Chad+Pregracke,+Cleaning+Up+the+Mess

Original Author: Taja Hanson, A&S195 SP10 Revision Author:  Our rivers are have become tremendously polluted today, The Mississippi River is the most polluted (and largest). There is one man in the Quad Cities area that has taken it upon himself to do what is necessary to reverse this, Chad Pregracke. “The Mississippi River was literally Chad Pregracke’s backyard while growing up outside of Hampton, Illinois” (Living). Pregracke has set out to take care of something so extremely important to the Midwest but also something that has played a major role throughout his life. During high school and college, Chad worked on the river as a fisherman and barge hand, he camped on the islands and shorelines to save money (Living). “It was during this time that Chad began to realize how neglected the rivers were, with the unsightly and toxic accumulation of trash along their banks” (Living).  Through this experience Chad Pregracke was able to see the destruction of the rivers and the habitats that surround them today. Something the public does not see on an everyday, especially in the cities. Chad decided to step in and do the job if no one else would, “one river, one piece of garbage at a time” (Living). Tim Wall describes the beginning of Chad’s project to clean the river; “Chad had been pushing a wheelbarrow up and down the banks of the Mississippi River 12 hours a day all summer long…[a]luminum cans, plastic bottles, soggy boxes, old tires…and it was all making its way from Chad’s grasp to recycling centers to landfills” (Wall x). “In his first season, Chad removes 45,000 pounds of refuse from the Quad Cities area and people begin taking notice” (Living). “In 1998 at the age of 23, Chad founded Living Lands & Waters, a not-for-profit organization based in East Moline, Illinois, dedicated to cleaning up and preserving our nation’s rivers” (Living).  Soon word spread of Chad Pregracke’s incredible work to clean the rivers. “People all over were beginning to eye the water quality of the Mississippi River with a new perspective. They wanted to change the neglected and abused situation that had festered for years” (Barrow and Pregracke 54). “Since the project’s inception, Chad, his crew, and over 60,000 volunteers have collected over 6 million pounds of debris from our nation’s greatest rivers. “ (Living). This is an amazing accomplishment that Chad himself started more than ten years ago. He is someone the Quad Cities can be proud of. He obviously deeply cares about the Mississippi River, but also Chad deep love for life itself. The Mississippi River is a major lifeline for many, and who knows what condition it would be in today if it was not for Chad Pregracke. Here are a few River Stats: “587 milk crates, 83 toilets, 55,301 tires, 12,322 balls, 775 refrigerators, 179 television sets, 128 BBQ grills, 42 messages in a bottle, and 181 coolers” (Living). One can only imagine if the entire Mississippi had a clean-up crew like ‘Living Lands and Waters’ what they might find and how much of it.  Living Lands and Waters’ mission is: To aid in the protection, preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the nation's major rivers and their watersheds. To expand awareness of environmental issues and responsibility encompassing the river. To create a desire and an opportunity for stewardship and responsibility for a cleaner river environment. (Living)   Chad Pregracke continues to be an inspiration to the Quad Cities area. “Chad was the recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service, America’s version of the Nobel Prize, in June 2002” (Living). “Most recently, Chad expanded the mission of the organization to include Big River Educational Outreach, The MillionTrees Project, and the Adopt-a-River Mile programs” (Living). Outside of cleaning up rivers, Chad has found a way to accomplish so much more for the environment. The URL for ‘Living Lands and Waters’ if there is anyone interested in getting involved is []   <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> ** <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Works Cited ** <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Barrow, Jeff, and Chad Pregracke. // From the Bottom Up: one man's crusade to clean America's Rivers //. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 2007. Print. // <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Living Lands and Waters //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. N.p. n.d. 9 May 2010. [|http://livinglandsandwaters.org] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Wall, Tim. Introduction. // From the Bottom Up: one man's crusade to clean America's // // <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Rivers //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. Chad Pregracke and Jeff Barrow. DC: National Geographic Society, 2007. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Return to The Rivers <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Return to Home
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Chad Pregracke, Cleaning Up the Mess **