Taking Civic Action

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Taking Civic Action. In Boston Harbor
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IF CITIZENS HADNT TAKEN ACTION WE WOULD STILL
HAVE SEGREGATION
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ONLY CERTAIN PEOPLE WOULD BE ALLOWED TO
VOTECITIZENS RIGHTS WOULD BE TRAMPLED.
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IF CITIZENS HADNT TAKEN ACTION WE WOULD HAVE
LOST THE ENVIRONMENT / HAVE NO NATIONAL PARKS
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THIS SLIDE SHOW IS ABOUT HOW CITIZENS WORKED
TOGETHER TO PROTECT BOSTON HARBOR
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Boston Harbor during the time of the Native
Americansthe First Peoples
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The technology of the First Peoples did not
drastically change the Harbor
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Almost 400 years ago, settlers from Europe,
primarily England, traveled across the ocean to
make Boston Harbor their home.
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They brought a different way of life, different
technology, and different attitudes
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As their numbers grew, the harbor drastically
changed
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The harbor became the place to dump garbage and
waste including human waste
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But along the way, people began to take notice of
their environment. The unpleasant sights and
smells of Boston harbor could not be ignored.
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a stench so strong as to arouse the sleeping,
terrify the weak, and nauseate and exasperate
everybody.
Our beautiful city is almost encircled by the
mouths of sewers discharging their contents the
sewer gases absolutely dangerous to breathe.
Boston City Board of Health - 1874
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Newer technology began to affect nature in faster
ways, creating larger amounts of pollution.
Raw Sewage!
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People began to work with local groups and
governments, trying to stop this pollution and
protect the environment
In 1972, the United States Congress had passed a
law known as the Clean Water Act.
The law was ignored in Boston Harbor!
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By the 1980s, Boston Harbor was called the most
polluted harbor in the USA!
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Citizens, people like yourself, began to demand
that these laws be enforced.
In the summer of 1982, Bill Golden, a man from
Quincy, was jogging along Wollaston Beach. He
stepped in what he thought was brown
jellyfish. It was not jellyfish. It was human
waste, and it was all over the beach! As I
realized what I had stepped in, I felt nauseated.
Then I got angry.
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Bill Goldens anger turned to action. And he was
not alone. Many others came forward to help the
Boston Harbor including a powerful judge, Paul
Garrity from Jamaica Plain.
He called himself the Sludge Judge, and he made
big things happen.
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Boston Harbor is ... visibly polluted primarily
because of the discharge of sewage...the damage
to that environment and to the creatures who live
in it may very well become irreversible..
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In 1984, a new state agency was created, the
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. It was
created to clean up the Boston Harbor.
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The clean-up was called the Boston Harbor
Project
The biggest part of the project was the
construction of the sewage treatment plant on
Deer Island.
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Deer Island had been home to a large prison.
It was torn down.
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But during this time, sewage was still being
dumped into the harbor, violating the federal
Clean Water Act. Concerned citizens filed
lawsuits to make sure the law was carried
out.Another judge, federal judge David Mazzone
stepped in.
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The Court and the public must be able to hold
..individuals and agencies responsible this
Court has jurisdiction to protect the cleanliness
of the Harbor and the safety of the citizens who
enjoy and use that Harbor
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But these judges could only make the clean-up
happen because thousands of citizens were behind
them!
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Construction of the Deer Island sewage treatment
plant began in 1988.
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It took 14 years to complete.It was built in
your lifetime!It cost 3.8 billion
dollars.Thats 3,800,000,000!It also cost
five lives - five construction workers died
building the plant and the tunnels.
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Finally the sewage treatment plant was completed.
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Sewage was no longer dumped into the harbor.It
was now carried by pipes to the plant. There,
after several steps, the egg shaped digesters
produce a sludge that is made into.
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Fertilizer to grow plants!
Some serious recycling!
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The Boston Harbor became a cleaner place
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For people
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plants, and animals.
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In 1996, the Boston Harbor Islands became a
national park.
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The harbor is public!That means it belongs to
all of us.
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But the Boston Harbor is not all better. A
problem that went on for 350 years isnt totally
solved in less than 30 years. Some people still
throw trash is the harbor, and some of that winds
up on the islands.
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This problem can keep people from enjoying the
beauty of the harbor. But citizens like us can
deal with this problem. Restoring the beauty of
our harbor islands can give a positive feeling
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A sense of accomplishment
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..and maybe a boat ride
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or a day at the beach!
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