58 seventy percent of the tumors were cancerous. This terrible human hazard was due entirely to the water pollution from industries, as the tumor rate in the Fox fish was found to be four times higher than that of identical fish in less-polluted Canadian waters.18 This signified that the fines for dumping toxic waste into waterways needed to be raised to the point that the industries needed to construct facilities for neutralizing the poisons instead. In fact, in 2017, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced a measure that proposed the increase of fines for illegally dumping large quantities of toxic waste from $3,500 to $30,000, strongly discouraging companies from trying to evade the proper disposal of waste.19 All of these examples directly impacting the Fox River provide consequential lessons as to how decisions can go awry, how to mitigate problems that arise, and how to make more informed decisions in the future. The Fox River has changed as humans evolved, as their interests changed, as they made mistakes and attempted to fix them. From examining the repercussions and advantages of past decisions concerning similar rivers, lessons can be learned and applied when similar conversations emerge concerning the Fox River. Situations involving the intentional addition of species, either to supplement existing populations or to introduce new ones, can be convoluted and difficult to predict, which is when it is essential to look towards the past. Furthermore, there are many fishermen around the Fox River, and they can be of significant assistance in the conservation efforts, so long as they are properly regulated. Overall, the most crucial part of this process is to be thorough in the examination of the predicted outcomes and their impact on the river, to ensure the well-being of all inhabitants of the Fox River. 18 Stone, Brenda. “Peril of Cancer from Fox River Fish Revealed.” Chicago Tribune, March 30, 1974. https://www.proquest.com/hnpchicagotribune/docview/171112256/76D10610E5F24CF0PQ/5. 19 Musulin, K., & Boteler, C. (2017, October 4). Update: Chicago officials move forward on illegal dumping measure. Waste Dive. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://www.wastedive.com/news/update-chicago-officials-move-forward-onillegal-dumping-measure/505734/
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjg3OTMy