Water is a key factor for life. We drink it and our body is made up of about sixty percent of it. When water is polluted it causes problems everywhere. In the film Erin Brockovich, one of the main problems encountered is the quality of the water. In addition to water quality, another issue encountered is whether a company hid water pollution. After the film some may even wonder what is the real Erin Brockovich doing now after all this happened? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay The film Erin Brockovich directed by Steven Soderbergh is about a woman who is in a car accident that wasn't her fault, and she needs a job because I'm in a tough situation. Erin, played by Julia Roberts, gets a job at a law firm with the help of her lawyer Ed Masry (played by Albert Finney) where she finds medical records hidden in real estate records. Upon further investigation, he discovers that there was a cover-up involving chromium-contaminated water in Hinkley, California. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) was purchasing the polluted land to try to hide what it had done. Together, Ed and Erin work to stop what's happening and come out on top. In the film we see that water quality was as big of a problem as it can be in the real world. The chromium-contaminated water has affected many of the community's residents, including children. An example is when Erin talks about Annabelle Davis, a little girl who got sick after being in the water. Erin (played by Julia Roberts) says “…She wanted to be a synchronized swimmer, so she spent every minute she could in the PG&E pool. She was diagnosed with a brainstem tumor last November, had surgery on Thanksgiving and then shrunk it with radiation.” Knowing the terrible effects the water has had on the people who pass through it shows that the company would have wanted to cover it up because of the damage it causes. There have also been current events involving water quality issues. For example, there was the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Lead leaching occurred and entered the drinking water, harming people who drank it. According to Rising Scholar, “LeeAnne Walters, a Flint resident and mother of four, reported that her entire family was losing their hair, and several other citizens noticed the abnormally strong odor and cloudy color of the water.” Water quality issues are something that can have negative effects on people in real life. Corporate cover-ups are never a good idea and have consequences. PG&E tried to purchase any land contaminated with chromium to hide the fact that they were releasing chromium into the water. There are not many current events related to cover-ups, but those that have occurred can have harmful effects on people. An example of a cover-up that occurred would be with the herbicide from the roundup. The pesticide was claimed to contain a carcinogenic ingredient. Mireya Villarreal spoke about this situation with Yolanda Mendoza. In the conversation, Villarreal notes that “Mendoza is one of hundreds of people across the country suing Monsanto, Roundup's parent company. Their lawyers cite this 2015 World Health Organization study that found glyphosate is likely carcinogenic and damages DNA in human cells.” Hiding a problem will make the problem worse as it will end up being investigated or people might start to figure it out. Although companies_03-13
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