Reuters: Cleaning U.S. rivers, one refrigerator at a time...great article

[catgirl]

PADUCAH, Kentucky (Reuters) - The day's catch from one of America's greatest rivers is massive: dozens of tires, coils of barge rope, thousands of plastic bottles, an old green couch -- and a single naked leg.


The clean-up volunteers spotted the severed limb of a small mannequin almost as soon as they landed on the bank of the Ohio River. The white plastic flesh was stained with mud from hip to toes, like most of the garbage that would soon fill the Living Lands & Waters barge to near overflowing.

"Dolls are the creepiest things you find," said Brent Pregracke, 37, one of about 100 people out on a recent spring day to help his brother Chad clean America's rivers one beer can -- or refrigerator -- at a time.

Chad Pregracke was considered little more than a boyish nut when he set out on the Mississippi 10 years ago in a small fishing boat, determined to clean a 435-mile stretch of America's most storied river.

more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070517/us_nm/rivers_dc;_ylt=Alp393ZcvL33UVjFRcLuDqXMWM0F

[Captain Hilts]

1. You don't go sculling on the Potomac after a heavy rain in West Va.

I've seen all sorts of things floating down the Potomac.

Yes, I've seen refrigerators too. I guess they get an air bubble or the door hold fast when closed.