[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 17 (Thursday, February 24, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 24, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
          YOUTH OF THE HUDSON VALLEY PETITIONS FOR CLEAN WATER

                                 ______


                        HON. HAMILTON FISH, JR.

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 24, 1994

  Mr. FISH. Mr. Speaker, on February 1 a group of students from my 
district in New York, and from along the Hudson River, traveled to 
Washington, DC, to show their Government how important clean water is 
to them. This trip was the culmination of 1\1/2\ years of hard work for 
these students, for with them they brought a petition for clean water 
and 10 large panels filled with the signatures of 15,000 young people 
throughout New York's Hudson River Valley. These students worked with 
the Hudson River Sloop, Clearwater, an advocacy group for a cleaner 
Hudson River, to educate fellow students about the importance of clean 
water in preserving the food chain, areas for recreation, and the well-
being of all living things. I feel it is important to share the 
feelings and statements of some of these young people as we prepare to 
deal with reauthorization of the Clean Water Act.
  Below are the words of our next generation:

       Allison Bleeker, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. We are from Hagan 
     Elementary School in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. We represent 
     E.A.C.H., the Environmental Action Committee at Hagan School. 
     We would like to now read the petition we drafted.
       Vanessa Van Derveer, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Petition for clean 
     water to members of federal, state, and local governments.
       Greg Partridge, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. All the kids who are 
     signed here are concerned about the condition of water.
       Stephanie Aronzon, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. We need clean water, 
     and we must undo the damage we have done to the Earth.
       Adam Banner, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. When water is polluted all 
     parts of the food chain are affected.
       Greg. Habitats are destroyed by filling in of wetlands, 
     dredging of bottom sediments, and destruction of dunes and 
     beaches.
       Stephanie. People deserve clean water for drinking and 
     swimming, clean shores to visit, and clean fish to eat.
       Adam. We must have stronger laws, better public education 
     and awareness, and stronger regulations on the practices and 
     products of business, industry and public utilities.
       Allison. We must protect our oceans, rivers, streams, 
     harbors, bays, estuaries, lakes, ground water, shores, 
     wetlands, and bottom sediments.
       Greg. Many people think this is just an environmental 
     cause. They think it is for the fish so they have a clean 
     home. It is also for us and our kids. If this bill is not 
     passed and improved they will not have clean water.
       Vanessa. If all the Earth's water was put in a gallon jug, 
     only a tablespoon would be fresh clean water. All other water 
     would be salt water or water captured in ice or glacers. We 
     must preserve the little water we have.
       Stephanie. There is a creek that is in my community. I used 
     to play in it with my friends. It is in fact a part of Casper 
     Creek. Last year E.A.C.H. cleaned the creeks' polluted sites 
     as a project. A section that runs near my house is littered. 
     I never paid much attention to it, but now I realize it is a 
     problem. Wetlands are getting littered like this in every 
     state, in every country, all over the world. This all adds up 
     to lots of pollution in our water system. When 
     E.A.C.H. cleaned up Casper Creek we asked the town 
     supervisor to have the owners clean up a certain site. 
     Today we're asking Congress to help us clean up.
       Adam. We live along the Hudson River and our community 
     relies on it for clean drinking water. For years, power 
     companies dumped chemicals into the water. Some of these 
     pollutants settled into the sediments and will be harming the 
     water and life that depend on it. We ask Congress to renew, 
     strengthen and improve the Clean Water Act to insure clean 
     water for our future.
       Allison. I just wanted to say how much this petition means 
     to us. We worked hard and what we wrote is from our hearts. 
     We want and must have clean water.
       Amanda Treyz, Manhattan, N.Y. My presence here today means 
     a lot to me. When I first started working with Clearwater my 
     goal was to get the Hudson clean enough for me to go swimming 
     right off the pier near my house in lower Manhattan, I have 
     not forgotten this goal, but it seems a lot further off than 
     it did at first. What this petition means to me, is that 
     other people share this dream. What the Clean Water Act means 
