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Hernando Today

Mid-1970s Magazine Shows How Far We've Come

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 8, 2008

To whom this may be of interest: The other day I was looking through some old surfer magazines - one was dated March 1976.

This one magazine was dedicated to articles on ecology. "Save our Planet" was the title on the cover with a photo of a surfer standing on the shoreline looking out over an oil slick ocean.

The magazine was full of wonderful articles written about what could be done to cut back on global pollution - now called global warming - cutting back on fossil fuel consumption to offset a Middle East oil issue and the need for recycling of household waste.

It made me think to myself "Boy, did we drop the ball on this one." We could have very easily made the changes needed to prevent the mess we are handing off to our children.

Just think what we could do in a very short period of time if we all would make smart changes to our every day lives.

May I suggest:

•Turn the air conditioning thermostat up to 78 if it's 90 outside 78 will feel fine!

•Turn off the electronics when not in use and lights.

•Plant what grows in this sand with the water the sky supplies; we live in a place that grass was not part of the master's plan.

•Bring a bag with you to the store and reuse it until it does not support the weight of a box of tissues.

•Soccer moms - share the ride with several team members. One SUV going to the field full of occupants really can save gas! Five driving from the same neighborhood to the game with two people wastes gas!

This one is going to hurt. Teens, park the car and ride the Big Yellow Taxi to school. Hard as it may seem, the bus gets better mileage per person than the street racer.

Ask the fast-food restaurant to cut back on the paper, plastic and Styrofoam if you're eating in. Suggest they put your order on a reusable tray and plate that can be used for months and will not be in the landfill the next day adding to Mt. Trashmore.

James Friel

Spring Hill

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