As others pointed out, it's explicitly marked as an opinion. By someone who campaigns to solve the problem. It is not a journalistic article.

Think of it more like an extensive comment on HN, by someone well-informed and a strong opinion on the subject.

It is not like a comment on HN. The Guardian editorial staff wouldn't agree to publish it (and pay the author) if they didn't agree with it on some level.

>> There is a pretty good movie about this topic, Dark Waters. The movie is well informed, largely accurate, and more factual than this article. The main protagonist of the movie is actually Robert Billott, the author of this article.

I think there's a place for running articles by major figures as-is. And Robert Bilott would seem to qualify as a major figure in this context.