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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

Palo-Santo-Candles

From Normal to New Normal

Mar 31, 2022 06:31PM ● By Joe Dunne

I have been writing publisher letters every month for 12 years. It is always exhausting when I wait till the last day to get started, but here I am again. I find myself not remembering if or how much I have written on change, life, gratitude, etc., and this always presents a challenge in being creative. This time will be no different. Yet, in some ways, it works for me. 

   Today I have been pondering Earth Day and the impact our thinking and decision-making has on our lives and on this planet. These important issues have measurable consequences that affect us all and the generations of children that will follow. 

Several years ago, I wrote a piece about plastics. The spark came from walks in Breezy Point, New York, during low tide. Pens, cups, bags, containers, gallon milk jugs, and every other conceivable plastic product was scattered along the beach. Unrecognizable objects sitting in tar, seaweed and ocean straw seemed to be asking to be picked up and cleaned up. It almost looked like the environment was crying. That was 30+ years ago. We have come a long way since then; however, there is still much left to address. What can we do? As always, personal responsibility is the starting point. For me, volunteering to clean a river, walk a beach, get involved in our communities, spread awareness is a good place to start. Getting involved making a difference feels right to me. 

Another impactful moment happened when I was 23 and living in Chicago. In those days, smoking was normal. We smoked everywhere—restaurants, buses, cars, theaters, on the plane—and we littered. Discarding stuff and emptying car ash trays in a parking lot or on the sidewalk was common until the signs and fines for littering started to appear. Television commercials promoted the idea that we all share a common space, so we all need to take care of it a little better. This was pointed out to me directly during a walk on Michigan Avenue in Chicago one bright sunny day. As I was strolling along without a worry in the world, I tossed the core of an apple into the street near the curb without thinking. Within a minute, someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I lived here in the city. “No,” I replied, “I do not.” “Well, I do,” he said, “and this is like my living room. Would you throw your trash in your living room?” I did not know what to do or say. He looked at me, kind of shrugged his shoulders, and turned, depositing the apple core in a trash collection bin right next to us. As you can see, I have never forgotten that teaching moment. It has shaped my thinking and decision-making ever since. 

We have come a long, long way, but awareness, personal responsibility and actions are still in front of us. There is much to do to clean up living rooms and our houses. Our Earth, our responsibilities, to be good stewards should be part of our norm. 

As a side note, cigarettes thrown in the streets are still litter. And now, discarded masks are everywhere. Please, let’s not make this our new norm. 

If we want to spread something around, let it be peace. Unlike litter, spreading peace around, talking about it, praying for it, living it, thinking it, believing in it, would be a great New Normal. 


Pray for Peace, 

Asta & Joe Dunne, Publishers

Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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