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Editorial: "Eight is Enough" May Be Too Much
June 20th, 2002

Editorial: Cedar Key Plantation: Albatross or Opportunity
June 16th, 2002

Editorial: Hello Cedar Key Plantation, Goodbye Clam Beds
June 14th, 2002

Editorial: All`s Quiet on the Water Front
June 8th, 2002

Editorial: A Cop in Trouble
June 6th, 2002

Editorial: Community Redevelopment Wish Lists
June 3rd, 2002

Editorial: Heath Davis and the Power of Politics
May 19th, 2002

Editorial: Do We Need Another Hero?
May 16th, 2002

Editorial: Support Groups
May 8th, 2002

Editorial: Clarification of Speak Out
May 7th, 2002

Editorial: Introducing Our Editor
April 22nd, 2002


Editorial: Earth Day 2010

Editorial: Earth Day 2010

Editorial

Earth Day 2010

Earth Day, April 22, marks the fortieth year that people have set aside a day to recognize the need for stewardship of the communal home that we share on Earth. That stewardship was recognized by a very early tourist that arrived in Cedar Key in 1867, namely John Muir. Muir later founded the Sierra Club and persuaded Presidents to protect the natural resources and beauty of our country.

The conservation movement, begun by Muir and other far-sighted souls, has expanded far beyond preservation of wild lands. We now see the need to protect our rivers and beaches from pollution. Game laws, fishing limits and endangered species legislation are now recognized as necessary to counteract selfish and thoughtless assaults on nature. Recall the whaling industry`s excesses or the pollution of an Ohio river to the point it caught fire. Both cases relate to human demand for energy, in the form of whole oil and kerosene.

The conservation movement has grown to include efforts to dampen if not stop the population explosion and establish a sustainable life style. Populations have stabilized in most "developed" nations, a sign of progress.

Mountains of trash in the form of sanitary land-fills demonstrate that a sustainable life style is an ideal not yet attained.

The Cedar Key Commission has taken a step toward a sustainable life style, and our reputation as a green city, by voting to try once-a-week garbage collection. Once-a-week collection encourages recycling of waste. Furthermore, once-a-week collection reduces the volume of waste taken to the dump and cuts fuel consumption by lumbering garbage trucks.

On April 22, Earth Day, we need to give thanks to John Muir for National Parks and wildlife refuges. We need to thank the founders of Earth Day for the expansion of the conservation ethic to the many ways to keep the Earth inhabitable.

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