LETTER: Embrace Earth Day ideals all year
By Robert “Bobby” Hughes, Executive Director, Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation
For the sake of our land, water and communities in Northeast Pennsylvania, we must not think of Earth Day as a one-day observance that simply comes and goes every April.
Rather, we need to consider Earth Day – and the recently ended Earth Month – as reminders of how we should safeguard our environment at all times. Every day! All year!
Here are a few actions you can take this spring and beyond to better care for the natural world. If you cannot immediately practice them all, pick one to start. Every bit helps.
Protect your local watershed. Use household cleaning products made with natural ingredients. Never pour household chemicals down the drain. Likewise, don’t dispose of used motor oil or antifreeze by dumping it in a street or storm drain. Carry a small trash bag in your vehicle for debris; don’t ever toss your bottles or fast-food meal bags out the window.
When caring for your lawn, limit the use of fertilizers. Consider using organic or slow-release fertilizers, since rain will likely carry the residues from your yard to nearby streams, rivers, and places far downstream, potentially contributing to “dead zones” for fish and other aquatic life.
Plant a tree. Trees can help to lower air temperatures during the height of summer, and they reduce pollution.
They can even protect homes from erosion and potential flooding. Trees also shade streams to provide cold water habitats for various fish species. At the nonprofit where I serve as executive director, we have biodegradable Growboxx plant cocoons to give to people who want to plant trees and give them a healthy start. The containers – made of recycled paper pulp – can also be used for raising vegetables, much like the mining families of our region did decades ago.
Conserve water. Fix water leaks in your home’s sinks, toilets and other plumbing fixtures, and limit your time in the shower. Outdoors, consider ways to keep rainwater from running directly into the storm sewer. Rain barrels, for example, can collect water from downspouts and store it for later use when watering flowers and plants.
Conserve energy. For home heating tips and plenty of other guidance for more sustainable living, visit iConservePA.org.
Choose native plants. When selecting flowers, trees and shrubs for your yard, remember that native plants are usually hardier and do not require as much fertilizer or water. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has web pages with detailed information about selecting the appropriate plant varieties. Search online for DCNR and “Landscaping with Native Plants.”
Clear litter from the landscape. Prevent plastics and other pollutants from reaching our local waterways – and ultimately flowing toward the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay, or the Lehigh, Schuylkill and Delaware rivers that drain to the Delaware Estuary – by participating in streamside trash pickups. Or organize a cleanup in your neighborhood. To find a cleanup or get one started, visit the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful website and read about its year-round “Pick Up PA” program.
These are only a few of the potential steps you can take to protect our environment, collectively benefiting people’s health and safety, the region’s economic outlook and the beauty of our landscapes.
Robert “Bobby” Hughes, a Wilkes-Barre native, is the founding executive director of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR). The nonprofit conservation organization serves 16 counties, promoting the reclamation and reuse of land impacted by past coal mining practices.
The EPCAMR team offers technical assistance such as water quality testing and stream restoration, drone services, and GIS mapping. Email him at [email protected].
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