Pollution: Hudson and Hamilton

Until a few weeks ago, I considered the Hudson to just be another river that I crossed over occasionally, but I am coming to appreciate its environmental and historical importance and our impact upon the river. The Hudson, “the river that flows two ways,” supports a rich array of life and helped in the formation of the United States. Humans have exploited and polluted the river, which Bill Moyers explores in his film on the Hudson, “America’s First River” (http://www.pbs.org/now/science/hudson.html). Unfortunately, however, the pollution of the Hudson is not unique to this one small river, a statement which will certainly not surprise any one reading it. The stream that runs through Hamilton’s campus is another, smaller example of human pollution upon a natural waterway. While I do not know if and how many pollutants are in the water, I have seen trash in and next to the stream – from cans that people have thrown off the bridge to metal drums, tires, and refrigerators in the old college dump on the northeast side of campus.
Despite the Hudson’s pollution, it is much cleaner than it was even five years ago due to the efforts of those who care about the river. It is a slow process, however, as illustrated by GE’s resistance to cleaning up PCB’s in the Hudson and the inability of PCB’s to naturally break down. As Pete Seeger said, there’s hope for the Hudson.