The water was stored in large cisterns, providing the necessary height to generate water pressure for the fountains to operate. This problem led to new government legislation that mandated tire pressure sensors in all vehicles sold in the U.S. The number of cars recalled wasn’t huge by historical standards at about 400,000 vehicles. The vehicle manufacturer had to deal with a number of issues related to its cars and trucks-none bigger than the “park-to-reverse” defect found in its vehicles’ automatic transmissions. From 1996 to 2009, the Ford Motor Company was forced to recall cars, trucks and SUVs from the years 1991 through to 2004. The total number of recalled vehicles reached 14.9 million and led to major financial losses for the company. Few cars are as notorious as the Ford Pinto. Brands such as the Silverado and Sierra are bestsellers. A total of six million Chevy Malibu cars were recalled, along with some other Chevy and General Motors brands. However, as of 2015, Chevrolet and its parent company, General Motors, have paid out more than $500 million in settlements to burn victims because of the fuel tank defect on the 1970s era pickup trucks. This problem became the subject of a controversial article in Mother Jones magazine entitled “Pinto Madness.” The article accused Ford of knowing about the fires but deciding that, because paying judgments brought by burn victims was cheaper than doing a recall, it elected not to recall the dangerous cars.

The media dubbed the Ford Explorer the “Ford Exploder,” and late night comedians had a field day making fun of the issue. The article touched off a media frenzy, which was furthered when a memo from within the Ford Motor Company was leaked showing that the automaker did indeed know about the issue with the Pinto but calculated that paying damages from lawsuits would be cheaper than a recall. A media hell storm followed and Bridgestone-Firestone scrambled for a fix, recalling 6.5 million tires nationwide in the U.S. Another infamous recall that was far-reaching and led to new legislation governing the automotive industry was the Bridgestone-Firestone tire recall in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This recall was infamous because the issues with the Bridgestone-Firestone tires led to a rash of rollover deaths that horrified the public and hurt the reputations of not only Bridgestone-Firestone, but also the Ford Motor Company that had outfitted many of its signature sport utility vehicles (SUVs) with the tires. Ford has since severed its relationship with Texas Instruments. Texas Instruments had long made the cruise control switches in various Ford vehicles, including cars, trucks and SUVs. However, over the years, these cruise control switches were proven to be faulty.

Of course, MTBE isn’t the only thing getting into the groundwater when a tank leaks — so is gasoline and a host of other gasoline additives, but in recent years, MTBE has been singled out. MTBE started getting added to gasoline in a big way after the Clean Air Act of 1990 went into effect. The two sides went to court and eventually settled. The Han dynasty philosopher and politician Huan Tan (40 BC – AD 30), a Secretary at the Court in charge of clepsydrae, wrote that he had to compare clepsydrae with sundials because of how temperature and humidity affected their accuracy, demonstrating that the effects of evaporation, as well as of temperature on the speed at which water flows, were known at this time. How can age-friendly communities enhance aging well? States keep data for systems they regulate in the state data system and are required to submit reports of violations of Maximum Contaminant Levels and treatment techniques, as well as monitoring violations, to the U.S. Solar water heaters are more environmentally friendly, but they can be more expensive to install. ENERGY STAR certified dishwashers are 12 percent more energy-efficient and 30 percent more water-efficient than standard models, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Bilott’s newest lawsuit, as with his prior cases, alleges that these companies knew for decades that PFAS chemicals, specifically PFOA, could be linked to serious health problems, and that they still assured the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other U.S. The company even helped to publicize the recall so that people far and wide knew about it. If Ford had issued a recall for this problem, it would have the largest vehicle recall in automotive history. The 1970s were a difficult decade for the Ford Motor Company. 1899 Edward Williams returns as president of the company and acquires Mountain Springs Water Company. Green-blue water scarcity is one of these. Wash the silver in hot soapy water. We’re all accountable to some degree for today’s water pollution problem. Only to have the problem occur again. Beginning in the early 1980s, officials in Washington, D.C., began receiving reports that the Audi 5000 would suddenly and uncontrollably accelerate after being shifted out of “park.” An extensive investigation was undertaken and the Audi 5000 became the subject of not one, not two, but three massive recalls carried out in 1982, 1983 and again in 1987. Each time there was a recall, Audi claimed to have fixed the problem.