Scientific Article Review

Streams of Hope
National Geographic
2001

“One day the river ran red.” Then maybe the next day green, or white, or orange and maybe even blue. The Nashua River in the 1960’s was polluted by all the factories and businesses along the river. They let their waste flow into the river, polluting it. People joked about the river being its different colors but really, they were scared of what the river could do to them. Then after an answer to their prayers, Marion Stoddart came into their lives.

Marion Stoddart didn’t want the Nashua River to die a slow and painful death, so she started a campaign. She also knew that she couldn’t do this by herself. She was able to present her plan to officials and they were allowed to start saving the environment. People who lived around the river wanted to be able to swim in the river without having to go and get tetanus shots. Owners of the factories started to treat their waste so that it wouldn’t pollute the water. Townspeople were eager to see the results of all their work but some doubted that their cure would work on their dying Nashua River. With extra help from the government they built and upgraded the treatments for the water. Today the river is a clear blue and you can swim in it without taking a trip to the doctors.

After reading this article I think that helping the environment by standing our ground and doing our part in the community is great. Here in Kaysville, we don’t have a serious problem with polluted tributaries but there are always smaller things that you can help with. For instance, litter. Most Americans have this problem and it’s something I’ve been working on myself. If you spend an hour or two with a group of friends walking along streets picking up trash you see laying on the ground, that would help the community become cleaner and more nice.

If we did have a problem with polluting our streams I would be like Marion Stoddart and stand my ground, not stopping until the problem was fixed. Having nice water is a necessity. We take water for granted and it’s not something that should be done! In the article Marion had to get government help and help from the community. Though at first some didn’t think it was possible for the river to be clean, it was. What a wonderful way to prove them wrong. The government had to pay for upgrades on the treatments for the water. Who know how much that would cost? I’m not positive, but I’m sure that it was a few hundred dollars. So, what I’m trying to say is that if it came down to it, I would too get the community and government involved in making our water clear.

Marion Stoddart is an amazing example to me, and should be to you to. She had the courage to stand for what’s right and got the Nashua River clear blue. Now they won’t wake up one morning saying, “Oh look, the water’s red again.” They will be able to wake up and go and swim in the beautiful river which was restored. So don’t just sit there! Look around you! I’m positive there is something you can do to help your community!