I did my part for Earth Day…what are you going to do?

I stare at the same small 1/4 acre sized wetland everyday I am at the office.  I watch the geese eat the grass, the birds splash in the water, the lizards sunning themselves, etc.  I have also watched the trash/litter increase exponentially so I figured with today being Earth Day, it was the perfect opportunity to do my part….

After 2 hours of very dirty work, I am happy to say my sweet little wetland is clean!  Now I am not writing this to feel good about myself, I am writing this so that next Earth Day I don’t have to go out and clean out 100 lbs of trash and 458 cigarette butts from 1/4 acre wetland!

I realize that we all live busy lives so what I am asking is not that you go out and clean-up a wetland (although if your are inclined please do) what I am asking is that you don’t litter and that you take the time to teach the younger generation that litter hurts!

Every week I get at least one email from someone who is fed-up with all the trash and litter.  They have told me that they videoed people dumping couches into a stream near their home while another nearly everyday clean-ups around the same city block and still brings home 2 garbage bag loads of litter.  I believe I have told you before that my family picks up trash every time we go to the beach and inevitably one of my kids ask why there is so much trash…I really don’t know!

I grew up in the day when the Owl told me to “Give a hoot, don’t pollute”, as did the Crying Indian.  The other night on TV I saw a commercial with a young band doing a public service announcement about cigarette butt litter and how damaging it is.  Honestly, I am surprised we still need these reminders!  It is not just the big companies that dump oil or toxins that harm our environment…its the things we do as well.  One cigarette can pollute 1 gallon of water enough to kill one fish.  A glass bottle takes 1 million years to bio-degrade.  Plastic bags are now the second most littered item (behind cigarette butts) and kill more sea and bird life than anything else.  We all have to do our part and it does not have to be great to make an impact…one million small acts are greater than 1 large act!

Ok, I will get off my soapbox for the time being but please remember that all litter hurts.  So remember to care for the Earth (at this point we have no where else to relocate to) and all its creatures!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!