Page 2 - Sonoma County Gazette April 2019

Dear Readers
It’s just not possible to imagine how you inspire, gather, and lay out so much excellent material every month. The current issue is jam-packed with interesting, inspiring, useful information. ~ Bob Higham
Words of encouragement go a long way. THANK YOU BOB!
I know the print edition of the Gazette is a big deal to loyal readers. Yes, we have a robust website that never pauses between print editions, but contrary to what’s happening with newsprint media, magazines attract casual readers who want to relax with a paper in their hands.
Because we are committed to being eco-earth-friendly, we won’t print on glossy paper that can’t be recycled. Our paper in uncoated, recycled content with soy-based inks and is worm-box and compost pile biodegradable. Walking our talk is important. How can we have so many articles about being earth-conscious if we don’t live what we preach?
As a mother and grandmother, I am especially conscious of the future for my family. I was also raised this way by my father and his parents. When you grow up thinking about what happens to the object you are about to purchase when you no longer want it, you develop a habit to put things back on the shelf that don’t fit your value system.
Yes, we all make exceptions from time-to-time. Small ones in my family begging for a plastic toy have to listen to my lecture on landfill. The pregnant whale who died because she was starving to death with plastic in her belly is a recent example of how our actions impact others.
My almost 13-year-old granddaughter reassured me that her mother would never allow non-organic makeup, so don’t worry Nana. I want to know that what she puts on her skin is safe from toxins that are in common make-up.
We all know people dying from cancer. When I see what people put into their grocery carts, I wonder how they don’t make the connection between what they eat and how their health is impacted.
When I was a kid, we had no consciousness of any of this. We used to chase the DDT truck that came through our neighborhoods to control mosquitoes. We thought is was cool to be covered in the sweet-smelling liquid.
So much has changed for the better in the last 50 years. When people fear the future, I look back at how many improvements have been made. Keep it up...we still have a long way to go.
2 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 4/19