Here goes nothin'

On the other side of Hampton Roads, the Elizabeth River Project laid out a bold plan last week to make what is the most polluted river in the state both "fishable and swimmable" by 2020.
The grassroots group was joined at riverside by four southside mayors and state officials who pledged their support for the ambitious goal.
Unlike most creeks and tributaries that mostly suffer from too many nutrients and too much sediment, the Elizabeth remains hobbled by toxic pollutants.
That and the continued heavy industrial presence make the "fishable and swimmable" goal a tough one. But it has one thing going for it: Rather than weighing down the project with weighty terminology and environmental jargon, the Elizabeth River Project boils it all down to two things everyone can understand. Make it fishable. Make it swimmable.
A couple days after the kickoff, reality hit home in the form of Lake Explorer II. The 90-foot ship — an Environmental Protection Agency research vessel, for those interested in irony — spilled about 1,400 gallons of diesel fuel. The cause is being investigated.