Editorial

Mothers are wise. They offer their families love, support, security and, for no additional charge, they also provide excellent medical advice. When our mothers told us, “A Stitch in time saves nine,” or “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” they weren’t just whistling in the dark. They were passing on a time-tested truth. It is always better to prevent a problem in the first place rather than wait for it to happen, then try to deal with the consequences afterwards. This wisdom certainly applies to childhood vaccines.

On our most recent visit to the state capitol in Sacramento, we witnessed the mounting waves of an invading army, a strange confederacy of hired-gun lobbyists, backwoods entrepreneurs, green-tinged lawyers and cannabis-sniffing capitalists.

Most people have heard the slogan “Only rain down the drain” or have seen decals near storm drain inlets with the words “DRAINS TO CREEK, NO DUMPING” on them. And we know what a wonderful environment we have in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties — our rivers and creeks are a major part of what is so great about living here. As you go about your daily tasks at work and home, you want to do what’s right to protect our environment, but sometimes it seems more convenient to overlook the responsible action, or just take a shortcut. It may seem easy to just clean a paint brush or roller with a hose into the street gutter or inlet rather than into the sink. After all, it’s just a little paint. Or when completing the replacement of a portion of a driveway you might be tempted to hose off the excess concrete into the nearby storm drain inlet — what else can you do with it? Let’s say the area around the dumpster or garbage can is getting a little dirty so why not a quick rinse with a hose to clean it up? It goes to a treatment plant, doesn’t it? These are all examples of how waste can end in our creeks.