The Riverkeepers by Cronin and Kennedy - Book Report/Review Example

The River Keepers The Hudson River became a major battlefield in the U.S. among environmental activists due to pollution threats that made the residents of the shoreline including fishermen to raise the alarm. The concerns led to a legal suit that became the genesis of some of the national and state legislation on the environment. More so, there was the establishment of Soundkeeper organization that ensures the New York River remains healthy and safe for aquatic and human life. The author seeks to inform readers of environmentalism history in America and the roles and duties of Soundkeeper organization. The fundamental theme of the book is to provoke the readers to view environmental protection as a personal responsibility and demand responsible authorities to protect the environment as a fundamental and inalienable human right. The motivation resulting in the writing of the book is the essential role that water has played in American history. “Vital force providing opportunities for commerce, exploration, .means of recreation, .and creating much of the natural beauty’’ (John and Robert 11). The book starts with descriptions of the Hudson River, and its exploitation by industries.” Anaconda had delivered three decades of pollution-based prosperity John and Robert 18). The book culminates with the foundation of environmental laws in America. Although some of the chapters in between the book contain too many details, the book contains useful information relevant to the present environmental movement. In addition to giving information on a detailed sketch of environmental activism that can help students and policy makers in the field of environment. It is full of philosophical keystones as well as practical illustrations of the need to protect the environment. It is suitable for people of all classes especially at a time when environmental protection and climate change for headlines of local and international mass media (Riverkeepers 2014). The importance of clean air and water to life are not new to any person including children since from the earliest stage of life breathing determines the life of an infant. Water and air are essential components in the maintenance of a natural ecosystem that promotes the health of plants, animals, and people. Therefore, it is a personal intrinsic responsibility to protect the environment. There is also need to know that adherence to the rules governing the environmental conservation will boost the people’s health standards. A recent study has linked the increase in human illnesses like allergies and chronic illnesses to lack of biodiversity as a result of pollution (Conservation 2012). Such revelations should inspire people to discourage all forms of activities that risk animal and plants life. In order to achieve much in that sector, people need to understand the laws of the country to know the roles of the government and individuals in nation building. The constitution outlines the rights of citizens including access to an environment that is clean, safe and secure to promote health. The book gives basic and fundamental ethics that can help people to understand morally their responsibilities to the environment. The rights to the environment span from clean air to clean water. Instead of people thinking that preservation of the environment are privileges they receive from the government, reading the book will make them realize the ultimate rights that the government has to provide. Understanding the laws and interpreting them correctly will enable individuals and organizations to take appropriate actions against industries that think they are too powerful to pay for their harmful activities that harm the environment. The Riverkeepers show the various laws on the environment that they used to protect the residents of Hudson including fishermen. The laws helped them to go to court against powerful companies in the U.S. With proper knowledge of the laws they were able to collect sufficient evidence to win in lawsuits against the companies. People should know of the Environmental Defense Fund that can help them in dealing with local and international environmental issues (John and Robert 1999). By reading the Riverkeepers, one would understand the motive behind the activities of anti-environmental activists that claim that advocating for environmental conservancy is equivalent to working against property rights and make economic growth difficult. These people have unbalanced understanding of the benefits and consequences of protecting the environment. While some people may think that environmentalism hardly takes into consideration the livelihood of its workers, Riverkeepers demonstrates that job security can come with protecting the environment. Riverkeepers inspires everyday citizens, leaders in the government, government agencies and private corporate organizations to live as an environmentalist in order to demonstrate their loyalty to the country. In case there are people that felt that cleaning and preserving the environment is a monotonous duty because of the absence of support from other community members, the Riverkeepers provide encouragement and inspiration. It gives a real meaning to little acts of caring for the home environment as well as large occasions like cleaning River Hudson. The Riverkeepers helps people to identify and find their place in society through simple illustrations of philosophies and traditions at the foundation of environmental movement. Such misconceptions continue to exist as observed in the Congress votes on December 2011. A powerful coalition tried to undermine environmental laws like the Clean Air Act and dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency (Peter 2012). The coalition has been fought back by a small Colorado based team of advocates using the legal facts against the money and powers in the Congress. Ignorance would make it difficult for people to stand up for their environmental rights. The book has the history of the people of New York City about forty years ago as they strived to ensure that River Hudson remained in its state to sustain the needs of aquatic and animal life. It is the story of people exercising their democratic rights in activities that had benefits for their and future generations. It is a story that inspires and demands action from all citizens to protect the environment and ensure that everybody enjoys life at its fullest. The bad things in life would continue to happen so long as nobody takes action against them. It does not matter whether the act one intends to make have happened elsewhere or they will be historical like the Riverkeepers whose actions opened courts to environmental experts for the first time. Giving the dying river – a desolate industrial wasteland... heaped with garbage….poisoning the river….” (John and Robert 47). People hear similar stories in the present society through the media and various public forums including the presidential debates. The public had questions on the environment that they felt presidential candidates should provide answers. They had to include the utilization renewable energy sources like wind and sun so as to provide the energy needs of the country through their explanation. (Jacobson and Delucchi 2009). Democracy demands that people speak their minds in a way that does not discriminate or undermine other people’s interests, instead, creating a correlation between their standards of living as far as environmental conservation is concerned. There are possibilities of making a move that can improve the lives of many people as an individual or a group of people. Individuals that feel they have ideas that can make people’s lives best should not hesitate to come out and share their ideas with others. It is ethical for people to act on anything as long as they have essential facts. These people love their country and can do anything to safeguard the lives of present and future generations. Such people need to get appropriate information and work closely with relevant authorities to make the desired changes possible. At a time when the environment continues to degrade because of irresponsible human activities, individuals, and corporate institutions must take action to stop any further degradation. The federal and state authorities might not always be able to detect acts that harm the environment in all parts of the country. The public has the responsibility of reporting any incidences that they suspect to have harmful consequences on the environment. Standing for the environment is a true celebration of democracy in the country and a commitment towards sustainable development. Additionally, the public has the mandate to address and sensitize people to adhere to the morals overriding conservation of the environment as well as being ethical. Formation of young people’s movements will greatly enhance positive motives and ethical issues towards protecting the environment. Although the book managed to arouse the interests of people on environment issues, it would have done better had the author and co-author included maps of the environmental issue of the River Hudson. This factor would be important for people that were not familiar with the River and other locations that span the scope of the book. Maps and photos would have made the book more interesting by helping readers to identify with the environment and the activities of activists. Nevertheless, the Riverkeepers is a must read for all citizens for the life of present and future generations. Works Cited Alexander, Jeff. Time Bomb in the Great Lakes. National Wildlife 51(6):2013. http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/95675488/time-bomb-great-lakes Conservation. Letting Biodiversity Get under our Skin. Ecological Health Nature: University of Washington. September 7 2012. Web. John Cronin and Robert Kennedy. The Riverkeepers: Two Activists Fight to Reclaim Our Environment as a Basic Human Right. Scribner: New York: 1999. Print. Mark Z. Jacobson and Mark A. Delucchi. A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030,” Scientific American, 2009. Print. Peter Edidin. The front line: How our small legal team is fighting to save the Clean Air Ac. Solutions 43 (2): 2012. Web. https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/2012_Spring-EDF_Solutions.pdf Riverkeeper. A Brief History. 2014. Web. Read More