A quick internet search finds the definition of Earth Day as an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Did you know that the theme for the 2024 Earth Day is “Planet versus plastic?” I wish I had known that earlier; I had already drafted an article about all the different things we could do to reduce our carbon footprint to celebrate Earth Day.
If I was “king” of Illinois and wanted to make a dent on our carbon footprint, I would make the following decrees: Eliminate the school drop-off line for cars. All students walk or ride a bus to school. I didn’t waste any time making every soccer mom in Illinois mad, did I; do they still call them soccer moms? I would outlaw remote start or impose a huge tax on it. I would also require automakers to install an engine kill switch for any vehicle left running more than a minute without someone in it. I would not hesitate to impose a $1 tax for every restaurant drive thru transaction, with the money going towards cleaning up litter. Yes, I know that will make your monthly Starbucks or McDonalds visit as much as your mortgage, but do we really need all those cars circling the restaurant with their engines running?
Now it is time to pick on truck owners, like me. Since there was an article that concluded that most pickup truck owners rarely do truck stuff with their truck, I would have to impose a significant penalty or tax on this form of gas guzzling. Now is probably a good time to also outlaw outdoor gas fire pits; why trade a little backyard ambience for extra pollution.
Years ago I read that issuing penalties for perceived bad behavior was not as productive as giving incentives for desired behavior. Therefore, this article is not all bad news if I have not already riled your anger with my silliness. I would give a discount on property taxes if you plant a garden, install a clothesline, leave some portion of your yard au natural or planted it to some kind of wildflowers. Those who can commute to work without a vehicle, or work from home, would receive an income tax credit. I would also find a way to give a $3 credit towards every purchase when you walk or bike to a business instead of driving.
I can now safely guarantee that I will never have a political career in Illinois with this whimsical article being published under my name. Would anyone who is not an environmental extremist see any merits to what I have already stated? I suspect that if I was to personally perform all the negative actions and none of the positives I have referenced, the environment and my bank account would suffer negatively.
Now to the real theme of Earth Day 2024. I despise all the plastic I find in my farm fields. Do not even get me started on people who don’t pick up plastic baler twine; you know who you are! As a staunch fiscal conservative, I cannot understand why anyone would buy water, yet alone buy it in a plastic bottle. Would a $1 deposit on every plastic beverage container make a difference?
I have several 1-gallon water jugs and a 2-gallon jug that keep me hydrated daily while doing farm and construction work. There are many summer days where 2 gallons of water is not enough. I wonder how many plastic water bottles were never made because of my frugality, and how much fatter my wallet is.
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