Don't be too pooped to clean environment

Wish a Happy New Year to the earth by adding some environmentally friendly resolutions to your list:

1. Scoop the poop everywhere, whether in your yard, your neighbor's yard, on the street or at the beach. Rain washes bacteria into storm drains to pollute our rivers and streams, not to mention the unpleasant effects of poop left on the ground.

2. Make a habit of taking re-usable bags to every store. Plastic bags are eyesores all over the city and, even worse, they choke our waters and our sea creatures. So many plastic bags are massed together in one area of the Pacific Ocean that they have created a plastic bag island twice as big as Texas. Even in landfills, plastic bags can last hundreds of years.

3. Don't pour grease down the drain, no matter what the manufacturer of your garbage disposal said once upon a time. Pour grease into a can and freeze it until the can is full. Then throw it in your garbage can. Always wipe grease from your frying pan with a paper towel before you wash the pan. Grease congeals in sewer pipes and causes sewer backups. Backups overflow into storm drains and into the river.

4. As much as feeding ducks is like motherhood and apple pie, try to cooperate happily with the new city ordinance against feeding ducks in public places (and if you want to be a good sport, don't feed them in your yard either). Large concentrations of ducks end up living in too small an area when they are hand-fed. It's unhealthy for the ducks and the waterways, too. It's that poop thing again.

5. When you plant this spring, think about digging flowerbeds around the perimeter of your property and cutting back on grass in your yard. Flowerbeds absorb rainwater run-off and serve as a buffer to keep the run-off from draining into streets, down storm drains and into the river.

6. Bone up on organic gardening to reduce your use of pesticides and fertilizer. When fertilizer washes off lawns and into storm drains and into the river, it causes algae to grow in the water just as it encourages grass to grow on land. Too much algae can choke oxygen from the water, killing fish and other critters that need oxygen to live. Pesticides are deadly, period.

7. Reduce your carbon footprint by driving less, eating mostly locally grown foods, keeping your heat low and air conditioning high, using energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs, recycling, limiting your use of throw-away items such as paper cups and even mowing your lawn with a push-your-own reel mower. It is said that one hour of mowing with an old-fashioned, gas-powered motor emits as much pollution as driving 350 miles!

8. Pass on your resolutions and environmentally friendly tips to me and I will include them in Close Encounters. In the long run, a happy New Year for the Earth means an even happier New Year for us.

What surprises or puzzles have you come across in nature, or do you have a tidbit of local lore? Send e-mail to barrow1@cox.net. Include name, neighborhood and city. If you have injured wildlife, call the Virginia Beach SPCA, (757) 427-0070.