Earth Day

I’d like to see Earth Day moved to a fixed day like the 3rd Saturday of April, for instance. I think when it falls on a weekday that leaves people to think that they missed it. Well Earth Day is pretty much every day for me so I don’t really pay it much attention.
Saturday I did one of my regular semi-annual projects. I take my wheelbarrow and walk up my street to the town forest and collect trash along the way. It’s probably only about a mile or so of road, but it’s a common littering spot.
The wheelbarrow was full and I headed back to the house by 8:30, then I took my daughter to her Earth Day fundraiser on the town common and went kayaking.
I hadn’t been to the Oxbow at Depot Rd. yet this year and wanted to check up on it. When I go there, an officer from the environmental police showed up. We chatted for a few minutes about the state of the river and what needs to be done. He said there are only about 70 officers state-wide. I was surprised, figuring it would take many more than that.
He went on to explain that they really don’t focus on the illegal dumping sort of stuff – which probably makes up a significant part of what I am dealing with. Rather, they focus on the businesses that violate the laws as there’s money to go after. They also don’t spend any time on the rivers.
Anyway, I paddled downstream toward Rt. 2 to find out what the condition of that stretch of river was. Not bad, on the whole. When I got near Rt. 2 there were 3 tires, but other than those, there were mostly just bottles and cans. I piled a tire on the stern and then tried something I hadn’t – I put another tire on the bow – a tricky maneuver, but it worked. I had to balance the laundry basket on the rear tire, so for the remainder of the trip I had to be cautious about that.
I only made the 1 trip as my shoulder’s been sore and I had a number of other things to do, but next time I know what to expect. All in all, the Oxbow’s not in bad shape – a bit of a surprise considering all the flooding we’ve had.