     to me is that our legislators also share this dream. But this 
     act is more than a dream, and there are more reasons for this 
     act than a dream.
       An argument doesn't really need to be made for clean water. 
     Just remember--whatever you dump in rivers will come back. 
     But the Clean Water Act as it is now is not enough. We need 
     stronger laws and stricter laws. Pollution, sanctioned by 
     law, is still pollution and it should be outlawed. The cost 
     of change is not an excuse to pollute. President Clinton 
     said, ``we must have the courage to change''--this act is 
     something that needs to be changed. If we keep on putting 
     industrial chemicals into our waterways, eventually they will 
     end up on our dinner table. Many people in industry say that 
     their emissions haven't been proven to cause harm, but I 
     don't see them fishing in the Hudson for their dinner. My 
     dream of a clean Hudson has been put on hold indefinitely, 
     but it is within your power to make this dream a reality.
       David Velez, Goshen, N.Y. Ladies and Gentlemen, in 1972, 
     the Clean Water Act was passed into law. The ultimate goal of 
     the act was to eliminate the discharge of pollutants into 
     navigable waters by the year 1985. It is now 1994, and 
     obviously, that goal was never attained. This year, the act 
     will be renewed. The question is ``What is going to happen to 
     it?'' Most likely, changes will be made. Who will these 
     changes benefit?
       It could benefit industries and developers. It would be all 
     too easy to make modifications to the act that would allow 
     these companies and corporations to gain the upper hand. They 
     could be allowed to do whatever they want to our most 
     precious and powerful resource--water. They could be allowed 
     to dump whatever waste and by-product they see fit. Or it 
     would still be illegal, but fines and penalties would be 
     lowered, while grace periods and time limits would be raised. 
     Of course, this would be good. Productivity would go up. 
     Prices would go down. There would be more jobs. This would 
     help the American economy. Its a good business solution, and 
     the price would be negligible.
       If you would like to see just what negligible means, you 
     can look at the number of waterways in North America. I can 
     tell you a little about the Hudson River.
       Last year, I was selected to volunteer aboard the 
     Clearwater. When I told my friends, I heard things like, 
     ``hope you don't fall in the water'', ``don't swim in 
     it'', ``watch out for the floating garbage''. As I found 
     out, those stereotypes are a little outdated. I was 
     however, glad it didn't rain the day before, or I might 
     have had to dodge the raw sewage that overflows from the 
     outdated treatment plants along the river. And I couldn't 
     go fishing, since all the aquatic life in the river is 
     contaminated by the 1 million pounds of PCB's lying on the 
     river's floor. When we took passengers on board, of any 
     age, there was a general feeling of concern. Is it safe, 
     can I swim in it, is there any hope?
       Yes, there is, Many people fight everyday to protect our 
     national treasures. This group of young people you see before 
     you is just one group of these people. We want revisions to 
     the Clean Water Act to benefit us, and anyone else who feels 
     clean water, safe food, public recreation, and natural beauty 
     is important. We can't offer the posh extravagances given out 
     by lobbyists representing special interest groups. All we can 
     offer is a cloth scroll, but behind it is the work, effort, 
     love, and concern of thousands of young people. They are 
     asking their government to help them. This document was 
     created of love for our waterways, by young people, for all 
     people. I implore you, ladies and gentlemen of the 
     government, to see to it that this dream gets carried out.
       Elizabeth Azcon, Manhattan, N.Y. The clean water issue is a 
     very important one because without clean water every living 
     creature will become extinct, including you and I. Many 
     harmful chemicals have been entering our waters. Rivers have 
     been dying as well as our marine life. Raw sewage and 
     industrial sewage have been contaminating water and have 
     caused illness to living creatures who innocently take in 
     these chemicals by drinking, swimming or fishing from this 
     contaminated water.
       PCB's are constantly being stirred up, entering the food 
     chain and flowing down stream penetrating the flesh of fish 
     who in turn are eaten by humans or by any other dominating 
     animal in the food chain. Water pollution is a severe problem 
     that has been set aside for too long. We must take action now 
     and begin to purify our drinking water because soon, before 
     we know it, we will be taking in 10 percent water and 90 
     percent chemicals. Humans, marine life and wildlife will be 
