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

In this photo, you can see how tall the fire was and the firemen trying to extinguish the fire from the bridge.
Photo: Cleveland State University Library
https://www.alleghenyfront.org/how-a-burning-river-helped-create-the-clean-water-act/ 

  1. Point of View

In 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was filled with oil and other trash that caught on fire after the sparks of a train coming by the river ignited some of the oil debris. When considering this video's frame of reference, I realize that this video wanted to show how improved the river has gotten over the decades of cleaning it and the process that got them there. Many people today will hear about environmental problems but get discouraged because they do not see much progress and this video wanted to inspire people.  The river was a catastrophe for a long period of time but this video also wanted to illustrate that fixing an environmental problem that many people thought was unfixable is possible and the Cuyahoga River was just an example of that. 


  1. Purpose

The objectives of this video were to point out the comeback of the Cuyahoga River and how they were able to revive it. When the river caught on fire, there were not as many water pollution acts that could have stopped this from happening because no one knew that the water quality could get that bad. Once people saw what was happening, they wanted a change. The river burning brought people together because they understood how big of a problem this actually was and they wanted to help.

As the years went on, Acts were put in place to help make sure that the quality of water would not be as toxic or polluted in the future.


  1. Questions at Issue

A problem presented in this video would be that people did not want to do too much to help until they saw the extreme outcome of not taking care of the water. Up until the problem was right in front of their faces, the oil-infested river was ignored. The issue of ignoring environmental problems until the problem is at its worst still happens today. Besides not taking care of our environment, it is our society’s ignorance to not help the planet that is the main issue most of us take part in. 


  1. Information

Bob Wysenski, a retired Ohio EPA, said that the “noise was deafening” and the “air was choking” from when the bridge the train was riding on and the river caught on fire. He described the river as running orange and you could see plenty of oil on the river. The water quality became a big enough problem to where environmental investments came from the International Joint Commission that helped deal with issues at the border. The sewer district was able to invest 5 billion dollars to help with the cleanup. 

Many people that wanted to help said they struggled with acquiring knowledge on how they could improve the river because of the lack of technology. They had to develop an education system to train technicians which helped the research process. They were able to learn and create an infrastructure to clean the river.


  1. Interpretation and Inference

Now that the river is clean and up to code, people are utilizing the river. Restaurants were built on the sides of the river and people started kayaking in the river. Fish are back in the river and the valley is colorful. The goal for the Cuyahoga River is to remove a dam in Cuyahoga Falls that would help the river flow naturally and provide more areas for people to take advantage of. 


  1. Concepts

The video brought up laws put in place to help sustain a healthy environment after what happened at Cuyahoga River. The Clean Water Act helped regulate industrial discharge. There were also pretreatment programs implemented to clean waste streams before they can be discharged. The US Environmental Protection Agency also protects our environment while also keeping human health safe. 


  1. Assumptions

Some of the speakers in this video assume that whoever watches will accept what happened at Cuyahoga River to be considered as something that should have happened. The opinions represented in the film are to see this eye-opening incident as something that benefited our world but not all people will see it that way. How did waiting for something really bad to happen like a river being on fire that took billions of dollars and years to recover be considered a good thing? I believe that great steps to solving environmental problems came out of this event but I am certain that others would wish that that didn’t happen since the river was unsafe for so long and the progress of the cleanup was uncertain. 


  1. Consequences

The effects of the burning river were both good and bad. Yes, the life in the water was put in danger and the fires caused harm to the people around the river but this tragedy put laws and programs into place that will help the environment in the long run. This event resulted in many people and organizations coming together to help get rid of the waste. Now that the Cuyahoga River is clean, the river serves as a model for the regulations implemented and how dedicated work improved the health of the river.

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