We live in very exciting times. In five years, the goal is to return humans to the moon to establish both orbital and surface bases for research, and in 10 to 20 years time, putting humans on Mars to colonize that world. It truly is amazing, and it’s thanks to the incredible engineering and work of both government agencies like NASA and the European Space Agency, and the private efforts of companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origins and Boeing.

But, we still live in perilous times as well. Humanity will soon pass 7 billion people, and counting. We are relying on less and less farmland globally to feed more and more people, lest we forget the declining animal populations we rely on as well, such as the never-complacent honeybee.

And then there is the huge problem of landfills. Landfills do not break down rubbish. In fact, it’s been said that landfills are merely storage facilities for things such as plastics that can take 1,000 years to break down into smaller pieces, but plastic never fully decomposes. Your $1 soda that you purchase for a temporary pleasure will be a near-eternal decision. What sort of world are we leaving behind as we prepare to launch to other worlds? We are quickly leaving a landfill-filled place, overcrowded, with precious little land for farming and animal populations in jeopardy.

It’s way beyond time to smarten up, and this isn’t something that will change overnight. So can I ask, as we look toward the future, to consider our actions for the present? Reduce waste, reuse items and recycle a bit more? I fell in love with composting and personally reduced my weekly curbside trash from three bags to one. I would love to see that one bag be cut in half as well. We are all in this together! No green new deal needed, just cooperation and consideration for the future.

Tony Frantz

Parryville