LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Writer tweaks Chamber over Facebook post about Cape water
In a world where "anything goes" on social media lately, the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce should have known better than to publish a Facebook post on July 22, 2024 enticing residents and visitors that drinking tap water on Cape Cod is not only safe, but some of the finest in the world.
In its post, the Chamber says verbatim, ‘Cape Cod provides some of the finest drinking water in the world to your home, restaurant or business.” In an effort to curb the plastic bottle problem, the Chamber also claimed that “tap water is better than bottled water when it comes to people’s health, wallets and the environment and that the world’s best water is right at your fingertips and free.”
Shame on the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce for not providing true and accurate information to both the residents and tourists of Cape Cod.
It is widely known that Cape Cod has a serious drinking water issue throughout the region. For decades, Silent Spring Institute has been conducting studies on the levels of hormones and other chemicals in Cape Cod drinking water that potentially contribute to the high levels of breast cancer we have in this region.
Additionally, a recent article published by the Cape Cod Times detailed the hundreds of Hyannis residents who discovered their exposure from blood tests as part of a study run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that they were exposed to PFAS.
With a lack of fact checking posts on social media and people believing whatever they see posted in social forums these days, the world is turning into a free for all to post/publish whatever they want people to see, hear, and think —politically, medically, and in selling products and services. It’s just a plain mess globally.
Being responsible and accountable for posting factual information needs to be a standard — especially from an organization such as the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce whose members are made up of the community affected by their statements and posts.
Here are some links to the information I refer to: Cape Cod Groundwater Guardians,Silent Spring Institute https://www.capecodgroundwater.org/water-fair/water-fair-ssi/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1ft_ziXXnPHSQgVYapIjJcyUAu77cwIjkzhQZBvmJr2y-mupbpFfQgXkY_aem_ACydqAJPrsR0CWtnyouJCw
Silent Spring Institute, Drinking Water https://silentspring.org/our-science/drinking-water
Cape Cod Times, The word is scary. Hyannis residents learning of prior PFAS exposure from blood tests. https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2024/02/29/hyannis-pfas-blood-tests-cdc-health-study-cape-cod-forever-chemicals/72673390007/
Donna GibertiCenterville
Writer urges Cape Codders to keep turbine mishap in perspective
The recent failure of Vineyard Wind’s turbine blade is very serious and rightfully being investigated, but I’m hoping Cape Codders will put this in perspective. The danger posed by this accident pales next to the long list of fossil fuel and nuclear energy tragedies: the Merrimack Valley gas explosion that burned down 80 buildings and killed a young man, the Deepwater Horizon that killed 11 workers and took years to clean up, the million gallons of radioactive wastewater at Pilgrim Nuclear that the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection just denied Holtec the right to dump into Cape Cod Bay.
I appreciate those who have worked in the energy fields over the years but I especially admire the innovators and their staff who are relentlessly working to give us clean energy that will be safe for all life.
Jan KubiacHyannis
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Writer says Chamber should take care with social media posts
