Intrepid Teens
“It took a group of teenagers just a few weeks to solve a problem that's as old as the sea.” So starts a recent article on CNN.com. http://www.cnn.c/om/2009/TECH/05/22/scoop.invention/index.html
Raves to the members of Sea Scout Ship 41 in Bay Village, Ohio. May you live long and prosper. See them in action. http://waterfrontchallenge.blogspot.com/
I need one of those ingenious sea-scooping devices these admirable scouts invented at my inland home in North Carolina. Inland home? Yes. You read that right. Some of the debris the scouts fished out 
of a marina in Florida could very well have passed under my driveway bridge on its way to the ocean. Sad but true. It would have been nice to abort the trashy trip which is only possible when the water rises over our bridge. Those plastic bottles that are thoughtlessly tossed out of a vehicle? They are starting a long journey. (That’s if my neighborhood cleanup team doesn’t grab them first and stash them in a recycle bin. We can’t get them all, but we try.) Those bottles are often washed down a storm drain which feeds into a creek and on to a stream, a river, a larger river, eventually maybe even an ocean.
of a marina in Florida could very well have passed under my driveway bridge on its way to the ocean. Sad but true. It would have been nice to abort the trashy trip which is only possible when the water rises over our bridge. Those plastic bottles that are thoughtlessly tossed out of a vehicle? They are starting a long journey. (That’s if my neighborhood cleanup team doesn’t grab them first and stash them in a recycle bin. We can’t get them all, but we try.) Those bottles are often washed down a storm drain which feeds into a creek and on to a stream, a river, a larger river, eventually maybe even an ocean.Next they join an evil swarm of like-minded discards in a maniacal quest to pollute our environment visual
ly and tangibly. If enough wicked castoffs join the same horde, flooding and property damage occur. Health hazards to wildlife and humans result.Several times a year in order to gain access to my home, I have to clear our bridge. Though unpleasant, it’s one way I can interrupt a downstream attack of the unwanted . The list of items lost and tossed is ama
zing. Most recently, among the stranger bits of debris, were half of a food processor, a full bottle of Tilex, and a spray can of sneaker protector that ended life beside a sneaker it had miserably failed.
zing. Most recently, among the stranger bits of debris, were half of a food processor, a full bottle of Tilex, and a spray can of sneaker protector that ended life beside a sneaker it had miserably failed. At the very bottom of the pile was a furious Sponge Bob. After being tossed, tumbled, and battered for miles in the treacherous flood waters, he’d sighed with relief when the surge slowed and the waters receded. Alas, though the water had departed, Bob was left buried under two feet of debris.
Appreciating his spunk, I saved Bob and gave him a place of honor on my desk. He was thrilled to read about the Bay Village, OH Sea Scouts and hopes they inspire teens to rescue tossed toys all over the world. Sponge Bob is still scrubbing, trying to rid himself of his frightening and muddy ordeal, and as soon as he feels up to it he’s going shopping for new clothes--square green pants. He’s taking up a new cause. Go green teens!
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