Lake Erie: The Dead Lake Of North America - 1950's-70's Part 4

Time For A Change - Continued

As you've read, fires on the Cuyahoga River were no strange occurrence, and none had sparked any  real change in the region.  Arriving in the late 1960's, the Cuyahoga would act as the final catalyst for the governments to take action against the pollution of the Great Lakes and waterways.  Unlike previous fires, the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire captured international attention.  The fire, under ordinary circumstances of that time would have occurred with very little attention paid to it; thankfully, it did not occur under normal circumstances.  Coupled with the dire situation of the lake, the rise in awareness of said situation as well as the environmental issues plaguing the rivers of the area, and the finally the public demand for action to be taken, the 1969 fire represented the final tug on the chain.

It amazes me to know that despite the lake's eminent ecological demise, and its immense importance for both nations bordering it, neither government stepped in to take action until things became so bad they could no longer be ignored.  Many argue that the cost to undertake the necessary measures would have been to great, and in all truth, the cost would have been staggering.  Even so, if action had been taken earlier to prevent such a situation from taking place, then the costs would have been nearly as high. This seems to be the case for many things, in the sense that action is not taken until it is absolutely needed.  Much more emphasis is placed on the resolution of problems as they occur, rather then the prevention of the problems.  Although, there are also any cases today in our governments which demonstrate the opposite: A strive to prevent problems from occurring so that more effort needn't be required in the future to resolve the problems.  While prevention is undoubtedly a better solution for many issues, it isn't always practical, and therefore isn't always a viable solution.

Never the less, the 1969 fire was the catalyst everyone had been waiting for.

A video explaining the pollution of the Cuyahoga River in 1967

Sources:
1. http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/aoc/cuyahoga/index.html