David Nightingale, WAMC: One of the most egregious abuses of the Hudson took place between 1947 and 1977, with big industry dumping PCBs into the River at Hudson Falls, harming wildlife, fish and people downstream, and causing General Electric to be required to clean up the bed of the river — incidentally a not-easily defined task.

Now a much larger industry — the nation’s oil and gas industry (and it’s not clear exactly what the specific name is) — has asked the Coast Guard for permission to build 10 parking spots, of 43 parking berths in all, for crude oil barges and tankers — ugly 600′ hulks with bright lights and generators at night, despoiling views during the day. These parking spots are proposed in river towns such as Dobbs Ferry, Hastings-on-Hudson, Roseton, Marlboro, Milton, Port Ewen and others.  Listen to the podcast.