Criminal or not, dumping abhorrent

Afficionados of the television series "Mad Men" are either tickled or revolted by the show's boozy, misogynistic portrayal of workplace mores of the early 1960s. The show is as much a study of how things remain the same as much as how different they are.

There is a scene in one episode, though, in which any sane person had the same reaction. The picture-perfect Draper family drives the shiny new Cadillac to a park, lays out the blanket and has a picnic. An idyllic '60s scene, to be sure, until the meal's done, it's time to go and they grab the blanket, scattering the detritus of their lunch all over the park, and drive away.

The camera lingers on the trash - certainly a deeper commentary on the characters themselves, but for us, today, a revolting reminder of how we used to litter without a thought.

Fast forward to May 2010 when a couple of bozos dump at least one barrel of chemicals down a storm drain that feeds into a creek, which in turn feeds into the Fox River in South Elgin.

Turns your stomach, doesn't it?

Conservation police working for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources are investigating as the spill that killed dozens of fish in the stream is cleaned up.

Was it criminal? That's for the court to decide.

But to a person, it was reprehensible.

The Keep America Beautiful organization started its anti-litter campaign in 1953, and it picked up steam in the '60s. Few will forget the crying Indian PSA that debuted on Earth Day in 1971.

You'd think by now we'd all be wired differently - that the default in our brains would be to dispose of yuck like acids and used motor oil and old paint and other stuff we produce in our daily lives in a more responsible, ecologically friendly manner than dumping it in a storm sewer.

People are even picking up on the notion that when grandma dies it's not safe to flush her unused medication down the toilet because it is a biohazard that's finding its way into our drinking water and our kids.

There is a hero in this story, and that is Ben Culos.

The South Elgin resident was spending his own idyllic Saturday afternoon watching the springtime activities of carp in the creek near his home.

And then he saw a bubbly, foaming blob float down the creek toward the river - the same river from which the cities of Elgin and Aurora draw their drinking water.

Culos called the police, who traced the origin of the bubbles to an industrial park upstream. Police reports say an officer witnessed one of the men dumping the contents of a blue barrel into the storm drain.

Shame on them.

And bully for Ben. It's sad that today we still need people to keep a watchful eye for polluters. But we do. We applaud Ben for sticking his neck out to do what's right.