Mark Angelo recently returned to England to paddle the section of the Thames through greater London. Mark has traveled the river many times and he first paddled the Thames with his now wife, Kathie, 45 years ago. On their first trip down the river all those decades ago, the Thames was largely a dead river due to extensive pollution problems. But after a massive effort to clean it up, the river has since recovered to a remarkable degree. The lower river now teems with fish where there were few not that many years ago. While there is still work to be done (and local groups such as Thames 21 are doing remarkable things), the recovery of the Thames highlights the fact that, if you do the right thing, we can in fact turn things around. As Mark has stated many times, we should never give up on any river. (image – Mark Angelo paddling on the Thames in central London).
