Page 11 - Sonoma County Gazette April 2020
P. 11

PROGRESS cont’d from page 8
That’s the point. TIME heals & we find solutions.
My HOPE from the Corona Virus Pandemic is that this tiny cell will show us, on maps and in numbers, that we are
all connected & all vulnerable in the SAME WAY.
 Before recycling, people threw discarded items into holes in their backyards and burned what was flammable. I still find shards of glass and metal when I garden from previous residents of my
This virus does not differentiate by race, religion or nationality. When we look at maps these days,
old house.
Years ago, I wrote brochures on the
we are seeing the entire globe in 2 and 3-D. This IMAGE is the vision we saw when the space program launched bringing us photos of
first mass recycling efforts in San Jose where trucks were designed to pick up sorted trash people left in color- coded bins curbside. This was HUGE at the time because landfills had filled up and SOMETHING had
earth from outer space. We were in awe and stunned by the fragility of our planet.
to change! Now we have ZERO WASTE and Recology offering us ways to recycle and compost our consumables.
Perhaps we can be stunned by the veracity of a tiny cell that
levels the playing field.
We see videos of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean
and mountains of plastic that will
never decompose and find ourselves frightened by the prospect of being
buried under plastic. Yet people still purchase plastic bottles, plastic toys,
plastic everything. Thank goodness there are young scientists turning plastic into fuel and useable items.
Air Quality is improving every day from shltering-in-place. People are spending time together as they never get to do when they are busy. They are finding many ways to CONNECT.
It’s always the next generation who solves the problems the previous generation created. With
each new crop of humans we seem to be getting more conscious about the impact we are having on Earth.
generations coming up can ride on the backs of our accomplishments to improve what we started
RESOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Environmental_disaster The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Is Not What You Think It Is | seeker.com/The Swim
https://www.nationalgeographic. org/encyclopedia/great-pacific- garbage-patch/
How Chernobyl became an ‘accidental wildlife sanctuary’
Animals have thrived in the disaster zone since it was evacuated in 1986, visible on a new wildlife tour https://www.irishtimes. com/life-and-style/travel/ europe/how-chernobyl- became-an-accidental-wildlife- sanctuary-1.3909800
David “McMillan’s Chernobyl: An Intimation of the Way the World Would End,” at the Oakland University Art Gallery https:// detroitartreview.com/2019/02/ david-mcmillans-chernobyl- ouag/
This is an amazing time in our lives. There are reasons to believe that earth
can heal, and that life gets better with time. Over the 7 decades I have inhabited this paradise, I have seen our fragile home
improve at the same time she has suffered. My time here is dwindling but the next
and bring our home into full and vibrant health.
Happy 50th Anniversary Earth Day!
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