"Sometimes it smells like a barn coming out of the faucet, said Lisa Barnard, who lives a few towns over, and just 15 miles from the city of Green Bay.
"Tests of her water showed it contained E. coli, coliform bacteria and other contaminants found in manure, Duhigg said. "Last year, her 5-year-old son developed ear infections that eventually required an operation. Her doctor told her they were most likely caused by bathing in polluted water.
"Agricultural runoff is the single largest source of water pollution in the nation's rivers and streams, according to the E.P.A. An estimated 19.5 million Americans fall ill each year from waterborne parasites, viruses or bacteria, including those stemming from human and animal waste, according to a study published last year in the scientific journal Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.
As a world traveler, I witnessed what water pollution does to human beings. Waterborne diseases kill millions of people annually. Over 1.5 billion humans cannot obtain a clean glass of drinking water because they live in squalor, near outhouses and human-contaminated water sources.
"The problem is not limited to Wisconsin, Duhigg said. "In California, up to 15 percent of wells in agricultural areas exceed a federal contaminant threshold, according to studies. Major waterways like the Chesapeake Bay have been seriously damaged by agricultural pollution, according to government reports. In Arkansas and Maryland, residents have accused chicken farm owners of polluting drinking water. In 2005, Oklahoma's attorney general sued 13 poultry companies, claiming they had damaged one of the state's most important watersheds.
"One cow produces as much waste as 18 people, said Bill Hafs, a county official who has lobbied the state Legislature for stricter waste rules. "There just isn't enough land to absorb that much manure, but we don't have laws to force people to stop.
"In Brown County, part of one of the nation's largest milk-producing regions, agriculture brings in $3 billion a year, Duhigg said. "But the dairies collectively also create as much as a million gallons of waste each day. Many cows are fed a high-protein diet, which creates more liquid manure that is easier to spray on fields. In 2006, an unusually early thaw in Brown County melted frozen fields, including some that were covered in manure. Within days, according to a county study, more than 100 wells were contaminated with coliform bacteria, E. coli, or nitrates " byproducts of manure or other fertilizers.
Ask yourself if you as a citizen of the United States want to see another 100 million people added to this country. Ask what your children will face. Discover what our civilization faces as it continues its march toward 400, then 500 and 600 million people within this century.
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