The Challenge of Earth Day

About the author: Karen Reshkin manages the Chicago regional Web site and is editing the Earth Day Challenge blog.

Earth Day comes with lots of flurry
Do great things and in a hurry

Every waking hour is reckoned
As “How long till the twenty-second?”

Earth Day comes with expectations
Big events and presentations

“But what if this year,” someone said,
“We did a better thing instead?”

Old TVs and old prescriptions
Give the Great Lakes great conniptions.

Spare our lakes and our landfills
A million pounds*, a million pills!

Don’t throw out that old computer
Do a thing that’s far astuter…

Medications in the water
That’s a thing you hadn’t oughter

Pharma waste can harm the fauna
This Earth Week we hope you’re gonna

Find an e-waste drive near you.
Some are taking old meds, too!

Our Great Lakes are worth protecting!
Let’s get out and start collecting!

* of electronic waste (e-waste)

Thanks to the inspiration of EPA Region 5 Administrator Mary A. Gade and the efforts of the Earth Day Challenge workgroup, more than 100 events have joined the 2008 Great Lakes Earth Day Challenge. Our goal is to collect, all around the Great Lakes Basin, 1 million pills of outdated or unwanted medicine, and 1 million pounds of e-waste. You can learn more at the Earth Day Challenge web site and its companion blog. Even if you don’t live near the Great Lakes, I hope you’ll do your part this Earth Day and recycle something you might otherwise throw away.

Comments

[Dennis Blackmore]

This medication thing in the water is a bit scary.

[poetryman69]

I believe that if we only vote for candidates that have an energy independence policy, many if not most of these problems will resolve themselves. We are addicted to paying tyrants and terrorist for oil. To keep or get this oil we fight costly wars that are environmentally destructive. If we use only domestic sources of energy the reduced transportation costs alone will save energy and the environment. The green and alternative technologies are 10 to 20 years away from wide scale use because of their inadequate availability and conversion efficiencies. But we have enough, nuclear, coal,oil and natural gas to go energy Independent now. All we have to do is follow the lead of other countries who have done it, Brazil, Denmark, France and Australia.

i really liked this poem who ever wrote this poem did a good job with this

YOU GUYS TALK ABOUT SOME VERY IMPORTANT STUFF GOOD JOB!

[Asia]

this poem is terrific because i love recycling and i love to prevent global warming.......thanx 4 your time and keep up the good work and keep inspirng kids to prevent these thing ......good job (thumbs up)!!!!!!!!!!
by the way im only 12 yrs old

[haley mueller]

Nice

[Catmoves]

Geeze.
Don't throw your old, untaken prescriptions in the trash. Don't flush them down the toilet.
Um, should we throw them by the side of the road?
Reality strikes.