Guest Blog: Oceans and Rivers . . . and Poetry

My good friend, Ben Grumbles, runs the Office of Water at EPA.

Thanks, Marcus, for letting me pinch hit for your blog. I'm honored by the chance to stick my foot (and mouth) into your "Flow of the River." And the timing couldn't be better. October is all about rivers and oceans (as well as baseball). Last week, America celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. And today is the 35th birthday of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (a.k.a. the Ocean Dumping Act) which has protected our country's coasts and oceans by banning the dumping of industrial waste and municipal sewage and restricting the disposal of dredged material.

Ocean stewardship comes in all shapes and sizes, connecting citizens and civil servants, science and ships, to protect beaches, bays, and the deep blue. Last month, the President urged the Senate to ratify the London Protocol, an important new treaty that will protect the world's oceans from dumping. Coastal America, an enduring partnership of Federal agencies, advances ocean literacy and environmental awareness at Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers. Citizens like Jerry Enzler of the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa, are helping students, K through Gray, see the ecological and cultural linkage between inland rivers and their distant bays and coasts.

EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds has not only one of the coolest acronyms in government (OWOW) but also the 224 foot Ocean Survey Vessel, the Bold (see picture). This floating laboratory is one of EPA's greatest assets for coastal pollution prevention, environmental enforcement, marine monitoring, and public education.

Two poems in honor of the Ocean Dumping Act’s 35th Birthday:

Ocean

Ocean
blue, gray and green
gallops up to the shore
like a friendly puppy
licking your toes

Joanna, 11 (winner in annual River of Words contest, 2001)

Where Many Rivers Meet

And the mouths of the rivers
sing into the Sea,
the stories buried in the mountains
give out into the sea,
And the sea remembers
And sings back
From the depths
Where nothing is forgotten.

David Whyte (A former marine biologist, now poet living in the Pacific Northwest)

Let's not forget the progress we've made protecting and restoring America's rivers and oceans, from ridges to reefs and white water to blue water, and the need to do more.

Go Rockies! Go Mariners!