We have had a problem for many years with water pollution coming into the United States from Mexico on the Tijuana River. Raw sewage is also coming from a aqueduct about 5 miles north of Rosarito, Mexico. Sometimes when it rains our beaches are closed for swimming along our coast from Imperial Beach all the way up to the City of Coronado. Let's not talk about the fish or the other living things like birds or the clams along the beach; we eat them. The good news is that Mexico and the United States have been working on this major problem and some improvements are happening along our rivers and our beaches in Mexico and the US. Some members of congress like Brian Bilbray, who was mayor of Imperial Beach, Duncan Hunter Sr., Bob Filner and all the way up to Al Gore and Dick Cheney have put lots of pressure on Mexico to clean up the complicated, troubling situation. Sometimes things have not gone the way they were supposed to go, that's for sure, but they did try and you can see and smell the difference to our beaches. Especially in Imperial Beach I think, where in 1988 I got very sick surfing at the beach. It changed my life and health; I suffer pain each day of my life from just surfing at the beach.

Most people do not know or do not care that San Diego in the past has also put raw sewage into the sea and bays coming from rain run off, so we need to do some work on this side of the border too. I'm being nice to you San Diego; let's work on it, okay? The organization called "WiLDCOAST" is always trying to work out something to clean up things, I always seem to find them out there doing something along the Tijuana River: picking up trash, making movies, or something. They have had some problems for pushing people to fix things in the past, but I think they are good people as far as I can tell. We also need to thank the hard working people on the Mexican side of the border to who have also been trying to fix the sewage problem in Mexico; it is a little harder working over there than here. I know some of you in other countries around the world are saying "You think you got a problem, come look at this!" I know, you fix your own problems too, I am trying to fix my own; this is our world, only we can fix it. By the way, I'm not an environmental wacko, I am just a christian person, like most of you, whatever faith you are, taking care of my earth where I live. By the way, I do go out there and pick up trash with my family by hand and bags with other people. What do you think?