A day to give thanks for everything around us

VIC LEIPZIG AND LOU MURRAY

Vic and I use this column to share our concerns about environmental

degradation, global warming and other ills that affect modern

society. We try to keep our readers informed of the deleterious

health effects of auto exhaust, dry cleaning fumes and diesel

discharge from cargo ships in port. We research the hazards of

chemical compounds such as benzene, styrene, PCBs and a host of other

nasty stuff to keep our readers informed. There is always something

to write about because there is no end to bad news about the

environment.

But there is an upside to life as well. We write about the many

interesting and odd species that live here, the beauty that we find

in nature, and the many wonderful habitat restoration projects that

are going on in town. On this day of national thanksgiving, we want

to give thanks for the many positives in our community.

In many communities, there are concerns about chemicals, such as

perchlorates, seeping into water wells. We can be thankful that our

local water supply is clean, safe and very well managed. It even

tastes good.

On the East Coast, there is great concern with acid rain that is

caused by burning coal to make electricity. We can be thankful that

our local power company burns natural gas, which is a much cleaner

fuel. In fact, Huntington Beach has some of the cleanest air in the

region.

The air in the greater Los Angeles basin is cleaner now than it

was 20 years ago, thanks to the enactment of environmental

legislation.

A lot of people criticize environmentalists and call us

eco-whackos. They wish that there were less government regulation.

But environmental laws are designed to protect our health and

well-being. They prevent companies concerned only with profit from

spewing out pollutants that harm our health.

It is important that we not relax our vigilance and slide back

into the old thinking that allowed pollutants to be put into the air

we breathe. Childhood asthma has reached near epidemic levels. We now

know that air pollution kills both the young and the elderly. This

underscores the importance of safeguarding our air and keeping it

clear of particulates, ozone, aromatic hydrocarbons and other

pollutants.

We are particularly thankful for the many members of our community

who fight to preserve what little wild land is left. We are blessed

to have so many people who care about wetlands, not just to save them

from development, but to enhance them for the greater benefit of

wildlife and humans.

More and more people are learning that coastal salt marshes are

the cradle of the ocean and the lungs of the planet. Acre for acre,

salt marshes produce more oxygen than a tropical rainforest and are

more biologically productive than an Iowa cornfield. They serve as

nurseries for many ocean fish and marine invertebrates.

With the ongoing restoration of the Bolsa Chica wetlands, and the

planned restoration of Brookhurst Marsh and other wetland cells in

the Huntington Wetlands, our area will soon resume its role as a

significant source of new ocean life.

None of these things would be happening without a concerned and

involved citizenry. We are thankful that so many people in our

community are willing to get involved to save, protect, and restore

our last remaining patches of wild lands and parks. Without them,

this town would be chocked, block wall to block wall with houses,

with no open space and no wildlife corridors.

Finally, we’re thankful for the many public servants whose job it

is to keep the sewers, sewage treatment plant and water supply

working, whose job it is to provide us with electricity, and whose

job it is to monitor air quality. We’re also thankful for the many

people who keep our parks looking so beautiful, for keeping our roads

in good repair and for maintaining the many trees that line our city

streets. We tend to just take these things for granted, but there are

people working who make it happen. Many of them are working today to

keep our environment safe and to keep our infrastructure functioning.

We’re thankful for the men and women of our police and fire

departments who are working this holiday and who have worked on so

many other holidays. We can enjoy our turkeys and cranberries in

safety and security because they are on the job.

Finally, we’re thankful for the men and women of our armed forces

who are doing their best to keep America safe. They are laying their

lives on the line to protect our way of life. One of our nephews has

been in Iraq for nearly a year. He has experienced the tragedy of

losing men under his command, but so far he has escaped harm. We

expect him home next month, God willing. For that, we are the most

grateful of all.

Happy Thanksgiving.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at [email protected].