'You can't fool mother nature' and it is awfully egotistical of us to think we can do things better.
Since GE has ceased introducing PCB"S into the Hudson River nature in it's own time and without the assistance of man has deposited layer upon layer of fresh silt, born from waters and shores well to the north, on top of contaminated river bottom in and south of the proposed dredging zone.
This was the plan: Hudson River PCBs Site Reassessment Main Page
OH REALLY!
While it is true that only time will breakdown the contaminant, this silt layer has provided quite a successful buffer.
The River has seen a remarkable rebirth of wildlife, flora and fauna. Shad and recently re-introduced sturgeon have flourished, great blue heron and even the American Bald Eagle can now be enjoyed by Riverwatchers as far south as the Tappen Zee Bridge, most species have returned without the assistance of man.
I enjoy the river, my family and friends frequently visit the local parks or fish and boat from the Esopus Creek down to Kingston Point, when we feel extraordinarily brave we might venture further north or south to enjoy a favorite fishing spot or habitat site.
It has always been my contention, (remember I am not as educated in Conservation as
the experts at the EPA), that nature will take its course and without saying I told you so, I TOLD YOU SO!
Ok so here comes man loaded with $300,000,000.00 set aside to tell nature how to do it's job. Oh how confident, we think we know so much, we know nothing.
Disturbing the layer of clean silt barrier and revealing the contaminated layers below to the running waters of the Hudson never sounded like a promising idea to me.
Again, remember the river is the cleanest it has been in 80 years. But we have all this money to spend, and we have a purpose. Man, money and purpose, the three most volatile components on earth, when you mix them together watch out, disaster will soon follow.
So let me ask you this: you have a big dredging crane, you sink it, sometimes more than 75 feet below the surface of fast moving water, did you really think that while raising it to the surface it's contents would remain intact?
Furthermore, once the layer of silt is disturbed, the contaminated deposits below are now free to flow with the river current and get redeposited down stream. Since the life of the active carcinogen in PCB is quite long, well it doesn't take a scientist to see that it isn't very promising.
But we have all this money to spend! And if you don't spend it, you can't hide it, steal it or waste it, all of which man does very well.
So the contaminated runoff is 25x's greater than expected, I'd like to know who in their infinite wisdom expected less?
Stop the madness before we kill the Hudson River a second time!
Use the money to enhance the quality of life along its shores!
GE has a responsibility to every town and village along the river, of this there is no doubt, but leaving that much money in the hands of greedy government agencies can only serve the agencies themselves, not river, not the residents that populate it's shores and certainly not nature.
One last note: When the shores of the Hudson were lined with wood piers essentially along the West side of Manhattan, they frequently fell into disrepair due the eating habits of a specific worm, (I can't recall it's name), the PCB contamination was thought to have lead to it's extinction, 'NOT SO FAST', over the last 20 years it has had a vibrant resurgence and once again has proven to be a problem for waterfront marinas all along the mighty Hudson. It did this without the help of man.
Nature seems to do alright without our help, why can't we just: 'Let Nature Take It's Course'!
Good post.
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that GE is one of Obama's buddies so I think we will see able to weasel out of doing anymore dredging anyway. For once the friends and family plan might acutally do some good.
Two wrongs don't make a right! It's unfortunate that PCB's were dumped in the Hudson River, but disturbing them is THE WORST IDEA CHRISTIE WHITMAN'S EPA EVER PERPETRATED ON THE PEOPLE OF NYS! STOP THE MADNESS!!! Leave the sh** where it belongs - BURIED.
ReplyDeleteDo you think we know any more about this blue marble than the fact that it ain't flat, well not any more anyway!
ReplyDeleteGlobal warming, holding back flood waters, remember years ago when the Mississippi flooded miles of land on either shore?
The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake?
The Asteroid crash 65 million years ago, oooops we weren't around then were we?
If fact the last Ice Age killed off the Wooly Mammoth and the Mastodon, did they drive cars or use electricity? I DON"T THINK SO!
We are so full of ourselves, we think we can fix everything, we cant fix healthcare!
Whether we do or do not cut carbon emissions, there will be another ice age, there will be another Mt. Vesuvius another Tsunami, even another Katrina, man will not prevent a comet from striking the earth, all the Hollywood graphics companies can't stop a asteroid from impacting the earth and yes even the sun will one day nova and our own solar system will be destroyed, such is future of mankind!
Even the superhumans of the planet Krypton could only save one of it's inhabitants! LOL ;-)
We are mere mortals, less than a grain of sand in the hourglass of eternity, where do we get off thinking we will stop the poles from reversing?
Get Real, enjoy the blessings of life and the beauty around you Oh and pick up that chewing gum wrapper and save the planet!
Did you read the link to epa, it's a joke, if phase 1 is turning out to be such a disaster, phase 2 will only be worse, besides what really scares me is what is left out of the Freeman article, 'MORE THAN 25x's the expected levels of PCB's are escaping, HOW MUCH MORE? The article is a bit vague to say the least, is it 26x's or 126x's either way it's the same old story. GOVERNMENT AT IT"S BEST IS THE WORST GOVERNMENT CAN BE!
ReplyDeleteI keep waiting for this Rapture event to rid our species of you morons. When is it coming? Please eat more fish from the Hudson in the meantime.
ReplyDelete10:38 I can see you have something productive to say!
ReplyDeleteI bet you believe all the lies the Global Warming scientists are justified too don't you?
Give us the facts and we'll make the right decision, you push your agenda regardless of legitimacy with inaccurate or faulty data to justify the millions and millions of dollars you waste in studies that have no foundation in respected science.
If we are morons for questioning the basis and outcome, you are even more the moron for blindly believing without proof, on rhetoric alone.
And you expect to hold us to higher standards than your pall bearers!\
PALEEZE! before the cliffs erode to just a hillside do us a favor and peek over the edge!
The PCBs need to be removed. Those who think otherwise also believe the earth is flat. PS: GE is not one of President Obama's "buddies". WHERE did that come from?
ReplyDeleteThis plan was construed long before Obama came on the scene, there is no connection prior to the 2008 campaign and the first months of his Presidency.
ReplyDeleteHowever more thought should be given to the method of removal, until it can be a guarantee that no PCB's would be released that will affect the entire River South of the contaminant site it should not go forward.
Well 11:15, besides the fact that GE owns the MSNBC "All Obama All The Time" TV Network. The ties between GE and the Obama administration are very well documented. Many are even beginning to call GE the Haliburton of the Obama era.
ReplyDeleteHere is one good article to get you started. From there feel free to google some more.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Obamas-hidden-bailout-of-General-Electric_03_04-40686707.html
12:44 your point is well taken and although the left will continue to downplay the connection in the context of this topic, Hudson River Dredging, the connection is non existent.
ReplyDeleteThe $300 million was set aside by GE long before Obama became a candidate let alone president.
Mind you I'm not defending the current affiliation, I think is smells of Oligarchy and does the entire nation a great injustice, however it will not effect the level of PCB's that are being released from beneath the silt and damaging life in and around the Hudson.
Stop the dredging, fix the problem of runoff, if it can't be done then the safest place for the PCB's are under foot upon foot of clean silt. Until it can be done effectively, leave it alone.
1:18, I understand and agree with you 100% about the safest place for the PCB's. You are right about the money being set aside prior to Obama. But my point is that with GE's connections, now would be the best chance for them to get out of having to provide anymore money for the additional remediation that many enviromentalists will be demanding.
ReplyDeleteIf this happens it would probably bring dredging to a standstill, and for once dirty deals and back office politics will have actually done some good in this world. Then mother nature can get to the business of really cleaning the river.