Thursday, April 9, 2015

A Close Encounter With A Bluebonnet And A Fisherman Has Me Wondering Why Texans Tolerate Polluted Water

I had this year's first up close and personal visit with a Texas bluebonnet today whilst walking with the Indian Ghosts who haunt Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

What a difference a couple weeks has made in North Texas. That which was previously brown has turned bright green. Leaves have returned to the trees.

The Village Creek zone is well on its way to its annual return to being jungle-like.

But, where have all the armadillos gone? Is this not the time of year when those cute critters go into fun frolic mode? Come to think of it I have not seen any armadillo roadkill this spring. Did the badly timed March freeze wreak havoc with the armadillo population?

The March freeze caused the turtle population no woes, judging by the herd of turtles today populating the Village Creek turtle log.

I was not the only human out and about enjoying the balmy weather walking with the Indian Ghosts. I came upon multiple walkers, a biker or two and one fisherman who said he releases that which he catches, due to the fish not being safe to eat.

Would one not think that if the water in your home zone was so polluted that fish living in that water were not safe to eat that some energy would be put into cleaning up the water?

I recollect a long time ago Lake Washington in Washington was badly polluted. As were parts of Puget Sound. A massive bond issue called Forward Thrust was passed which caused several things to be built, including new water treatment facilities which returned Puget Sound, Lake Washington, and other bodies of Washington water back to their original safe state. And now, in 2015, years later, salmon manage to make the trek through the Ballard Locks en route to Lake Washington, where if you managed to catch one it is perfectly safe to have yourself a salmon barbecue using that which you caught.

North Texas needs some sort of forward thinking Forward Thrust proposal to fix some of that which is in dire need of fixing on this part of the planet. If little ol' Western Washington can manage such a thing one would think big ol' North Texas could....

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