03/19/08 Helping the Environment

Helping the Environment. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. In the late 50's and 60's most people were apathetic about trash. Especially driving down the road, it was not uncommon to see people chucking all sorts of things out the window. I guess it was out of sight, out of mind. As the popularity of fast food restaurants and convenience stores grew, we became more of a disposable nation. Before that we either ate at home or took a lunchbox. A big change came in the 70's as ecologists began pointing the finger at the junk lining roadways, rivers and parks. The vision of Iron Eyes Cody shedding a tear will forever be etched into the movement to clean it up. Today, we have made great strides in keeping America clean but one of those ways needs help. Rod Hankinson with the Washington State Department of Ecology helps organize Ecology Youth Corp members as clean up crews. HANKINSON: I've been doing this for approximately 20 years and the programs been ongoing for well over 30 and it's kind of like a Mom and apple pie situation, we hire kids 14 through 17 to go out and clean the sides of the highways and it's kind of shame that we have to do it at all but you know folks are kind of pigs and someone has got to clean up behind them. Many students have taken advantage of the opportunity as their first ever job and Hankinson says it's a good place to start. HANKINSON: It's a pretty good job, it's a very hard job, it's not like working for McDonald's, that's for darn sure but the kids can take a little bit away from it that they've done some good work. They've helped the environment and they've helped their pocketbook a little bit too because we pay minimum wage. It's just been the last few years I've noticed a decline in the number of kids that have applied for the jobs. In addition to highway clean up the students play a bigger role in environmental education. HANKINSON: Periodically on Friday afternoons I really try my best to have the crews get off the traveled highways and to go out and do a little bit of environmental education with the general public. They will go to a mini-market because believe it or not guess where most of the stuff comes from that we find on the side of the highway, it comes from a mini-market somewhere. So we'll try to get permission from one of those stores to hand out little bags and pamphlets to educate folks as to "A", that there is a problem with littering and "B" what they can do different instead of throwing the stuff out the window or throw it in the back of the truck and have it magically disappear by the time they get home. Hankinson is looking to hire about 60 kids to work through the summer. Applications are available either online or at many area high schools. Applications must be in around the first of April. Visit www.ecy.wa.gov for more information. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.