Eleanor Tatum

I’m late. Or am I?  Earth Day.

In 1970 I taught my first Earth Day lesson to my third graders: Hug a Tree, Reduce-Reuse-Recycle, Save the Whales, Endear the Endangered.

No, not all of that in one day. I did have a 400-year career.

But, what have we learned?

Since then I have collected and used cloth shopping bags, composted, and created numerous elementary school bulletin boards.; such as, Litter Hurts. Do you remember that campaign on TV with the crying Native American? That one always got me.

So, where are we now? Is there an achievement test for my curriculum? Is the Pacific Plastic Patch smaller than Texas, yet? Are single-use plastics disappearing? On NPR yesterday, I read this headline: “Philippine’s President Duterte Talks Trash to Canada, Threatening War Over Trash”. Evidently, there are shipping containers in the Manilla harbor thought to be filled with plastics for recycling. Instead it’s a wicked mixture of household trash; including diapers. “Prepare to Celebrate”, cried Duterte, “because your garbage is coming home.” Yes, dear readers, he plans to send it back.

Wars over trash !?!  What next!?!  So, no, we have not learned ……..

ENOUGH!