Erin Brockovich

Coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the Flint water crisis, Chariton uncovers new evidence that sheds light on the miscarriage of justice and corruption that led to the poisoning of Flint’s citizens. Most people perceive the Flint water crisis as a tragic failure, long in the rearview mirror, born from terrible government decisions to cut corners and save money. However, an active coverup is stillvictimizing Flint residents nearly a decade later. From crooked Wall Street financial schemes to illegal political payoffs, destruction of evidence, witness tampering, perjury, and threatened whistleblowers, Toxic Government: Exposing the Flint Water Crisis Cover Up and the Poisoning of 100,000 People will, for the first time, reveal the real story behind the government’s full involvement in the Flint water crisis. As the coverup continues today, innocent residents have been arrested, surveilled, threatened, and made to feel like they are crazy. With more immune-damaged residents slowly dying every year, Flint’s lead levels again on the rise, and a deadly pandemic thrown on top of it, it is time for the true story of the Flint water cover up to be told. Based on eight years of reporting, thousands of confidential documents from the criminal investigation, and the former Governor of Michigan’s own words under oath, Jordan Chariton takes readers on the road to crisis before the Flint River switch—when government officials blew through blinking red stop signs and orchestrated a financial scheme that allowed a nearly bankrupt Flint to borrow $100 million dollars for a new water system. As brown, smelly water flowed to the homes of Flint and residents grew sick, politicians intentionally and knowingly allowed Americans to drink poison for years as they prioritized their own political ambitions and survival. Readers will be shocked by the stunning scope of injustice unveiled.Toxic Government is a cautionary tale about “take charge” leaders who come to power with no real understanding of the workings of government and a willingness to make moral compromises to pursue their own path to power. Perhaps even more important, given the growing issue of water and environmental contamination surging across the US, Chariton provides information that could help prevent this tragedy from happening yet again in any other community.

From the environmental activist, consumer advocate, and renowned crusader--a stirring call to action that gives us the tools we need to take action ourselves, to make our voices heard, to ensure our water is safe, and to finally bring about change. Clean water is as basic to life on planet Earth as hydrogen or oxygen. In her long-awaited book--her first to reckon with the condition of water on our planet--Erin Brockovich shows us what's at stake. She writes powerfully of the fraudulent science disguising our national water crisis: Cancer clusters are not being reported. People in Detroit and the state of New Jersey don't have clean water. The drinking water for more than six million Americans contains unsafe levels of industrial chemicals linked to cancer and other health issues. The saga of PG&E continues to this day. Yet communities and people around the country are fighting to make an impact, and Brockovich tells us their stories. In Poughkeepsie, New York, a water operator responded to his customers' concerns and changed his system to create some of the safest water in the country. Local moms in Hannibal, Missouri, became the first citizens in the nation to file an ordinance prohibiting the use of ammonia in their public drinking water. Like them, we can each protect our right to clean water by fighting for better enforcement of laws, new legislation, and stronger regulations.

Under Corporate Skies is about what happens to communities when they stand in the way of corporate profits. It is the story of a tiny town pitted against a strong corporate neighbour. With the help of international campaigner Erin Brockovich, the small town of Yarloop in Western Australia is preparing a civil class action against Alcoa World Alumina. The struggle is over social, health and environmental concerns surrounding Alcoa's Wagerup alumina refinery. This story will resonate with national and international communities facing similar clashes amidst ongoing industrialisation. As we live under expanding corporatised skies, this book shows that profits matter, but not more than people and place. Foreword by Erin Brockovich