Help Mother Earth

Now is the time for all good men, women, boys and girls to come to the aid of their country—and in the process, the wonderful world we inhabit. She is hurting from fossil fuels, plastic, and putrid smoke. You’ve seen the data on news stations and in print. Believe it.

What can we do to help out? Many of us take these actions, and you can, too.

1. Keep several cloth tote bags in your car to use when shopping for groceries, office supplies, and odds and ends. After several uses, the bags can be thrown into the washing machine and the ones infused with a little plastic can be wiped down with soap and water or disinfectant. They last for years and years.

2. Keep a Thermos bottle of water in the car—no need for thin plastic bottles. Our oceans do not appreciate receiving them.

3. Reuse quart- and gallon-sized plastic zipper bags. Wash in the sink with your dishes. Some of mine have been used a dozen times.

4. Reuse or repurpose everything you can. Recycling helps, but not everything we throw into the bin gets recycled.

Encourage your state and local officials to “go green.” Leaders, you can make a deep impact in our state. Just make it a point to agree on something and get along with one another. Our planet cannot wait on your stubbornness. I, for one, am ready to do away with thin, one-use plastic bags from the grocery store (I can’t remember the last time I used one).

Many of us have been doing these things for years. It’s not hard at all— just do it! Mother Earth will thank you.

CAROL ANN BONE North Little Rock