Occasional Observer

Recent news regarding the environment has been varied, some quite discouraging while other news seems very optimistic.

Two gentlemen from Indiana, one a politician the other a public-spirited industrialist, show strikingly by example what has happened to the Republican party over the past half century. Curiously, both men came from the same town, Columbus, Ind., a thriving community of 48,000 people about 40 miles south of Indianapolis.

I know it’s presumptuous of me, an American, to be telling you, the president of the world’s largest country, how to conduct your business but I think it’s time somebody did even if it’s a person without proper qualifications or deep knowledge of your special circumstances.

Three years ago I offered nine New Year’s environmental resolutions for Lakeville Journal readers to consider; they were: Recycle more; Avoid unnecessary containers; Eat less meat, more vegetables; Drive less; Think carefully before building; Protect trees, especially older ones; Do you need to plant grass?; Compost your vegetable waste; Donate

Wreaking havoc across Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky, the spate of tornadoes that hit several of the southeastern  states Friday, Dec. 10, were terrifying and ominous. There was not one but several that did severe damage in five states and acted like a coordinated team of killers.

People are finally coming to realize that climate change is being caused primarily by the ever increasing concentration of global warming gases in the atmosphere. But what should we do about this? The obvious answer is to cut way back on the use of fossil fuels which, when burned, produce these gases, especially carbon dioxide.

The small suburban town of Fredensborg, Denmark, located about 20 miles north of Cøpenhagen and 10 miles southwest of Helsingor (Hamlet’s home), is the site of an extraordinary housing project constructed in the early 1960s for Danish citizens returning home after working for long periods abroad, many as civil servants in the Danish Foreign Serv

Those of us who garden as a hobby are familiar with the frustration of trying to get ahead of the weeds that compete with our flowers, vegetables and shrubs. With work we are able to more or less stay ahead of weeds at least in smaller, restricted areas and for most of the growing season our crops survive.