Earth Day

It's been a month since I took part in Earth Day celebrations, but I still wanted to share the experience regardless. The day started with a speech by Jim Turek, about the initiatives and important work the Richmond Conseration Commission has taken over the past year. Next was an update from Representative Megan Cotter about the excellent work she has done, and continues to do for conservation of our lands. To this day her RI H8144 Bill is in the legislative process to once again make the Green Bond even greener.

Afterwards my fiancée and I grabbed a cleanup kit and walked down a section of Route 138 to collect litter. Anecdotally I noted a few things about the trash collected:

• Most litter by number: Cigarette Butts
• Most litter be weight: Vehicle Debris
• Most litter by volume: Drink Cups
  • Nips and seltzer/beer cans were not far behind
  • Dunkin was the most popular brand of cup, but we were collecting less than a mile from a location

I think the vehicle debris were the most suprising find. It seemed like there was a serious car accident or two in that area. The debris were quite scattered, and we found metal chucks of wheel (not just tire), large pieces of bumper, plastic mud guards, whole ECUs (small computers), and smashed headlights. While obviously someone who is in a serious car accident like that isn't in a state of mind to clean up afterwards, and the Police and Fire Department's responsibility is to attend to medical needs and ensure the roadway is safe, someone should be responsible for cleanup of these car parts. If a responsible party can't be assigned, then perhaps the police could note the location for volunteers or scrap metal collectors to gather debris and bring them to the transfer station. Leaving large chunks of vehicle in our forests doesn't seem like a good long-term solution.

There is still work to be done in Richmond in terms of Conservation. Some upcoming work I noticed is the proposal from Councilor Madnick to restore the Environmental Hazard and Resiliency Commission to help address some forestry issues in the town. I support this proposal and goals of conserving our lands, be they natural or farmland in Richmond. I hope to see you next year at the Earth Day celebration event and cleanup.