P is for Pollution

None of us needs to be reminded of the effects of pollution on our world. We hear about the contamination of the air, water, and soil on the news every day. We see it, inhale it, and eat and drink it in every day.

I grew up on the shores of Lake Erie and even as a child—a long, long time ago—we were warned about the pollution of its waters…thick, gooey globs of oil and waste that lapped at our feet along the beach. From where I lived we could see the dense, gray pall that hung over the city on the brightest summer day.

We took on the perpetual chore of bagging up the discarded bottles and cans and nondescript waste that littered the side of the road in front of our house.

Roadside pollution is unsightly but contamination of the air, water and soil is downright dangerous. It makes our otherwise hospitable planet unsafe and unhealthy. It’s unfair to wildlife and hazardous to us.

And even if we could clean up the whole mess tomorrow and prevent it from happening again, we would still need to worry about the pollution of minds, the corruption of morals, the erosion of hope, the perversion of human respect. Pornography, fraud, addiction, bigotry and subjugation—all pollute the human soul. It appears that we have quite a job ahead of us. I only hope to begin with my own home, in my own backyard, according to my own heart, with my own good intentions.

Where do you plan to begin?

“Prayer does not use up artificial energy,

 doesn't burn up any fossil fuel, doesn't pollute.

Neither does song, neither does love, neither does the dance.

--Margaret Mead--

jan