Elon Musk Donates Clean Water Tech to Flint Schools


According to The Washington Post, controversial billionaire Elon Musk has donated $480,000 worth of clean water technology to Flint schools. This move marks a great deed and positive PR moment for the embattled former chairman of the board at Tesla. Though Musk remains CEO, a deal with the SEC over claims of fraud brought about a by a tweet, of all things.

Regardless of that, Musk’s donation of ultraviolet water treatment systems to Flint schools will help ensure that students will have safe drinking water during the course of their school days. Clean water is a basic human right; something that every man, woman and child deserves. What happened in Flint is a travesty that is still occuring. As of October of 2018, Flint still does not have clean water. It is an unfortunate reality, but what’s worse is the unknown other cities around the country with unhealthy amounts of lead in their water.

Musk’s donation sets a small but appreciated example of the standard that the mega rich should be held to. To billionaires like Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, a $480,000 donation is a drop in a very big bucket, but that money is going to have a serious impact on the lives of Flint’s children. We can only hope that more help is on the way.

The new ultraviolet water systems that Musk plans to have installed in all of Flint’s schools by early 2019 are merely a stopgap in the city’s continued struggle against pipes that became infused with lead after a water redirection mandated by the state government in 2014. At the end of the day, Musk’s donation is a nice gesture, but there is so much work left to be done, and not many in power who seem to be willing to do it.

What are your thoughts on the crisis with the clean water in Flint? Does Musk’s gesture amount to anything more than an attempt to revive his image, or is more meaningful change on the way? Share your thoughts with us down below in the comments section!


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