Published: April 21, 2009 10:40 pm         

TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: Earth Day — a worthy mission

Do your part by taking personal responsibility

TERRE HAUTE — Earth Day sounds so big. You might wonder, “How can one person in Terre Haute, Indiana, help the planet? My life’s busy enough without trying to save the world.”

Fear not. The simple answer probably echoes advice your parents uttered years ago: Let’s clean up after ourselves.

The best way to participate in the global celebration of the 40th annual Earth Day is to take care of the environment around each of us right here in the Wabash Valley. How? We have a few ideas …

n Keep a litter bag in your car or truck. If you’re worried that a plastic bag hanging from your dashboard will irritate your date or spouse or buddies, think again. Green living is attractively hip; if they whine, tell them to get with the program.

Remind them that litter tossed from vehicles fouls otherwise scenic roadsides throughout Vigo County and the surrounding area. Yes, cleanup crews may eventually pick up our discarded waste. That takes time, though. Even with Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett’s effective policy of using teams of five to 12 local Corrections inmates to pick up trash two days a week, in addition to Vigo County Highway Department crews scouring outlying areas, and volunteers working in the county’s Adopt-a-Road program, there is still too much litter for them to eradicate. Thus, our fellow residents and visitors to our community see the mess – or worse, no longer see it.

If your skeptical passengers need a visual reminder of how one small piece of litter adds up to an eyesore, drive them to the stoplight at U.S. 41 and Davis Avenue in front of Honey Creek Mall. Have them check out the accumulation of cigarette butts along the highway’s median. Yuck.

n Participate in the Terre Haute Spring Cleanup Day on May 2. The City and the Keep Terre Haute Beautiful organization hope hundreds of volunteers show up at Chauncey Rose Middle School that Saturday morning. From 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., they’ll spruce up the area around the avenues on Terre Haute’s north side. They might also clean up along U.S. 41 from Maple Avenue to Interstate 70, if enough volunteers turn out.

“The more people, the better,” said Esther Anderson, executive director of Keep Terre Haute Beautiful.

That group will provide helpers with T-shirts, gloves, trash bags, instructions on what (and what not) to pick up, and maps.

n Recycle, using the city’s curbside pickup or at local centers, such as Goodwill or the Indiana State University Recycling center.

n Support Keep Terre Haute Beautiful. Thanks to efforts by the City and KTHB, that organization will become an official affiliate of Keep America Beautiful in a ceremony at 4 p.m. Monday in City Hall. The connection gives Terre Haute access to grants, educational supplies for local schools and other Keep America Beautiful materials. Contact them by e-mail at kthb@treesinc.org.

n Don’t wait for Earth Day 2010. Start now.