It was a disaster that literally sparked the environmental revolution. On June 22, half a century ago, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland burst into flames when sparks from a passing train set fire to oil-soaked debris floating on the water's surface.
Descriptions of the burning river were that it was so contaminated with industrial waste and sewage it "oozes rather than flows." The inflamed river became the symbol behind America's growing environmental issues and sparked a lot of reforms, including the passage of the Clean Water Act and the creation of federal and state environmental protection agencies.
However, it turns out that when early magazines published dramtic photos of the fire, they made it seems as if it was a sudden abnormal event in 1969. The truth was that the Cuyahoga had lit up at least a dozen times before it was taken to the media. Spontaneous combustion in the river was so common, was that most of these fires would be extinguished in half an hour and barely made headlines in the local papers. The 1969 fire was not the first fire in the United States, but it would set up legislation to make it the last.
Now, the river is observed as no longer oozing, but instead as "often gleaming and sparkling." Like an actual river.
1 comment:
This was a really thorough account of the Cuyahoga river - interesting to note how, even though it "sparked" the environmental revolution, it wasn't near the first time it had happened. It's remarkable that it even managed to happen at all, the river must have been so polluted.
Post a Comment