A fascinating artifact of Rhode Island history. Three years after the passage of the Clean Water Act (1972), one of the most important pieces of environmental legislation in US history, DEM was tasked with tracking point sources of water pollution and work to shut them down.
This map is, to me, immensely hopeful. While it shows a state rife with pollution that devastated human and animal communities alike, that made people sick and despoiled incredible natural beauty in our state, it also shows how far we’ve come in fifty years. .Many of the impaired waterways shown on this map are now destinations for kayaking, swimming, fishing and recreation. Environmental legislation works. The environment can heal. We can live in a better tomorrow. This map is proof of how far we’ve come and how far we can go if we decide to.
A fascinating artifact of Rhode Island history. Three years after the passage of the Clean Water Act (1972), one of the most important pieces of environmental legislation in US history, DEM was tasked with tracking point sources of water pollution and work to shut them down.
This map is, to me, immensely hopeful. While it shows a state rife with pollution that devastated human and animal communities alike, that made people sick and despoiled incredible natural beauty in our state, it also shows how far we’ve come in fifty years. .Many of the impaired waterways shown on this map are now destinations for kayaking, swimming, fishing and recreation. Environmental legislation works. The environment can heal. We can live in a better tomorrow. This map is proof of how far we’ve come and how far we can go if we decide to.
