Passaic River Cleanup 
After reading the article from The Washington Post about the Newark river cleanup, there are some mixed thoughts that come about. I think it's a good initiative, but I think they should use their funding to solve the issues at the source. If the EPA could stop businesses from dumping waste into the river, it would make the cleanup easier on them since the source of the pollution would cease. There were some questions about this initiative, too, as to whether or not the barrier and slabs will hold during storms. I think it's an interesting and well-intentioned idea, but I think the funds could be used more wisely.
This is an important topic to most people in the class on a personal level, since many students come from New Jersey, and even from Newark. Over the summer, I worked with a Nature Camp in Madison that was based at Memorial Park. We headed to the river a lot over the summer, and it was full of broken glass an garbage, which was really disappointing to the counselors and kids alike. Each week of the camp talked about different subjects, one of which being water. So, we taught the kids the importance of clean water through different crafts and fun facts, so that they know how dependent on water we all are. Additionally, we had speakers from the Great Swamp teach a class, and they brought a 3D model of the Passaic River to show the kids how much this river means to so many people.

3D map provided by the Great Swamp

So, reading this article about the river cleanup gave me mixed emotions. I'm happy people are doing something to help a large group of people- I just hope it's a project that is stable enough to make a lasting impact for many generations.