opinion i

Herald & Lantern 19 Augmt 81

Cape Transportation Planning is Off the Tracks

by Jane Ami Cunningham

The exports are predicting n tremendous population inrVease in Cape May County in the near future, a forecast which is no surprise since, casino gambling began As usual, politicians, planners and state and local governments are spinning their wheels on all the problems which will b<i created by the influx, and also,'as usual, are doing littlelo formulate constructive proposals

for the future’ -

What. for instance, is being done in the field of transportation’’ In Cape May County, public tronsportaiTbp is a joke Most families need two cars,, because there/is no other alternative Tourists .by the thousands arrive in cars, and each summer season there are more anmmore

traffic jams. Thoair in Atlantic City, and to a lesser extent. Wildwood and Oceap City, is often filled with Ozope

from the fumes of busses and automobiles.

WHAT EVER HAPPENED to radroads and trolley cars? Many vears ago. it was faster to get from Philadelphia to the shore by rail than it is now. It seems obvious if we want clean air, less dependen6e<on foreign oil, and faster and more efficent transponiation - we should return to travel by rail. Instead of Building new highways, which only makes the existing proHem worse, a concentrated effort should be made to formulate county

ykand state wide plans for some type of rail travel.

It’s odd. isn’t it, that most people in the past enjoyed riding the railroads Of course, many people today have

had little experience wjtkthis method of transportatidn. With automdbile traffi«y1ncreasing. finding parking space a problem, man^peopl^ would welcome an alternative. On some summer weekends, it has taken dn hour for cars to reach the resort islafids from the Parkway and Route 9. It is ironic to remember that many years ago, the train trip from Philadelphia took about the same amount of timejds the present day traffic jams. Will we reach the point where there is one gigantic traffic jam from Philadelphia to the shore before the problem

is addressed?

Jane Ann Cunningham iji former publisher of the Hprald. y

Recycling*—The Exciting Prospects

The headline in last week's paper read: Recycling Plans Excite MtIA The news article provided a glimpse of what's in store for the Jersey Cape in the very near future as recycling becomes a way of fife here More than just the officials of the county Municipal tltilities Authori ,ty should be excited alxiut this prospect. • jSd should the people themselves, for soon will come the day when we can all help directly and periodically in the enhancement of our own environment. If last week’s article was any indication, thp MUA is most excited about the possibility of cutting down on the amount of refuse that will have to lie disposed of via landfilling. While that is, indeed. a cdmendable prospect, what seems more exciting js the opportunity recycling gives all of us to practice hands on conservation. ON FIRST BIA'SH IT WOULD appear that recycling will generate on overall profit at most and. at least, provide a less costly means of disposing of refuse. This probably won’t be the case, at least for the citizens other than the private haulers and government employees who will

make money or their living off the eventual sale of recycled materials. By and large, recycling will probably cost at least as much as present disposal means 4>ecause of the added manpower and energy needed —basically, the extra step (s) recycling will mean between source point (consumer) and disposal point (landfillV Even if it turns out that recycling is more expensive than current refuse collection/disposal methods, even if the revenue made thru the sale of recyclable items doesn’t cover the additional costs involved — the very process of reusing what would otherwise be waste is exciting. Picture all those beer and soda cans. Soon they will not only have a value at the time of purchase, but also at the time of disposal. Cash for trash is exciting!

THE MOST EXCITING prospect is the hope that as recycling becomes the norm, litter will lessen, conservation will increase, and man’s individual and overall concern for his surroundings will improve. The Jersey Cape is still relatively unsullied. Let’s all pitch inIB see that it remains largely unspoiled. Let's not even waste our waste. ' —The Herald

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by Ima Byrd Last week I visited a few friends of mine in Pennsylvania. These old ducks have been making their home along the Perkiomen Creek near Schwenksville for a few years and I must say the area up there is mighty beautiful, what with the trees, creek and all. But I have to tell you^F was happy to get back to the Jersey shore after I ssriv what was going on in that area. That creek has b«(fome -so full of PCB's and other chemicals that it wasn’t worth your life to take even a few gulps of the ^tuff. I don’t know how those ducks and fish survive, but they.still keep oh living. Of course, if you've ever looked a muskie in the eye as I did on that visit, you might understand Muskies eyes are as intelligent as any humans — and sensitive. Why you can tell at one glance what those old fish have had to contend with over the years. WE DIDN’T NEED TO TALK, that muskie and I. We just eyed each, other in, quiet. The contamination and disregard of hum^nS-for‘the environment just swelled up in that old fellow's fey® and I felt so sorry for him I Would have done anyting to relieve him of his burden. Now seagulls aren't usually friendly to fish, but a muskie is different - he's got a soul like us. That muskie must have weighed about 45 pobnds or more. He looked old and tired as he swam off for another day in his struggle to live. Well, I looked at that polluted creek and I began to get mightly disturbed, fhen I saw a bunch of rowdies on the

other side getting ready to throw rocks at my duck friends and I got angry — REAL ANGRY! I ZOOMED OVER TO THOSE kids and flapped and screamed as loud as I could until I sent them in a terror running for their cars. I managed to get one fellow on the ear as he yelled — “The bird's gone crazy," and ran off down the road. I chased him for awhile until he was good and scared and then I came back to my duck friends and sat in the quiet looking at all the beatity that remained in spite of man’s disregard. I fell very sad. We ducks watched me curiously, then one of them spoke. "We always thought we had to sit and take the abuse. We never saw a bird go after a human,” they said flapping their feathers with new-found dignity. I LOOKED AT THEM INTENTLY. There seemed to be something different about them — a new knowledge aqd determination seemed plastered on thier beak-filled faces. They were no longer placid and content. Word of my anger and action spread along the creek and inland for miles. Other ducks and birds came down to join our small group. There was much sqawking and sharpening of beaks. I figured R-was a good lime to leave. I said goodbye and/new back toward my ocean and home wondering what strange thing I’d,started. Somehow I knew — really knew — that things would never be the same. NEXT WEEK Terry Fox, hero.