In Chapter 6, I believe the discussion on New York City’s treatment of various bodies of water, including estuaries, marshes, and rivers, highlights people’s longstanding ignorance to the negative consequences of polluting and damaging vital ecosystems. McCully states that many industrial factories, petroleum refineries, and chemical plants in the City were “clustered” around rivers and tidal creeks because the rivers and creeks provided a convenient way of “discharging their waste” for the businesses (85). At the same time, fishermen saw the abundance of fishes and other sea animals and over-harvested them to the point where some, such as oysters, disappeared from New York harbor when they used to be found abundantly throughout the City (84). In both of these actions, people were able to receive some short term benefit. However, the problem is that the lack of consideration comes back to harm people in the long run due to the loss of significant ecosystems but also in more direct forms. For example, the dumping of waste in rivers contaminated fishes with chemicals such as PCBs that were harmful to pregnant women and children, making it risky to eat fish (88). Throughout this chapter and our other readings, we see that by harming ecosystems, we harm ourselves because the City is part of those ecosystems even if most people do not think of it that way.
When people have thought long term and acted, the City and nature have both benefited. The development of modern sewage treatment and the passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972 have both been beneficial despite the initial cost of enacting both of these measures. One of the questions I was asking myself by the end of the chapter, is how will we deal with an increasing population that is inevitable? As the population increases, the City will produce more waste and that waste must be properly handled to not harm the environment. On page 94, McCully attributes the destruction of the Meadowlands to large population increases in the City that created more waste to be dumped. I think the City has learned from this and will not just use an area as a convenient dumping site but I wonder how will the City handle future population increases that will inevitably lead to waste increases.
