Sam Dolnick, "Offerings to the Hindu Gods End Up as Jamaica Bay Trash," The New York Times, 4/22/11, (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E7D91138F931A15757C0A9679D8B63&ref=hinduism&pagewanted=1)

This article speaks about Hindu rituals that are respected by most but are also challenged by the same people. During rituals and offerings made for the goddess of the river, Ganga, followers put a variety of objects including coconuts, other fruits and foods, flowers, cremated ashes, flags, coins, and more into a bay near Queens. This bay leads into the Jamaican Bay and the objects not only have been polluting the waters but have also increased the risk of changing food chains due to the food being added to the waters. When I first started reading the article, I thought it was going to about how enraged people were about the water being polluted. As I read on, it became an article about how members of authority and members of the Hindu culture have been trying to work together to improve the situation. "'Pandit B. Rishi Misir, a Brooklyn priest who leads a Hindu group, USA Pandits' Parishad," is quoted saying, "They [Hindu followers] should understand we are in a different country now. Our scripture does mention that we should follow the country's rules and regulations. But some people are very stubborn.'" I think the article reflects not only positively to the authorities of the area but also upon the respect people do have for the Hindu traditions and rituals.