On April 17, 2021, volunteers from Haywood Waterways, Haywood Community College, Climate Action Coalition, and others, gathered at River’s Edge Park in Clyde. Our job was to plant native species of deep-rooted trees and shrubs to stabilize the banks of the Pigeon River. There was a sense of urgency. When the job was done and over 40 specimens were planted, the group gathered together to share some thoughts.

As a pediatrician, I spent many years on hospital call in Haywood County and many long hours in the middle of the night trying to keep a newborn alive. So, I do understand and share the passion and concern expressed in the recently published response to my July 6 column in The Mountaineer about political violence and the reproductive rights of American women.  

At this moment we are all struggling  with many critical issues. The war in Ukraine, the increasing disasters of climate change, inflation and growing gun violence are constantly on our minds. But lurking far out of the public’s acottention is a danger so vast and inconceivable that most people just block it out.

The towns of Waynesville and Canton have recently joined hundreds of other communities in declaring a need to dramatically reduce the use of throw-away/single-use plastics.