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Today I Earned an “F” Grade in Environmentalism
Since April 14 I have been on a journey. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It is late June and I’m far from home. Another month on the road is likely. Fortunately, I have had the luxury to land with friends and family along my winding road. The ups and downs of solo travel offer ample time to reflect on a prism of subjects.
Before beginning my trip, I intentionally made more forays into the great outdoors. I had been a city dweller my entire life, few out of range adventures could I claim the last decade. From my childhood, through my late 20s, I adventured wild places often. Exploring nature’s majesty resurrected my desire to keep wild spaces wild. Growing up in the Oakland (CA) hills, nature was all around. Most of the city’s youth lived on a flat urban grid. Something at a young age I did not take for granted. The last five years I have been a regular volunteer with a local chapter of a global environmental group. I learned a lot about human impact on our planet.
My prime motivator is abolishing litter. An impossible task. So, I stubbornly realized. The more logical end game is package redesign. Humans will not cease discarding their waste because it bothers me, no more than someone who is self-righteous about global warming is going to killing us. There is some truth to that complex issue. Litter, in the other hand, is…
