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Article: perceptions of the burning river: deindustrialization and CLEVELAND'S CUYAHOGA RIVER
- Article from:
- Environmental History
- Article date:
- July 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Environmental History Jul 2008. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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ABSTRACT
In 1969, Cleveland's Cuyahoga River caught fire and burned for about twenty minutes, damaging two railroad trestles. After initially receiving little local news coverage, the fire evolved into an iconic event of the environmental crisis. Significantly, the river had caught fire at least nine times before 1969. Why, then, did the 1969 fire garner so much interest? We argue that the growing importance of the burning river reveals one consequence of the long, wrenching process of deindustrialization in Cleveland and much of the United States. Press coverage of the earlier fires focused on economic issues. The Cuyahoga and its industrial flats were at the heart of Cleveland's economy; ...