Editorial: Being good stewards of our environment means taking care every day, every where

Volunteers pulled 4,400 beverage containers out of Muskegon River during the one-day cleanup. (Courtesy photo | Peggy Dault)
on August 04, 2013 at 11:38 AM, updated August 07, 2013 at 8:53 AM

West Michigan is blessed with natural resources. Our lakes, rivers, streams, sand dunes and woods soothe our souls, provide recreational opportunities and sometimes fatten our wallets.

So, why do we treat them like trash cans?

Two recent stories reminded us of how careless we are when it comes to our best assets.

Shocked by what a dump Muskegon River has become, Egelston Township resident Jerry Carlson has twice arranged cleanups that pulled hundreds of pounds of trash out of the river. Around 4,400 beverage cans were pulled from the water this year along with numerous other objects.

A second story raised the alarm about small plastic particles that are invading the Great Lakes. Microbeads from face wash, toothpaste and mouth wash are in the lakes and could be entering the food system, some scientists believe.

As one MLive/Chronicle reader observed after reading these stories, "Whatever happened to give a hoot, don't pollute?" The slogan is from a public service advertising campaign for the U.S. Forest Service from the 1970s, when the Clean Water Act also was put in place.

The Clean Water Act celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2012. In many ways the federal law, which attacked sources of pollution from industrial facilities like oil and gas refineries or manufacturing plants, animal feed lots and government operations, has been deemed a success. The Clean Water Act forced industry, agriculture and government to clean up their acts, but what about the rest of us?

We can't continue the good work of the Clean Water Act unless we all make an effort to follow through.

Every time we decide to throw something away, we're making a decision about stewardship of our natural resources. Every time we wash something down the drain, it's a decision that could affect the future.

Yet, it's something we take so lightly.

When trash gets dumped in the woods or in an isolated stream, it eventually ends up in the lake. We can't afford to turn our water into a big dumping ground.

Muskegon County knows this better than anyone. The community has watched as millions of state and federal tax dollars have been invested in cleaning up decades of environmental abuse along Muskegon and White lake shorelines. The lakes will never be pristine, but they eventually will be safe, really safe, for swimmers and anglers.

Muskegon County also knows the power of one person's efforts. Jerry Carlson joins a long line of individuals who have rallied their neighbors to become better stewards of our natural resources. All it takes is one person to speak up and remind the rest of us of our responsibilities.

It turns out that Woodsy Owl, the star of the "Give a hoot, don't pollute" ads, is still around. The current motto is "Lend a hand, care for the land."

It's something we can all do.