901 Attorney - April 2020

901 Attorney - April 2020

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April 2020

Brighten Your Month With Laughter Enjoy April Fool’s Day This Year

I’ve always been someone who’s enjoyed humor, and April Fool’s Day is nothing but humor. I find the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine,” to be very true. After a long day at work, I gravitate toward comedy shows and movies during my downtime, especially with the family. This genre has always lightened me up, even if I’m not feeling particularly great that day. As a family, we have always enjoyed participating in the traditional pranks of April Fool’s Day. In our house, the holiday usually involved my wife trying to fool the kids when they were younger. Most of the time, my wife would try to convince the kids that the weather was too bad and that school was canceled. She was really good at it, and I would generally play along with her jokes until I couldn’t stand the torture of them being so excited at the prospect of no school. I’d usually be the first to relent and tell them that school was still scheduled for that day. But no matter what joke or prank we pulled, they were always in good humor, if a bit focused on the gullibility of the kids. Now that they’re older, they’re definitely not as trusting, and my wife doesn’t see them as good enough “targets” anymore: They’ve grown wise over the years. Nowadays, we don’t usually do too much for April Fool’s, though we’ll always try to do a small prank or two should the opportunity arise. The one thing I found interesting about April Fool’s Day is that no one really knows when or why the holiday and its prankster traditions started! One of the more popular theories states that the holiday began in 16th century France with Pope Gregory XIII. It’s speculated that Pope Gregory issued a Papal

Gregory issued the Papal Bull, which didn’t actually lead to a sudden change in France. More accurately, the Gregorian calendar was gradually introduced and accepted throughout Europe. Lastly, spring wasn’t typically celebrated on the first of April but on Easter Sunday. Yet, despite its unclear roots, April Fool’s Day is one of the most celebrated holidays of the year that pranksters around the world look forward to. I think April Fool’s Day is a great day to tell some good-humored jokes, get out a few laughs, and brighten things up, one smile at a time. I hope your April, starting from the first, is filled with humor and fun.

bull that created a new calendar system for all of Europe. Today, we know this new system as the Gregorian calendar, which moved the celebration of the new year from late March or early April to the first of January. This change wasn’t picked up right away. As the theory states, many people refused to follow this new system, choosing instead to continue celebrating the beginning of the new year whenever spring came around. The people who were slow to pick up on the new calendar were soon called “April fools.” Whenever the spring season came around, those following the Gregorian calendar singled out the slow adapters through jokes and pranks. However, while this is one of the favorite origin stories of April Fool’s Day, it has a few historical problems. For one, many people throughout France were already following the Gregorian calendar long before Pope

-David McLaughlin

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SOMETHING IN THE WATER WHY ROB BILOTT TOOK ON DUPONT

property provided water for all the cattle and wildlife in the area. Since the sale, the stream had become frothy and discolored, and the animals that drank from it were sick, malformed, or dead, including 153 of Tennant’s 200 cows. When Bilott stumbled upon a letter from DuPont to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the real horror story began to emerge — one that went far beyond the boundaries of Tennant’s farm and into the drinking water of every American. The letter mentioned a mysterious chemical called PFOA, and Bilott requested documentation from DuPont to find out more about it. However, the company refused, so Bilott requested a court order. Soon, dozens of disorganized boxes filled with thousands of 50-year-old files arrived at Bilott’s firm.

Rob Bilott never should have agreed to represent Wilbur Tennant’s case.

The cattle farmer had presented evidence of the strange malady plaguing his cattle to lawyers, politicians, and veterinarians in Parkersburg, West Virginia, but no one took Tennant’s case seriously.

in the mess of documents, but soon, his time as an environmental lawyer helped him see the bigger picture. It became clear that DuPont had orchestrated a massive cover-up regarding their use of PFOA. PFOA is used in the manufacturing of Teflon, and the company had knowingly exposed workers and the Parkersburg water supply to it. Bilott filed a class-action suit as a medical monitoring claim on behalf of the people of Parkersburg, and, as of 2011, a probable link between PFOA and six health conditions, including two types of cancer, has been found.

But when Bilott saw the evidence for himself, it was clear that something was wrong.

The videos and photographs Tennant had collected showed cattle with patchy fur, growths and lesions, white slime coming from their mouths, and staggering gaits. Tennant told Bilott that the abnormal behavior and physical deformities had started after his brother Jim sold his property to DuPont, a chemical company with a big presence in Parkersburg. Jim’s property bordered on Wilbur’s, and a stream running from Jim’s

He was worried he wouldn’t be able to find anything incriminating or even conclusive Because of the medical monitoring claim, plaintiffs can file personal injury lawsuits against DuPont. So far, 3,535 people have. If it weren’t for Bilott and Tennant, the public might have never known the dangers of PFOA. DOYOUR PART TO KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL And Maintain Green Living Spaces for Everyone

jogging and picking up litter, which takes care of your health and keeps your community clean. Anybody can do it: Just throw on your running shoes, grab a bag, head out the door, and pick up any stray bits of trash you see on your morning jog or evening walk.

to better the place you live in. Here are three ways to show your appreciation for a green America this month.

Have you ever walked through a park and seen a plastic bottle or wrapper lying on the ground? If so, did you pick it up and properly dispose of it? You might not have realized it, but in that moment, you took a small step toward keeping your community — and, by extension, America — beautiful! April is Keep America Beautiful Month, and folks who celebrate aim to help each community in every state stay clean and green. Created by the nonprofit organization Keep America Beautiful, this holiday offers a perfect opportunity to roll up your sleeves and work

VOLUNTEER FOR THE GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP.

IMPROVE RECYCLING THROUGH EDUCATION.

This event is one of America’s largest community improvement programs, with hundreds of thousands of people

An important goal during Keep America Beautiful Month is to spread awareness about recycling. There are various ways to educate those around you about recycling and encourage them to do their part. At work, for example, you can volunteer to lead a recycling initiative by printing off guides and fostering discussions on why recycling is so essential. At home, you can make a commitment with your family to fulfill the three R’s of recycling: reduce, reuse, recycle. To discover more ways to participate in Keep America Beautiful month, visit their website at KAB.org today!

participating each year. In 2019, over 550,000 volunteers participated in the GAC to bring natural beauty back into their communities. 2020 marks this event’s 22nd year, and you can be a part of it this month! Volunteer your time with a local Keep America Beautiful affiliate or another community improvement program close to home. Do your part to clean up your parks and spread awareness today.

START PLOGGING.

If you’re passionate about staying active and cleaning up your neighborhood, then this is the perfect activity for you! Plogging combines

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TAKE A BREAK

Few things change faster than the internet, and how we connect with the internet is constantly evolving. When it comes to wireless capabilities, fourth-generation (4G) networks have been the norm for 10 years. But 4G couldn’t meet demands forever, and there’s already talk of a fifth-generation (5G) network taking center stage. So, what makes 5G different from 4G, and how will it affect consumers and their internet-enabled devices? Simply put, 5G is the fifth generation of wireless technology that enables mobile devices like cellphones and stationary devices like desktop computers to send and receive >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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