By Bass Louie
It was a whole week until I saw Cindy again. I was getting worried – what was taking so long to figure out about Apocalypse Fields??
Finally – I saw her topping the hill next to the lake, fast as she could. She even LOOKED like she was on a mission!
“Louie!” She called out to me as she speed-hiked toward the water. “You’re not going to believe this. You are in REAL DANGER, and so is your lake.”
“What? Why? What’s going on?” I asked.
“So I talked to my dad about what we’re working on, trying to find out what Apocalypse Fields is up to, and guess what?” she said. “THEY ARE TRYING TO DUMP THEIR WASTE CHEMICALS IN THE LAKE!”
WHAT?????
I looked at her dumbstruck. Why would they want to dump their trash chemicals in my gorgeous lake?
“So my dad has a friend that works at Apocalypse Fields, and he said that all the waste chemicals that are left over from making fertilizer, it costs a ton of money for them to properly dispose of it,” Cindy said. “So to save money, they want to buy your lake and then secretly dump their waste into it!”
“Oh no,” I said. “What can we do?” She could hear it in my voice that I was worried … really worried.
“Hey, don’t panic, Louie,” she said. “There are LOTS of things we can do.”
“First, we know that dumping waste chemicals is illegal, even if it’s on your own land,” she said. “So our first line of defense is to call and report it.”
“Who would we call?” I asked.
“Well, we can call the police,” she said. “That can be the best place to start because they’re close by and able to come out and check out the problem fast.”
“Another great thing to do is call the Environmental Protection Agency. You know, the EPA,” she said.
“The Environmental Protection Agency protects the environment here in America, because having a clean and healthy environment means people stay healthier because they’re not being poisoned by toxic chemicals. The EPA also works to protect the clean air, land, water and wildlife from environmental dangers – like pollution.”
“On the EPA website, www.EPA.gov, they list the number to call if you see an environmental disaster waiting to happen. I’m going to call the National Response Center.”
“But there’s so much more we can do,” she said. “One of the most powerful ways to fight evil is with good … good people! Getting the community involved, like our friends and family, to speak up against stuff that’s messed up is really powerful! There is strength in numbers!”
“Ok great. It feels good to know that we’re not alone here!” I said. “It makes me feel like I’m not helpless, because I have real people like you and our team, and the police and the EPA having our backs!”
“Me too!” Cindy said. “Ok so I’m going to go talk to Labcoat Larry and get some info on just HOW worried we have to be here – how dangerous IS IT to have a fertilizer company dump chemicals in our lake. I’ll be back as soon as I have something to tell you. Don’t worry Louie – we’re not going to let Apocalypse Fields win here!”
Find out what the Waterway Protectors are going to do to save Bass Louie’s lake in A Stinky Situation – Part 5: Labcoat Larry Jumps in to Help