March 2 is the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel and, in 1997, was officially proclaimed Read Across America Day in his honor.
To be completely honest, my favorite of his books growing up was Fox in Socks, but coming in at a close second was The Lorax. (If you have not read it, I highly recommend you do). While the colorful language and goofy pictures of Dr. Seuss set a light and playful tone, the amount of destruction to the “Truffula Trees” and the environment as a whole always baffled me. Even now, it leaves me with a sense of frustration and concern for the future. As the Lorax points out, the trees have no tongues. Neither do the Great Lakes.
“You’re glumping the pond where the Humming-Fish hummed! No more can they hum, for their gills are all gummed. So I’m sending them off. Oh, their future is dreary. They’ll walk on their fins and get woefully weary in search of some water that isn’t so smeary.”
The waters of the Great Lakes are for everyone. They should be protected for the “Humming-Fish,” but also for you and for me. For fishing, boating, swimming, and other uses. We cannot allow corporations to put the Great Lakes at risk. We must ensure that our water is kept public, clean, and safe.
So help FLOW in protecting our Great Lakes. As Dr. Seuss concludes toward the end of The Lorax: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
