Apr 22nd, 2008
Protecting the Earth, Step by Step
Garbage day is Monday at the Politis household, which means that every Sunday night before retiring for the evening, Poppa P gets to take the trash cans out to the curb.
And for 10 years, that has also meant taking the green recycling can out to the curb as well, filled (as often as not) with newspapers, cardboard and other paper products, as well as with empty soda bottles and aluminum cans too.
In spite of the fact that I assiduously collected newspapers, aluminum cans and glass of all types and colors as a 13-year-old to help pay for a month-long summer trip to visit cousins in Ogden, Utah, the truth is that for most of my life I’ve been a reluctant recycler. But not anymore.
Intellectually, I realize that throughout modern history unscrupulous profiteers have illegally dumped toxic liquids, chemicals and materials into our water, air and land, and wantonly harvested plants, animals and compounds from the earth with little thought about long-term consequences and/or sustainability. In this regard, I am glad that there are now tougher laws in place to halt, minimize and prevent such actions in the future and to seriously penalize those who thwart such regulations.
That said, I have often felt overwhelmed at the enormity of the task, particularly as one individual out of a worldwide population of more than 6 billion.
“What can I do?” I have wondered when contemplating the environment. “And will my solitary actions make any difference?”
Today being Earth Day 2008, I realize that I do not have such questions any more.
