House Judiciary Committee Ensures that Bottle Bill is Dead for Another Year

Yesterday was the last day for the so called "bottle bill" to come out of the WV House of Delegates Judiciary Committee so that it could be debated and voted upon by all members of the House of Delegates.

If you would like to know the members serving on this powerful committee, click on this link to see the committee's seating chart:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/committees/SeatingCharts/House/jud.pdf

Curious minds want to know why any reasonable person would not support this particular bill that would dramatically reduce the ugly litter on our streets, highways and waterways. Curious minds would, also, like to know the names of the companies and organizations who have continuously fought this environmentally important legislation. What did they do during this legislative year to influence the Judiciary committee members to not pass the bill out of committee? Inquiring minds want to know.

Doing Your Part To Minimize Litter

I received a personal note and a news clipping from WV State Delegate Dale Stephens, yesterday. Along with his legislative responsibilities, Dale is a volunteer "Litter-Gitter" with our local Adopt YOUR Block - Be a Litter-Gitter group. There are 1222 volunteer Litter-Gitters at this writing. The article Dale sent me was from the editors of The Environmental Magazine.

In part, the article said what we all know - litter is a nasty side effect of our convenience-oriented disposal culture. Just to highlight the scope of the problem, California alone spends $28 million a year cleaning up and removing litter along its roadways.

And once trash gets free, wind and weather move it from streets and highways to parks and waterways. One study found that 18 percent of litter ends up in rivers, streams and oceans.

As I preach all of the time, as a litter abatement Evangelist, cigarette butts, snack wrappers and take-out food and beverage containers are the most commonly littered items. Cigarette butts are one of the most insidious forms of litter: Each discarded butt takes 12 years to break down, all the while leaching toxic elements such as cadmium, lead and arsenic into soil and waterways.

The article concludes that doing our part to keep litter to a minimum is easy, but it takes vigilance. For starters, never let trash escape from your car, or the open bed of your truck. Just as importantly, make sure your household garbage containers are sealed tightly so animals can't get at the contents. Always remember to take your garbage with you upon leaving one of our area parks or other public spaces.

If you're still smoking, isn't saving the environment a compelling enough reason to finally quit? Also, if that stretch of roadway you drive every day to work is a haven for litter, offer to clean it up and keep it clean. I will gladly give you a "Volunteer" safety vest and a litter-stick. The stick has a trigger and prongs on the end - so you don't have to bend over or touch anything. Call me at 523-7902, and I will gladly give you this equipment - free of charge.

Of course, we encourage our Adopt YOUR block volunteers to adopt their own block and no other place. However, if your block is always clean and neat, why not adopt a "spot" or a short section of a roadway? Together, we can make our area shine once again.

Do you believe in Huntington and Cabell County's Potential?

I believe in the potential of Huntington and Cabell County. If I've learned one thing in my sixty-six years, it's this: You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. We all have a role to play.

That's the challenge I make to you. It's a call to action for people who, like me, believe in Huntington and Cabell County. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the Hubris and go to work. First, register to vote. Second, start learning all that you can about each candidate for the various offices in the city and county. Third, become familiar with the area's long-term issues. I say long-term, because the city and county’s deteriorating infrastructure will be extremely costly to up-grade, and it may take decades to modernize.

Finally, every citizen of our county needs to recapture the “sense of community” that once existed in our area, and having that community spirit dictates that we continuously keep in mind the welfare of future generations of citizens that will inherit what we leave behind – be it good or bad. We do have a responsibility to work for the good of all in the present and for our children and their children and beyond.

I offer this as my “good medicine” for the first small step toward a progressive and “livable” Huntington and Cabell County of the Twenty-first Century. Will you join us! People Power occurs when each of us registers to vote and, then, by making sure we go to the polls! Power to the People!