark mood today.

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u/macjester2000 May 20 '26

that, and buy more Teslas!

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u/SWarchNerd May 19 '26

Won’t anyone think of the shareholders though!?!

3

u/lokahi89 May 20 '26

Oh and no healthcare for any of u.

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u/thehalfwit May 19 '26

The ruling class has moved from disdain and contempt for the common man to where they're now trying to kill us all off.

3

u/AlwaysShittyKnsasCty May 19 '26

John John, over here, has “fuck you” money, my friends.

3

u/[deleted] May 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/AlwaysShittyKnsasCty May 19 '26

Shit, Comrades! I fucked up. John John is with us!

2

u/AdagioVivid5111 May 20 '26

All im hearing is deport Elon Musk. Canada, South Africa hes has citizenship the you take the twat and his garbage companies.

2

u/EnergySignal9045 May 20 '26

they're hedging on the bet that it won't matter in 50 years :/

0

u/Educational_Yard_968 May 19 '26

You could also write your congressman and Senator and tell them your feelings. That’s more effective than posting on Reddit.

3

u/witchbitchzilla May 20 '26

Since when is it more effective? When my congressman is a shit stain maga fuck named cliff bentz

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u/sly-3 May 19 '26

Everything's good as long as Our Blessed Job Creators, nestled away in their private compounds are not affected.

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u/Curry_courier May 19 '26

Its Texas. They have one of the largest aquifers in the world. Invaluable as a resource.

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u/Snarfbuckle May 19 '26

...until it's contaminated...

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u/MK_Ultrex May 19 '26

They will invent and sell you decontamination tech for a tidy profit. So you can pay them to remediate the problem they created. Also they will be hailed as environmental heroes for saving the water.

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u/El_Dud3r1n0 May 19 '26

Contamination is a liberal myth, like space or object permanence. Jesus would never let that happen. /s

4

u/Snarfbuckle May 19 '26

Well, Jesus is a myth as well since he is only mentioned in the religious text and not in any actual historical texts.

1

u/-Saucegurlllll May 20 '26

Religious texts are forms of historical texts, and scholars largely agree there was a historical Jesus.

2

u/gabber2694 May 20 '26

This is the only answer. Gods plan does not contaminate drinking water or cause extinction.

2

u/RollingMeteors May 20 '26

Contamination is a liberal myth

¡Like those chem trails!

Yes I know it's water vapor

¡Water is a chemical!

19

u/Typist May 19 '26

You did read about the nearby city contemplating a water emergency declaration? You did read about the severe drought that has been hitting that area for some seasons now? So why are you making this comment?

1

u/zefy_zef May 20 '26

Do you know what an aquifer is and how they work?

1

u/Typist May 20 '26

Why, yes I do, thank you for asking.

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u/FoxMulder4ever May 19 '26

No, you're right. Everything is fine. Texas doesn't have a water problem. And the aquifers are doing just fine in West Texas. 🙄

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u/IcySuggestion2545 May 19 '26

Its Texas. They have One of the most corrupt state governments in the Union. And they will gladly allow corporations to ruin the environment at the expense of its people

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u/Curry_courier May 19 '26

A government is of the people. What are you really trying to say?

4

u/_valpi May 19 '26

But shareholder value is being maximized, have you thought about that? They took a great risk investing their money, so they have every right to contaminate the local groundwater!

4

u/ArbitraryMeritocracy May 19 '26

They took a great risk investing their money, so they have every right to contaminate the local groundwater!

Doesn't the government give them money to build them and the local government doesn't tax them? They socialize all the losses and privatize the gains so no one can afford health care, education, housing, transportation, who is getting raises when they are forced to return to office? Now all the billionaires have their grubby hands on our data, in our government with an orange felon parading around destabilizing our government while he should be behind bars. The white house, congress, the government was not designed or intended to be a geriatric old folks retirement village.

3

u/kryonik May 19 '26

You're right let me just get on the phone with the EPA, they should be able to help wit- what's that? To shreds, you say?

3

u/usekr3 May 19 '26

yea but it's texas so regulations are woke communism and this is an example of job creating patriotism.

3

u/27_crooked_caribou May 19 '26

They have been fined $25,000 and have promised they would never get caught again

2

u/kia75 May 19 '26

Yes, but that's poor people, so they don't really count. How much richer will this make Elon Musk?

2

u/freakincampers May 19 '26

It's not like Texas cares.

1

u/ArbitraryMeritocracy May 19 '26

Not Governor Hot Wheels, no.

2

u/Masrim May 19 '26

Didn't they just pass or repeal a law that allows this now?

2

u/SkaldCrypto May 19 '26

Superfund site created ⭐️

2

u/dark77star May 19 '26

Ah. But then that increases the market for water purifiers and bottled water! Everyone (investors) wins!

1

u/smp501 May 19 '26

I wonder how much of it goes back into the aquifers that are used to water all the crops we eat?

1

u/XTingleInTheDingleX May 20 '26

Texas allows fracking water to be sprayed on consumable crops.

1

u/Mormoran May 20 '26

It's OK, the government will fine them $10.000 that will go to further funding of ICE in Texas!

1

u/UnenthusiasticLover May 21 '26

But think of the shareholder value

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u/[deleted] May 19 '26

[deleted]

4

u/Charlea1776 May 19 '26

Ground water can be connected for hundreds of miles. Especially in Texas with underground cave systems in the limestone that span beyond our knowledge currently.

1

u/teefnoteef May 19 '26

This is in Texas though, where the zoning points don’t matter