Working to plant a tree in downtown Wilkes-Barre on a recent Friday morning are Career and Technical Center students Nebula Newhart, Reily Mills, Danny Ortiz and David Johnson with urban forester Vinnie Cotrone.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Happy Earth Day! We could fill this space with concerns about the current president’s peculiar obsession with attacking renewable energy projects like wind and solar power, or his baffling embrace of an electric-car-pioneering billionaire while insisting that oil is the future. We could argue that even if you believe “global warming” isn’t proven, we would still be better off getting past fossil fuels. How different would the war with Iran be if we had reduced reliance on oil here and elsewhere?
But Earth Day isn’t about big picture debates like that, or at least it isn’t just about them. After all, the first Earth Day in 1970 was designed to spark widespread interest in environmental issues that most people didn’t know about or fully appreciate. The movement arguably helped accomplish “big picture” things like the Endangered Species Act, Superfund, the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Clean Air Act (among others), but it did so over a decade of growing awareness that spurred such legislation.
In many places, Earth Day has become an opportunity for many little but meaningful efforts, the kind of one-day activity that could easily become life-changing —and earth-changing — habits.
You can sift through your old clothes or other unused items and find places that will accept them as donations to be re-purposed rather than becoming landfill fodder.
Similarly, you can look into recycling programs that will let you get rid of items no longer useful or even functional to you, but can be kept out of the trash stream. Find your municipality’s website and see if you’ve been missing out on curbside pick-ups for common recyclables like paper, cardboard, bottles and cans. If you haven’t been using the service, get the required bins and start. Luzerne County’s website (luzernecounty.org) has info on a wide range of recycling options, from the usual home refuse to oil, gas, electronics and even household hazardous waste.
You can visit the Luzerne County Transportation Authority website (lctabus.com) to check bus schedules and routes and see if any suit your travel needs (there’s even a myStop link to plan trips). And if you are 65 or older, you’re eligible for a pass that lets you ride LCTA all day, every day, for free during regular service hours.
Plant a tree, or organize a tree-planting. This could be as simple as picking a spot on your own property and heading to a garden center for advice on the right tree for your site. Or if you want to become a modern-day Johnny Appleseed, visit the Penn State Extension for a good dose of info on community tree planning (extension.psu.edu)
The possibilities are endless. Join a local clean-up effort (or organize one). Start your own backyard compost pile to turn plant food waste into mulch. Stop buying individual plastic bottles of water and replace them with a reusable one you fill yourself. Plan a little extra time to walk (or bike) to nearby destinations rather than automatically grabbing the car keys. Take a bag or two to the grocery store so they don’t send you home with more plastic bags to deal with. Switch your incandescent light bulbs to LEDs.
It’s a big earth, but keeping it a little greener and healthier can be done in small steps.
