Back on the soap box

I’m not sure if it’s the ongoing debacle in the Gulf that has made me more sensitive to the state of the water around us, but there is more going wrong out there than one spewing oil rig. The visuals of the BP nature-rape are compelling, certainly, but trash – especially plastic detritus – is everywhere on our beaches as well as in the water. And the fact that each of us is not more outraged is, in itself, an outrage.

I suppose I could contribute more to environmental organizations than I already do, but more times than not, money is not something that I have at hand. I am still working on a master strategy but until I am able to solve the pollution problem outright, I am physically doing what I can, where I am, as much as possible. I have made it a point now to take a litter bag with me every time I’m at the shore. I know it’s only a small thing, but whether it’s the Foss Waterway in the pre-dawn hours or HobuckBeach in the winter, I will take every opportunity to police up what I find in the hope that even a small contribution will somehow be part of a larger difference.

The pessimist in me says that it’s all a waste of time anyway. The deep-water fiasco in the Caribbean is an evil that would seem to overshadow any piddling good I might muster. I don’t really know if it matters but, until I can find a way to do more, doing any less would be an outrage indeed.