Civics is defined as the study of the rights and duties of citizenship. This letter will focus on duties.
Last month this publication shared my opinion on water usage as a civic lesson for our children. Many people commented that conserving water in homes does not matter. But I was not offering home water conservation as the primary solution for our water challenges. The letter is intended to communicate that all of us need to work together on important social issues and set an example for our children who will continue to live with these challenges.
This past week, with all the wildfire smoke in the air, on top of our already polluted skies (10th most polluted in the U.S.), I saw the need for a similar civic lesson regarding air quality. I started my morning by going to get a cup of coffee and do some work. In the parking lot was a big SUV with the motor running. There was no one in the car except a small dog barking at me. When I left 40 minutes later, that SUV was still there, engine running.
Then I went to the gym and parked under some trees overhanging the parking lot. The truck parked next to me was running while a guy sat in the car scrolling on his phone. I know the actions of these two people are not the primary cause of our pollution issues. But I do believe that we all need to work together (businesses, citizens and government) to address our water and air quality issues.
Having clean air and water seems like a reasonable civic right in this country, as is our duty to help create both. Let’s show our kids we care and do our part to make things better.
Andrew Watt,
Sandy