Editorial for Decmber 13, 2007 edition:


Let’s all chip in

You need not have witnessed environmental crusader Al Gore’s collection of the Noble Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, on Monday to know that at the rate we’re going, Planet Earth’s years are numbered.
But as stewards of the Earth, we owe it to our kids and especially our grandchildren — or your friends’ kids and grandchildren — to do whatever we can to preserve the planet.
It would behoove all of us to follow the lead of the good folks featured in our cover story this week — the cadre of senior-citizen residents of the Villages at Pine Valley in Fox Chase who spend a healthy chunk of their golden years schlepping recyclable items from their community to a collection point at Abraham Lincoln High School. They know the importance of being proactive, not reactive, on recycling.
To their credit, Northeast homeowners have long had a high rate of participation in the city’s recycling program, but recycling should be mandatory in every home, apartment unit, apartment complex and business in Philadelphia — it should have been mandatory 40 years ago — and the city’s Department of Streets should do all of the collecting. Apartment dwellers and merchants pay high taxes just like homeowners; forcing them to pay private contractors to haul their trash and recyclables is patently unfair.
This year, enjoy watching your kids/grandkids tearing open their presents on Christmas morning, and then do something you’ve probably never done before: While you’re savoring the smiles on the kids’ faces, help them put the discarded wrappings and boxes in the recycling bucket, not in the trash can. In the long run, a small move like that can make a big difference. We owe that much to future generations. ••

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