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Parents and children under seige. When U.S. industry and manufacturing collapsed or went elsewhere, cities like Elgin, IL, and Syracuse, NY, (like many communities in the United States) were left with the task of redefining themselves for a new paradigm. Leading the way to a greener, more sustainable Elgin is a group of high school students. Despite many innovative programs to get Syracuse back on its feet, the city struggles with the larger problem of Lake Onondaga, the most polluted lake in our nation. Local Native American Onondaga tribal leader, Oren Lyons, serves as conscience in the movement to restore Lake Onondaga for “Seven Generations to come.” And in Riverside, CA, 16-year old science prodigy, Otana Jakpor, has a personal reason for her war against air pollution. She takes her battle all the way to the White House.
1,706 Comments
Dr. Jackson,
Thank you so much for bringing this issue to the forefront for America. There is another area of “Places of the Heart” that I feel needs to be explored. The elderly populations along with people with certain disabilities are left stranded when they leave the hospital. Their choices are limited by the care and the tools they can afford at home. If they can’t afford this, then the cycle goes as follows; hospital – Rehab therapy – home, then (don’t have the care or tools needed at home)so it’s back to the same old cycle again only this time after the hospital it is a Nursing home for rehab and eventually a lifetime stay. Who loses? Not only Mrs. Jones who has to give up all of her assets and family doesn’t feel comfortable visiting in that environment so she is left lonely and uncared for, but the community also loses because the local grocery store, Pharmacist and the hair stylist doesn’t have her business anymore, along with the teenager mowing her lawn for a few bucks. The family loses because their inheritance is gone along with the house and visiting becomes harder, strange and impersonal. We have a model to break that cycle and feel you would benefit from this also to include it in your series. Please email me back to discuss this missing piece.
Kind Regards,
John
We live on the Onondaga Nation just south of Syracuse, NY. This was a great episode for me and my 2 young children to watch. My kids know about the importance of the lake to our people and they also know that it is very polluted. This episode was able to clearly show how it got that way and what is in that lake.
~Brad