Erin Brockovich

The water system in this country is overwhelmed, and we aren't putting enough resources towards this essential resource. We simply can't continue to survive with toxic drinking water.

The worst sense of security is a false one. It's hard for people to wrap their heads around the idea that those in charge - federal, state and local agencies - might be cheating the system. But, all too often, that is exactly what happens.

Companies could step up to the plate time and time again and help out by cleaning up a groundwater system that's contaminated, being more transparent with the community when they have a problem, respecting that community, getting them out of harm's way.

There's been a false sense of security in the American people when it comes to environment issues and our water, because they believe that the EPA is there to protect us, and unfortunately, that system's not working right now. They're overburdened, understaffed, and underfunded.

There's a very fundamental basic value system that I think America was built upon, and that's mutual respect, honor, integrity and concern for our environment and the right to clean water. And we have moved away from it.

I believe that we have a huge problem with the water in America. We don't want to make that connection that these chemicals, at varying levels, in our water supplies, over time, is, in fact, related to our disease process. And it concerns me greatly.

I get thousands of emails. Half my work is environment-related; the rest is pharmaceutical problems. There's so much of it. No one law firm can handle it now.

I have never moved away from my mainstay - trying to address all the environmental issues that come to me. I consult with law firms in the U.S., Australia, the U.K., Italy, Greece, and India to begin to address environmental disasters. I do motivational speaking.