Dateline: Long Beach WA

I'm visiting family in Long Beach, WA, a town where I've spent many a long weekend through the years. Before my dad ever lived here, I often visited with a college friend, staying at her family's beach cabin. Here are a couple of thoughts inspired by this most-recent trip.

1) Recycling might be a simple matter of tossing a plastic bottle into a bin for most of us, but in rural areas there are few options. On the peninsula where my dad lives, there are a few reycling centers. That's fine for people who have some time on their hands, but what about everyone who's bogged down with work, school, taking kids to baseball, etc.? That makes recycling dark green, not light green.

2) We saw two dead porpoises on the beach. My friend, who also visits Long Beach, saw three dead porpoises recently. So ... what's happening to the porpoises? It can't be good. Apparently, a lot of marine animals in the area are killed when they are hit by ships -- a whale washed up on the beach not long ago. Longtime residents of the peninsula are saying that razor clams are more scarce than they used to be(clamming is a major tourist draw in the area, bringing thousands to town when there's a clamming season). All this makes me think that the human impact is growing more serious for marine life off the Washington coast. Because clams, whales, and the like are a big part of the economy, I'm thinkin' that even if you don't give a crap about porpoises, if you want to keep jobs on the peninsula, you've got to care.

3) I don't like clearcuts.