Hanging Out Shirts in the Dirty Breeze
by Molly Regan
Scott County Soil and Water Commissioner Molly
Regan reports on the grand success of the QC's Progressive Summit. And there's more work to do!
“Hanging
out shirts in the dirty breeze. And after it rains there’s a rainbow,
and all of the colors are black. It’s not that the colors aren’t
there, it’s just imagination they lack”.
My
favorite singer PAUL SIMON gives music and lyrics to conditions common
in “MY LITTLE TOWN”. To the west of me is the constant daily
movement of railroad cars often filled with coal, usually 120 or more
cars long. Next to the tracks, is a busy two-lane highway that
sees thousands of diesel vehicles and other internal combustion engines
going by every month. To the east, the barges have started their
voyages up and down the grand Mississippi River.
Every
day, the products that we CITIZENS feel the need to CONSUME seem to
increase. This is the main contributor to our ENERGY
guzzling. Putting more STUFF on our walls. Adding to our
already stocked pantries with STUFF. Then buying more STUFF to
hold our STUFF. We want to feel good when we get our
paycheck. That is normal, so we go out and contribute to the
economy by buying STUFF. These “THINGS” all have to be CREATED,
TRANSPORTED, MAINTAINED, and DELIVERED to our door.
I, too,
am a consumer, but have been attempting for a long time to become a
savvy one. This past Saturday at Augustana College in Rock Island
we held the first Progressive Summit for the Common Good. It was
fantastic! There were probably close to 400 people there
collectively looking to better things in OUR WORLD. They all are
aware we need to look at situations 1st LOCALLY to affect a change.
Our
purchasing habits were discussed. In the ENVIRONMENTAL/ENERGY
INDEPENDENCE workshop that I was part of, we found many impressive
viewpoints. The ENERGY we use just to keep ourselves
warm/cool and having safe food is basic to our existence, though there
are ways we can cut down there, too. The additional energy
consumption is the area that we immediately have to curtail.
Unless it is of vital human need, such as in hospitals, then NIP IT IN
THE BUD.
Much
clothing, many vehicle parts, shoes, umbrellas, and electronic
entertainment devices that we purchase are made outside of IOWA and the
United States. Our high demand for STUFF prompts other countries
to increase their factories. For example, in CHANGOING, CHINA,
there are 10,000 factories, many of which cause high air pollution. In
the book “ENERGY RESOURCES: OUR IMPACT ON THE PLANET” by EWAN MC LEISH,
there is a photo from this city which shows how unbelievable it is for
humans to exist there. This book is also a great resource for
school kids, young and not so young, as it gives at a glance the true
expense of our destructive ways.
Within
our workshop group, we stressed the need to buy items locally, plus to
EDUCATE OUR YOUNGSTERS AS TO THE MEANING OF SUCCESS AND TO STRESS THAT
IT HAS NO CORRELATION TO WHAT YOU OWN. Other great points were:
1. The immediate need for sustainable agriculture with less
pesticide/herbicide use…2. Urban sprawl is causing loss of community…3.
Bicycle use needs to increase…4. Where we work needs to be closer to
where we live.
So our
follow-up step is for each workshop group to hold another meeting
within the next several weeks. This will give those who could
only attend one workshop a chance to go be part of another discussion
group. Within the next week to 10 days hopefully, the website
www.qcprogressiveaction.org will list all the information you will need
to become part of the solutions. Please join in this new
community. We need your voice. We value your
opinions. You can make a difference.
This
week is the normal celebration of EARTH WEEK which officially is APRIL
22ND. But please, MAKE EVERY WEEK EARTH WEEK. And of
course, CPR or as most of you know by now,
CONSERVE/PARTICIPATE/RECYCLE ….AND GO THAT EXTRA STEP THIS
MONTH…PLANT A TREE. THANKS.
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