Green Tomorrow

Have you noticed a dramatic increase in the amount of unwanted e-mail in your box: ads, coupons, credit card 'pre-approval' announcements, and what is not? I can hardly my legitimate mail in most of the lake. In my community mail center, there is a conveniently placed trash that is perpetually overloaded with discarded mail. Not only is the mail slightly intimidating, but it is also an extraordinary waste of paper, and it is not recycled. In our age of Greenpeace and Al Gore inspired quests for the preservation of the Earth, why nobody has spoken up about this growing atrocity? Perhaps someone, somewhere, but I have not heard of any measures taken to stop this abuse of our diminishing resources.

My theory is that these marketing vehicle has led, after the 'not do' lists that we have, to protect ourselves from the intimidation of the telemarketers. Telemarketing has disappeared paper, and they are relentless in their pursuits through the post office. Call me a tree hugger, but not call me indifferent to the various efforts for the preservation of the Earth.

“What should we do?” Was the question of Billy Kwan to Guy Hamilton in the 1983 film “The Year of Living Dangerously”, and this question comes from my thoughts on a variety of ethical issues and political policies. What should we do? To begin, we must first acknowledge the problems. However small, however seemingly unattainable, we can not just, 'Do Nothing'.

In the scheme of things, an end to the waste of valuable trees, may seem absurd narrow. But small things that go unnoticed, it can build into larger things in the blink of an eye in the modern era. And maybe this article is not really about trees. Awareness is the key. But action is the only way to enforce change. Look around you and ask yourself, “What can I do?” We certainly used to a society of demonstrators.