A couple stood side by side, holding hands, looking up at the sky. I followed their gaze and saw a balloon making its way higher and higher above downtown, above the Market Days crowd. The sky was a wow shade of blue, and it was hard to pull my eyes away. It was mesmerizing.
If someone were able to poll that crowd, I bet most would agree that the day was beautiful – summer at its best. Most would also want as many more of those days as Mother Nature could deliver. Yet that blinding blue sky cannot be taken for granted. If we treasure it, if we want those who come after us to know that hue of blue, we must accept the responsibility of protecting it and the beauty of the world that lays beneath.
This week marks the third week of Concord's pay-as-you-throw program. The results being reported by the city's General Services department have been encouraging. The amount of recyclables collected has risen from 34 tons for the first week to 84 tons last week. The more we recycle, the more benefit to the environment. We are removing a sizeable amount of tonnage that would have otherwise been incinerated. We are also reclaiming materials that can be funneled back into the manufacturing process. We are encouraging reuse instead of further driving up consumption of virgin materials. We need to complete this cycle by trying to purchase products made from recycled goods.
Each time you collect your recyclables, you are helping to keep the sky blue, the earth healthy. What you do matters. Each of us writes the history of our planet in how we live day by day. What kind of world do you want? When you look to the sky, what do you want to see?
