Recycling Problem
Dear Editor: Yesterday, instead of placing an empty, flattened box into the mixed paper bin, I tossed it into a big, grey trash can. As I did so, I contorted my face into a disgusted, crumpled-up expression, and felt a bit sick thinking about the tree that, though murdered some time ago, would now be headed to its final resting place: a landfill. It is because of this that I am writing to bring up the halted recycling of mixed paper.
I am aware that recycling is costly. However, disregarding the price of our planet will cost us far more in the future – a future that will, inevitably, will demand attention.
This may sound like an extreme statement: one empty box will not lead to society’s demise. However, if you take that one box and multiply it by the hundreds being tossed out each day, that small, rectangular paper product morphs into a vast multitude.
In sixth grade, my science teacher took a period to apologize to the class for what her generation had done to our planet. She was not the only contributor – in fact, she had probably contributed far less to the problem than others – yet her negligence had, maybe even passively, aided problems which, as she put it, “your generation will have to fix.” I do not want to face my children and apologize for the clear-cut forest in our backyard, or for the overflowing landfill near the edge of town. Instead, I want to help prevent these problems.
This is, more or less, where I run into a problem of my own: I am not wealthy enough to export this mass of used paper myself, nor am I willing to ask the city to find space in our budget to reinstate this service. I do, however, possess a voice that I have no qualms about raising, and with my voice, I want to help seek a solution. I sincerely hope that others share this drive and that, together, our community can take a baby step towards making this world a more eco-friendly place. Together, let’s get our paper somewhere where it will go back into the economy. We do not need to plant it back in the ground.
Ariadne Will, Sitka
Education for All
Dear Editor: Can you imagine living where your kids could not go to school? It is hard to believe, but 263 million children and youth around the world are not in school.
Since 2011, the U.S. government has invested in the Global Partnership for Education, GPE, helping tens of millions of children access a quality education. Now GPE is launching an ambitious new plan to accelerate progress on global education and put an additional 25 million kids through school between 2018-2020.
This letter to the editor will be sent to Senator Murkowski and Senator Sullivan asking them to show their support for educating children living in poor circumstances, and for the Global Partnership for Education by cosponsoring S.Res. 286, the GPE Resolution. You can send an email or letter, go to www.results.org and click the Take Action.
Sitka RESULTS:
Michele Friedman, Carolyn Servid,
Dr. Deb Brushafer, Mary Soltis,
Nancy Knapp, Brenda Campen
and Patty Harris
