Life Matters

It's not too late to hug a tree

By LINDA PETERSEN
Posted 4/24/19

There was a very special holiday earlier in the week. No, not the one involving the human-sized bunny jumping around hiding Easter eggs, but a holiday affecting the whole world. Monday, April 22, was Earth Day, which applies to every living thing on

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Life Matters

It's not too late to hug a tree

Posted

There was a very special holiday earlier in the week. No, not the one involving the human-sized bunny jumping around hiding Easter eggs, but a holiday affecting the whole world. Monday, April 22, was Earth Day, which applies to every living thing on earth.

There is much talk about how so many species are becoming extinct, with 58 types of bugs no longer in existence. Ah, who misses bugs? I learned that our world would be a much stinkier place without the insects that eat the waste and turn it into nutrients that fertilize the soil. In return, veggies would not grow as well, and we would no longer see giant 350-pound watermelons. As pesky as bugs are, they are vital to the health of agriculture.

I am moved by the plight of the polar bears floating on a piece of ice that has broken off from the melting polar caps. The bears, with their white coats covered in a sluggish brown color, sit mournfully, gazing at the water as they watch the rest of their world float farther and farther away. It is even more heartbreaking if a cub or two sits between them, playing and jumping as though they don’t have a care in the world, just as their world diminishes.

Everyone knows that the sea level is rising, and I am confounded at the sight of more and more people building houses on the shore. In the years to come, such optimistic homeowners may be forced to build their houses on stilts. Whole villages of such houses exist in many countries such as Thailand, Cambodia and Australia. Soon, the East Coast may have its own such fashionable community.

Who would have thought, thirty years ago, that one of the most profitable commodities would be water? With such awesome water from the Scituate Reservoir, I would never consider paying money for something so free. Yet, others disagree, and the number of empty water bottles thrown in the trash is astounding. I am pleased to see that there has been some movement in this area; a technological change whereby “bubblers” now having a spigot to refill water bottles, repurposing an old device to meet new needs.

During a recent visit to San Jose, California, I was reminded that in order to avoid waste, stores do not give bags. Unfortunately, this was after a shopping trip to Walmart where I found myself carrying a cartload of toiletries, clothing and food in a bear hug to my car. Along the way, some of the smaller items fell to the ground, and I could hear the splat of yogurt and the thunk of toothpaste. However, I was in no position to bend over to pick them up. Similarly to bags, plastic straws have been outlawed, replaced by flimsy cardboard ones. For someone who likes to sip on her Diet Coke over time, the straw became mushy and grungy and not at all appetizing. I am not sure I can adapt to all of these adjustments!

These few examples of how our world is being altered are only the beginning of the changes to come. A Native American proverb says it all. “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

It is not too late to go hug a tree.

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