Recently, I was introduced to “Liquid Death”—a canned water product that is taking over the shelves at grocery stores. It’s pricey but the branding is catchy. Ask any skateboarder or surfer. My mom brought it home from the store a couple of weeks ago as an alternative to drinking tap water after the chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio. She was worried about the possible contamination of our water supply.  Reportedly, thousands of fish in the region have died from the toxic chemicals dumped by the derailed freight trains. This got me thinking about how vulnerable we are. Most of the time when I see trains passing through town, I get nostalgic about the 1900s in America. Only now do I wonder about the sort of toxins that might be carried on these trains. How should we protect ourselves from the biohazards being shipped right through our neighborhoods? Should we care?  I read some articles about East Palestine. Here is what I am finding out. Number 1–the government might not always be telling the truth. It is believed that the local government downgraded the severity of the spill in order to keep residents calm! (What!?!). Number 2–the train industry cares more about profits than people. (Boo Norfolk Southern!) Number 3-it’s better to be safe than sorry. If the water is harmful to fish, it’s more than likely it’s not safe for our consumption either. Filtration systems are not perfect. So, I think I’ll keep slugging the “Liquid Death” for a while. If nothing else, it makes my mom happy to see that her grocery shopping is appreciated. But more than this, I’d rather drink a water that “murders my thirst” (that’s one of their advertisements) than inflicts harm on wildlife and potentially humans, too.