Thoughts
by Hugh Carola
It never fails. On each and every Eco-Cruise we host, people can't help but notice that our Meadowlands is an oasis of wildness in the center of an urban landscape. Countless photographs have been taken from the deck of the "Robert H. Boyle" that show the New York skyline rising up from behind the reeds. Every videographer we've ever brought aboard has taken footage of the city from the water. As you can imagine, until the events that befell New York City on September 11, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were often prominently featured. As we're all painfully aware, those days are over. Among all the changes, even our Eco-Cruises are different.
There is now empty sky behind Laurel Hill. Looking out along the Sawmill Creek toward the east is much different than it used to be. Passengers now ask us, "What did the Twin Towers look like from the River?" Like the commuters who drive the Turnpike daily and who looked upon the Trade Center as sort of big mile marker by which they could gauge their commute, Capt. Bill and I were always conscious of the towers' presence on the horizon. We still are even though they're gone.
A year ago my family and I visited the top of the WTC for the first time. Those of you who've played tourist remember the views: south to the Verrazano Bridge and out to Sandy Hook; north to the Empire State Building and up the Hudson; east over Brooklyn to the head of Long Island Sound; and west to the Meadowlands and the Hackensack River. Literally all the waterways of our region could be seen from the 120th floor! I wondered then if the people who worked in the towers appreciated the vistas the way visitors did. I figured that even after the novelty wore off, it was still probably a hoot for most of them. At least I hope it was.
I've learned two important lessons since September 11. The first is that we must be vigilant to ensure that ecologically damaging ideas are not put forth under the guise of national or regional security. For if we sacrifice our limited natural resources to opportunistic development schemes, future generations will remember us with loathing and the terrorists will have won. The other lesson is that I have come to love the natural places in my life more than before. Places like Cape Breton Island, Acadia National Park, Island Beach, Tillman Ravine, the Allendale Celery Farm and Sawmill Creek have the power to salve the soul and bring peace to the mind. Perhaps now, more than ever, it is time to rededicate ourselves to protecting the natural and wild places of our world, especially the ones closest to home. I think it is.