editorial

The Artist’s Eye

Moderation?

Alcoholism and tobScco smoking are heady problems these days in more ways than one. Both are an important part of our economies and every day life and both can be killers.' ’Hie question then becomes: What to do abobt it? For the past four weeks Terry Xughes has boen exploring the alcoholism problem in Cape May County in a series of articles in this newspaper, lie concludes today that there is a need for a comprehensive plan to deal with alcoholism in this county. Too many fragmentary groups are all working toward the same goal with different ideas and programs There are some, of course, who will argue that the best way to solve the problems that come with smoking and drinking is to eliminate smoking and drinking. The experiences from Prohibition say otherwise, however, as far as,drinking is concerned. Smoking may be another story although what a tobacco taboo would do to the economy of some of the southern states is beyond comprehension here Unfortunate it is, indeed, that the economic survival of some areas depends upon a product that could take peoples' lives The answer seems to.be moderation. Drinking in excess opens a Pandora's Box of dire consequences. Highway accidents, sicknesses, social abuses are just a few ex-' ' amples of what can happen from heavy indulgence A few cigarettes a day are not as potentially dangerous as two or thfee packs although doctors would prefer total abstinence. i It appears, therefore, that what is needed is a concerted effort by all groups in Cape May County to educate the public about the need for moderation as well as about the dangers of smoking and drinking. Tjghter control of alcohol sale and use in the state are important, too, but education is equally vital. The American Cancer Society has done an effective job in educating the public about the perils ofi smoking. The time is ripe for a similar campaign about drinking. \ British Seagull 367

The Old Seashore Cottage

bv Cheryl Crews-I.ynch

Confronting Cape May County with a fresh eye this Spring, I returned home after a year’s absence. As usual, the new season startled with discoveries. With the setting up of home, studio and gardens behind me. I began scanning the earthside for spots to paint, observing them through drawing. There are special moments, extended by a line, when one is too absorbed in the beauty of the world to notice man's

• ungainly intrusion.

Retracing old steps, I set foot on 11/th St. in Stone Harbor, where I first found the path to the beach as a child. We spent two summers on that street in the 50s, and it was there that the mystical experience of the sea

first filled this vessel.

There weren’t more than a half-dozen houses in the area then, and the residents were Sighted with an

stood a house on the edge of the beaclv which stands still -for the moment, but will soon disappear. Weathered by the elements and human experience, it unabashedly shows its simple face. Several sturdy bayberries cluster near it, and there is a healthy stand

of lily-of-the-valley.

Feeling snug in the eves, birds are feeding their young. They have been the only inhabitants for some time now, though people have been passing through. Like those looking for memories. Or those set to destroy the place. And an occasional lover, poet, artist. This beach cottage is an anachronism. It stands out of time. Its immediate surroundings have changed drastically. To the southwest, a fresh water pond once nurtured the area. Now there is ,a checkerboard of grand homes topping each filled square to the brim. No longer evident is the “seashore cottage" where life is

Weathered by the elements and human experience, it unabashedly shouts its simple face /

unusual comraderie. The Coast Guard station-loomed in the dunes; beyond that, the jetty, vertically marked here and there by a nun. Greenhead flies bit like crazy when there was a land breeze. And the bird sanctuary had a fence. In the dunes south of the Coa^t Guard station there

simple and undisturbing of the scene. William Blake,declared that we can “See the world in a grain of sand.r I hope we don’t have to resort to t|)at. Artist Cheryl Crews-Lynch now rnakes her home in the Villas.

The State We're In

Man May Be Last Species on Hit List Costlier Water

by Ima BVrd Man is funny! He goes through life with u completely dispassionate nature toward others and toward the environment and then when he discovers that he has created an endangered species by his abuse and neglect, he sets about trying to protect it. One of the ways he does this is bj'making lists of endangered species, i At seems he has great fun with the paperwork of those lists and pays little attention to the things that are continually destroying the natural habitats of those species and of himself We had to laugh when there was all those odteries about the lieast Terns at Stone Harbor Point — but the development went on And those hawks and eagles over at a place called Great Bear Swamp really gave us cause for raucous laughter when the humans went about pretending to be concecned about the last remaining eagle nests in New Jersey Those officials hemmed and hawed and ex pressed their deepest, feelings about those birds. They even went so far as to remove newly laid eggs and to replace then) with eaglets the time, the chopping down of the Wrest ctintim/bd along with the pollution of the land As great men of science climbed nearby trees and

