Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, at a Cost in Suffering

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By CHARLES DUHIGG - NY Times - Se. 12, 2009 Toxic Waters
Jennifer Hall-Massey's youngest son has scabs on his arms, legs and chest...

Comments

Johanne said…
I consider the way we let our waterways be polluted is a crime against humanity. In the 1950s and 60s, I could swim in the river in front of my home without fear of getting sick. I eventually had to stop swimming in the river because of skin rashes and scabs that would not heal unless I stopped. I feel like a kitten weaned too young from its mother: how I miss swimming in the river, feeling the rush of the water on my body, diving for shiny colored stones, smelling all the living things in the river, surrounded by grasses full of insects, trees full of birds, the sky stretching from horizon to horizon. Suffering can have many meanings, can be felt many ways.

The new generations that know nothing but chlorinated pools have no idea what they're missing! No wonder a lot of people are disconnected from nature and don't even realize it!
September 15, 2009 at 1:11 PM
Larry Powell said…
Thanks, Johanne!
My wife & I visited Clear Lake MB this summer. There are warnings up on the beach there, too. There is some kind of "swimmers itch" in the water!
Whether it's related or not, another sign on the same beach reminds us that a single, average pleasure boat creates more pollution on a 2-hour outing than does a car driving from coast-to-coast!
How much longer can we continue to treat our water this way without, it literally in this case, biting back?
September 15, 2009 at 2:16 PM
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