This week I’m posting the top five videos from my channel from the past year. #5 is from the 1967 film, The Crooked River Dies, produced by WKYC-TV the NBC affiliate in Cleveland Ohio. The film deals with pollution and waste water treatment along the Cuyahoga River. It was filmed before the infamous fire in 1969. On June 22, 1969 a river fire in Cleveland captured national attention. This event helped spur an avalanche of pollution control activities resulting in the Clean Water Act, Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and the creation of the federal and state Environmental Protection Agencies. The 1969 fires was not the first. Fires plagued the Cuyahoga River beginning in 1936 when a spark from a blow torch ignited floating debris and oils. The largest river fire in 1952 caused over $1 million in damage to boats and a riverfront office building. By the 1960s the lower Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was used for waste disposal, and was choked with debris, oils, sludge, industrial wastes and sewage. The 1969 fire has been the subject of several songs, including Randy Newmans 1972 song Burn On, R.E.M.s 1986 song Cuyahoga, and Adam Agains 1992 song River on Fire. Over the past 40 years, the river has made a remarkable recovery. For more information on the Cuyahoga River, its pollution and recovery go to the website of the Cuyahoga River Community Planning Organization at cuyahogariverrap.org/.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 10:00:33 +0000
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