Module 1.1 - A Turning Point Event for Environmental Science
Point Of View
Throughout the video in " Celebrating the Comeback of the Burning River", a variety of people getting interviewed about the burning river are speaking under the assumption that their target audience are listening through there descriptive and detailed explanations about the way the river looked during the disastrous years. Bringing the audience to kind of look at the river from their perspective. In 1969, oil in the water caused the Cuyahoga River to catch on fire, leaving the river even more horrid than before.
Purpose
The purpose of the video was to inform the audience about the disastrous and terrible years of the Cuyahoga River but with those terrible years came environmental improvements. Another objective was to inform the audience about how the improvements and cleanliness impacted both communities near the water and those also living in the water. After many years of ignoring the Burning River and having many industries turn their back on it, it took one photo to be published in a magazine to finally start prioritizing its environmental status.
Question at issue
The main issue throughout the video, or question at issue, was definitely the fact of the excessive water pollution. After an upsetting photo came out on the river, people opened their eyes and said, "no more". Communities realized that industries had unfortunately turned their back on the river. The river was not only trashed with oil spill, but also dumped factory waste, and other trash littered by others.
Interpretation and Inference
Throughout the video, it was explained that in order to prioritize the environmental status of the river, the clean water act had to be enforced as well as having the EPA group formed and both nationally at state level. Enviromental investments also attributed to the cleanliness and improvements toward the river. Roughly about more than five billion dollars was invested in order to get the river back in shape. Of course, many communities around helped invest.
Information
After the fire, many people didn't know what to do nor where to start to better the river. Because this was at earlier times, the technology they had was very limited compared to the technology we have now. Therefore, they did have a lot of complication about where to begin. They did end up creating an education system where technicians were trained on what to do and how to clean the river up. Excessive research had to be done. After in depth research they did conclude that it'd be best to invent "a whole new set of clean water infrastructure" in order to start cleaning the river.
Concepts
One of the concepts that was brought up during the video was that a few workers who were cleaning the river everyday believed that it might've been impossible to have the river all cleaned up because there was such an excessive amount of pollution and trash. But, as proved in their extreme research, private and public attempts have managed to get it cleaned up. Thanks to the Clean water act and U.S. environmental protection agency, they improved lives of those again, around the river and in the river.
Assumptions
According to the video, the health of the river is what was definitely taken granted for. The number of activities that could have been available to do if only the river was upright and fresh. Communities assumed that because the river was being used as a dumping ground by industries and productions that nothing could ever change the way the river looked or even how it was perceived.
Consequences/Solutions
Thankfully after finally twenty years of enhancing and uplighting the river, it is finally cleaned. Some improvements are definitely the smell and the view. After years of the river having no life around it, fish are now found thriving in the waters. Restaurants can now be found beside or even on the river, kayakers go on the river, and even high school teams are spotted sculling through it. The biggest victory is that after many battling successful years, the river is now utilized for the good and entertainment. However, much is still needed to be done in order to keep such waters clean and healthy. For example, future plans for the group are to take down a near dam in order to solve "unresolved water quality issues".
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