C APT. M AY COUNTTV

Heralfc

CuMkhrri Kvmv Wr4nr«4iv H\ P ‘» l»«* • TWS*»«t»vf Cor**r«Oo« Av«U*i. NJ IWM John H. Andnin II Editor Bonnie Reina General Manager & Advertising Coordinator Darrell Kopp • Publisher ■> 0 »n.»Co.p !«•? AH ngM, All p.op*'«y l<x *»• ■ ontOTt, o4 lh>» ovblxoHnn tSoll b« IS* p'Op*'», o> W«wo** Cofp No pax mov •>• 'op'ratuiorf <mihou> p“of •riHon tontani DEADLINES News & Photos Thursday Advertising Friday - 3 p.m. Classified Advertising Friday • 3 p.m. I PI7-3312 Ft NcwsTOr Advertising Inform a tlotT] \pt<Wr nart>r»p»OB* adtrrtkrro nor (he paMkhen of (hr HMlM.O VSI» I.ANTKH.N will he re*pon*lhle or liable lor mktnlnrmallofl. mkprlnk. t >f a«riphkil reran, ele . In anv totnr The editor rexervn the rl*ht lo rdll a

lower Townthlp

LANTERN

The Senwavf ( arparatlan

PO Hot 4*4 CoM Spring. N J vom

observed with their scientific binoculars the eagles acceptance of those eaglets, X^he chaiq saws continued desecrating the land. TO AN OBSERVER IT WAS a rather ridiculous display of concern. It would seem that the simple thing to do would be to put an immediate halt to the "progress" on the surrounding land and in that virgin timber area, but humans don’t look at things in such simple, hodest terms. Behind the scenes some politicians are making deals and some officials are pulling strings until the eaglets have become no more than puppets on. the strings of businessmen whose only concern is to maj^a-buck at any cost. In parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey officials have been heard by astute birds to laugh privately whenever someone in the community expresses a concern for birds! I mean here we are dealing with multi-millions of dollars and you think these tycoons can take time out to consider BIRDS? Be advised again that the Bird Sanctuary in Stone Harbor is worth millions of dollars. Remember that!. These feelings are not only exhibited at a local level, but the entire temperament of the nation has taken-on an / don't care attitude as far as wildlife is concerned. President Reagan's policies have not only diminished aid for school lunches and monies for historic preservation, but have also proposed to knock out the Endangered Species Protection Act. FOR MANY YEARS I’VE PONDERED on that act. I thought itAvas perfectly wonderful and right that people should be aware when the last remaining eagles or terns nest among timbering and pollution, jeopardizing their very existence. Any way to help insure that these species survive was good. I thought. But the list isn't enough) In fact, it’s almost like a hit list whereby someone in Washington keeps tabs on the species of the world and crosses them off as they disappear, kind of an information bureau technique. BuCbeing cynical I suppose I refused to see what the list had to do with the survival of these species as there seemed to be no action taken to insure that the species wouldlx? protected at any cost,. It was almost like keeping tabs on all the toxic waste dumps in the country but saying, as we do. that we do not have the funds to clean them up or the laws to make the polluters responsible for their dirty dumping. So we just take note of it and go on with the recording session. It is obvious that the list will get shorter as it gets longer, and one day the politicians and polluters will check their lists and find but one species remains on the endangered list. Man.

W atching Needed by David F. Moore There's a situation, which one could call The More You' Look Syndrome affecting this state we’re in. It means the more we look, the more we find — especially when the subject is water pollution. Those simple days not too long ago when water quality was considered purely in terms of bacteria causing illnesses such as typhoid or cholera are now long gone. In those days, only a decade or more ago, the water was dosed with chlorine, and that took care of the bacteria. We still use that method. "We've still got to guard against bacteria, but that turns out merely to be the outside layer of the onion. Now we know that in some cases, the chlorine in the water can interact with things like rotting leaves to foster a family of chemicals called trihalomethanes (THM’s), which are strongly suspected of causing cancer. This came to light in connection with chlorination of Mississippi River water in the New Orleans area, but it can happen anywhere. HERE IN NEW JERSEY, an agency of the Dept, of Environmental Protection began monitoring certain wells on a statewide basis fqllowing the 1974 realization that the Garden State had an apparent leadership position in the incidence of cancer. Later statistics have softened this blow, but our record remains bad. Once they began looking, they began finding things. Various chemicals, Many of them carcinogenic, were found. Not surprisingly, in rural areas the chemicals had agricultural origins, and in urban areas, industrial chemicals prevailed. Whatever the cause, we’ve now got a pattehi of chemical pollutants all over the state. That doesn’t mean that every well and stream is polluted, but the distribution of those which are is like a blanket. We should note that during the past decade technology has leaped ahead, so that smaller concentrations of pollutants can be detected and measured. Parts per million was generally the best measurement back in the '60s. Now parts per billion is the common standard, and the most sophisticated laboratories (very few) are actually measuring parts per trillion.-This means that now we can find something more easily, but we’fe uncertain about whether it's new or was there all the time. ALL OF WHICH SHOWS that state and federal agencies are playing a game of catch-up. without getting ahead of the situation enough to exercise clear long-range thinking and planning. A look toward Europe could show some good directions to take. (Page 27 Please)