Module 1.2 - A Turning Point Event for Environmental Science, and Celebrating the Comeback of the Burning River, 1969 - 2019.

 Point of View:

On June 22, 1969, an oil slick on the Cuyahoga river went ablaze. The river was a central point for industrial waste at the time, before laws and regulations were put in place. The video is being shown to bring to light that change can be done if enough people bring something that is valuable to them to light. In this video, the people of Cleveland were fed up with how bad the river had become. They looked into the river and there was oil everywhere, so bad that if you fell in you would be immediately sent to the hospital. This video is about how the people of Cleveland stood up against corporate industries and helped the river become a healthy, and safe environment for people and animals alike to enjoy.

 Purpose:

The overall goal of this video was to inform viewers on how Cleveland came to clean up the Cuyahoga river, and in that form things like regulations and rules towards water quality and control. It aimed to show that even against corporate pushback and insurmountable odds, change can happen if enough people hold the same values towards a certain objective. At this moment, the people of Cleveland saw an issue with their water quality and safety, and knew they needed to change the river's quality of life. After Cleveland’s change, the people who helped reform the river want to inspire others to change their environment one step at a time just how they did.

 Questions At Issue:

The problem that Cleveland had an issue with was that the Cuyahoga river was very unhealthy and unsafe in their area. The river mouth itself had industry plant waste going down it, and made visiting it and going into the river very dangerous. Once the river caught on fire one too many times, people knew that there had to be a change implemented. People started asking questions as to why companies were allowed to do this? Why did they let this river that’s known to Cleveland go to waste, and sometimes harm their population? Cleveland wanted to make a change in their water quality because the river was infested with oil, caught fire more than once, and even had a couple deaths due to fires. It was once known as one of the most polluted rivers in the United States. 

Information: 

 The Cuyahoga river fires brought millions of dollars in damages and a lot of waste that was unneeded and could’ve been directed elsewhere. Through the fires and pollution of the river, there were RAP Meetings (Remedial Action Plans) that were held by a Joint commission between the US and Canada. This commission was mainly formed to deal with border disputes, but soon noticed that the water quality of the river had to be dealt with in the late 60’s going into the early 70’s.Through this commission, the first clean water act for Cleveland was formed, and an EPA was formed at the state level. They also had to develop an education system to train technicians on what to do, and what kind of research could be done to clean the river up.

Interpretation and Inference:

The conclusion from Cleveland was that the water pollution in the Cuyahoga river from these industry plants was so bad that there needed to be a change. After many fires on the river and some deaths, the oil that was runoff into the river had to come out, and a plan had to be put in place to clean the river up. A cleanup committee was formed, and from this formation started the first phase into making the river healthy again. There was research done to see how to move the oil into cleaning it up easier, and this created a cornerstone on what water quality research is based on today. Another solution that came out of the cleanup was the first clean water act for Cleveland. This allowed them to ensure that the safety and sustainability of the river was at the forefront.

Concepts: 

Explored in this video are the practices and evolution of overall water quality and safety not only in Cleveland, but in the rest of the United States as well. This video showed that people will come together for change despite their differences to bring safety to an environment. The US and Canada both were on the defensive when they had their first meetings about the cleanup, but slowly started to agree with each other as time went on. This sense of community helped Cleveland and the US as a whole understand that water quality and safety is an important part of helping the environment. Through these practices came an overall sense of accomplishment and happiness, because the river has now opened up more possibilities for growth in the future.

 Assumptions:

When Cleveland acknowledged how bad the pollution in the river was, they knew something had to be done to ensure the growth and healthiness of the Cuyahoga river. They didn’t realize at first how valuable this river was to Cleveland. Companies assumed they could dump their waste into the river because it was less of a hassle for their waste removal. The city of Cleveland soon saw how bad things could get over time, and had to find a solution to their streak of dangerous waste dumping.

Consequences:

 Through the cleaning up of Cleveland’s part of the Cuyahoga river, there was a lot more attraction and inspiration for having a clean environment that came from this. There were water safety and quality companies that were put into place, as well as rules and regulations formed to ensure the sustainability and consistency in keeping the river clean. Cleveland now has a restaurant on the river, kayakers who kayak through parts of it, and even rowing teams who go to practice in the recently cleaned up river. The growth of the Cuyahoga river isn’t done yet, they now want to remove the gorge dam to allow natural flowing water from Akron to the mouth of Lake Erie.

                 Cuyahoga River - June 22, 1969     https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/Marking-50-years-since-Cuyahoga/97/i24

 

 

 

Cuyahoga River - Now
https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/oh-cuyahoga/a-generation-in-the-making-the-cuyahoga-river-is-now-a-crown-jewel-that-will-host-the-blazing-paddles-paddlefest