A Difficult Decision

In studying the environmental history of the Hudson, one's first inclination is to see the glass as half full. Throughout the last half century or so a number of environmental organizations have stepped to the forefront of a continuing battle to preserve the Hudson River, and have supported a number of initiatives intended to clean-up the Hudson and restore some of the natural beauty that has been lost since big business came to the region. A number of organizations including HEP (The New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary program) and the Hudson River Estuary Program have made important steps in collecting scientific research and lobbying government officials to make changes to protect the Hudson. The Hudson River Foundation, which sponsors research efforts aimed at preserving the Hudson River, has been responsible for a number of recent changes like the proposal involving the study of Atlantic sturgeon in the early 90's. The HRF has a set of categories they hope to address in the years to come including long-term, short-term and imminent problems in the river and New York Harbor.

So the question a young environmentalist might ask is how could one see the glass as half empty? We've done a number of things to protect the Hudson recently, backed by enormous victories over major corporations like Con-Ed and government initiatives like the proposed Westway construction. Aren't things better than they once were? Well, let's take a closer look at this question. Are things better than they were say in the early 20th century, when New York Harbor was festering with Typhoid and sewage was deposited into the Hudson with reckless abandon? I think it would be relatively safe to say that things are a bit better than they were then. But one of the reasons my classmates and I took this class was to discover the true legacy of the Hudson; to study it's history from the first time Henry Hudson laid eyes on the valley to first time some of us laid eyes on it driving up to Hamilton. We've read accounts of the Hudson River during its earliest days when the Hudson Valley was compared to the Garden of Eden. We've read excepts of Adrian van der Donck's account of his travels around the region during which he observed an abundance of unique flora and fauna. The Hudson was in bad shape after big business beset the region and continued to exploit the abundant, fresh water, and I think most environmentalists would say that the Hudson is a lot cleaner than it was back then. But it sure wasn't, and never will be as clean as it was when the Indians gave a name to the river that flows two ways. It never will be as clean as it was in the early days of America. Mankind has left their mark on the Hudson through their ignorance and greed, a mark that can never be permanently reversed. But mankind has also realized the value of this unique waterway and has, through their generosity and genuine concern, attempted to preserve it. So is the glass half full or half empty? I'll let you decide.