SPARE America's Wildlands

Hudson River, New York

Two hundred years ago, when American artists wanted to capture our nation's beauty for the rest of the world to see, they painted landscapes of the Hudson River Valley. Today, the famed Hudson River is contaminated with 1.3 million pounds of PCBs - a probable cancer-causing chemical dumped by General Electric from 1957 to 1975.

In 1980, the entire Hudson River from the Adirondacks to the edge of New York City was named a federal Superfund site because of the extent of PCB contamination. Over the past 19 years, the Environmental Protection Agency has delayed the cleanup numerous times and New Yorkers are still waiting to be able to safely fish, swim and appreciate the river in its entirety.

In order to preserve and protect the Hudson River, Governor George Pataki needs to put more pressure on both General Electric and the Environmental Protection Agency to expedite the cleanup.

Photo courtesy Hilary Trish

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