Happy Earth Day

Three Arapahoe County house districts cooperated with Democrats Work to clean up three parks in Aurora. Happy Earth Day, all! If you participated, thanks. If not, we'd like to have you out for the next Democrats Work function.

Earth Day and the cleanup brings a few things to mind I'd like to see happen for our Earth. Most of what was in my bag was those plastic grocery bags. The things never decay, they clog up water courses and animals' intestines, they drown or suffocate wildlife. Much as I hate the death of the trees, what's wrong with biodegradable paper? You can even compost paper bags, trapping carbon and fertilizing your garden without chemicals and the energy it takes to produce them. Should we approach our Democratic representatives and ask them to follow San Francisco and outlaw plastic grocery bags?

An issue mentioned afterward that could start to heal the rift between us and the Republicans (I try to type that with a straight face) is water. One idea I've been exploring could address the fact that 25% of our local water use is to grow Kentucky bluegrass. As a native Kentuckian, I appreciate the little view of home but I also realize we got 50+ inches of rain a year back there. We should be growing water-wise turf but for many, covenants require fescue or bluegrass, both wet-climate grasses although fescue is marginally better. I would like to approach our representatives to pass a law that covenants and HOAs could not outlaw prairie grasses such as buffalo grass and gramma, better adapted to our high, dry climate and requiring little to no irrigation.

Any more Earth Day ideas?