Trash-free Potomac River Goal Won't be Met
But as we keep trying, we can learn to appreciate trash's other side.
For years, the Alice Ferguson Foundation has championed a “Trash Free Potomac Watershed by 2013.” I’ve often wondered about that goal. It reminded me of when I worked for the World Health Organization, whose slogan at the time was “Health for All by the Year 2000.” A trash-free river? It sounds unlikely. Just about everything we produce, use and throw out finds its way into the river, like a force of nature. Halting it would practically mean abolishing Western Civilization. So, with 2013 looming, and on the eve of the foundation’s 24th Potomac River Watershed Cleanup, I decided to call the group and ask what’s up with their deadline. Coordinator Elena Rosen confirmed the obvious: there would be no trash-free river by 2013. Instead, the …
Roger Hamilton
9:18 am on Thursday, April 19, 2012
Good point Ana. A lot of people think that trash in the river comes from antisocials dumping garbage bags over stream banks. Actually, the problem is often far from the river itself, where things that gets tossed or left on the ground get washed down the nearest storm drain, and so begin their journey. So it's school children, moms, dads, everyone. more ›