     dying from PCB and chemical related illnesses. Planet Earth 
     will eventually deteriorate by this so called water problem 
     that most people seem too busy to deal with. We must dedicate 
     more time to the Earth's physical problems than spend time on 
     building the perfect weapon for war or building the most hi-
     tech building in existence. As I said before we must take 
     action now before we have no clean place to live in and no 
     children to care for. All we can leave for our children and 
     our children's children is a clean, purified planet for them 
     to develop, work and enjoy their life on.
       Torah Johnson, Hudson Valley Sloop, Clearwater. In 
     September of 1992, I met with a group of students from the 
     environmental club at Hagen School, and in an afternoon I 
     helped the children decide on the wording of the text to the 
     petition you see here.
       Now, a central tenet of Clearwater's education program is 
     to empower children and to provide them with the skills they 
     need to take part in decisions affecting their own future, 
     such as the issues currently under debate in the Clear Water 
     Act. And so, with each of the many of thousands of children 
     who read and signed the petition, the experience was part of 
     a discussion about the importance of participating in their 
     government. We encouraged them express themselves in pictures 
     or messages; to speak directly to their legislators. These 
     discussions were very constructive, not only for what the 
     children learned, but for what I learned about the 
     children. Through these discussions and through reading 
     these panels, I have come to understand must better how 
     they view the Earth and their government.
       Among the children I spoke to, I found a universal concern 
     for the environment, and an understanding of the ecological 
     problems facing us. But, I found some other things; some 
     things that disturbed me very much. Many children, even among 
     those that are active in environmental clubs, expressed 
     feelings of powerlessness, resignation, and even guilt in the 
     face of environmental problems; even in the discussion among 
     the children who wrote the petition. When it was suggested 
     that the petition say ``We deserve clean water . . .'' one of 
     them raised their hand and asked, ``Why do we deserve clean 
     water if we were the ones who polluted it?'' Interesting that 
     she should have a sense of stewardship of the environment 
     that so many adults lack, and so distressing that at 10 years 
     old she should have a sense of guilt about the state of the 
     natural world.
       I also found many of the children to be cynical about their 
     government. A group of the fifth graders in Piermont, NY 
     actually shouted angrily something I heard over and over 
     again from kids: ``The government won't listen to us. We're 
     just kids. They don't care what we think.''
       Probably the discussion that impacted me the most was with 
     a group of kindergartners in the Bronx. I asked them to tell 
     me what a law was, and one boy raised his hand. He said, 
     ``Laws are so that when you break them, they put you in 
     jail.'' ``Are laws good?'' I asked them. They all shook their 
     heads ``no.'' They all needed to puzzle very carefully when I 
     asked them if a law against polluting the river was a good 
     idea, but finally they concluded that it was a good idea.
       The long term health of our waterways, indeed of the Earth, 
     will depend upon the vision and concern of today's youth. And 
     today's youth see the need to make difficult sacrifices to 
     save our planet. But many children feel their voices are 
     ignored and stifled. They are scared. On the local level, our 
     own Hudson River is an ecological war zone. The fish are 
     poisoned with General Electric's PCB's, but many children eat 
     the poisoned fish due to the ignorance of their parents or 
     just the need for food. The river is still, even with twenty 
     years of the Clean Water Act, it is still not swimmable for 
     much of its length due to sewage contamination. If you swim 
     in the river you can get sick. The dire significance of 
     global environmental problems is not lost, even on a child. 
     As a biologist, I know these children have reason to be 
     frightened, and as a teacher, tough I believe they have 
     reason to hope, I can't tell them they don't have reason to 
     be frightened.
       We must hear their voices, we must strengthen the Clean 
     Water Act, and enact other legislation to ensure them a 
     healthy future. The messages and pictures on these panels are 
     like writing on the wall, they reflect the voices of 
     thousands of children who are speaking to you. I ask that 
     before you leave this room today take the time to read some 
     of the messages. Each one of us has a voice of its own. I'll 
     finish with what one young person wrote: ``It's good to 
     pollute--Not!''