(editor's note: Near Olympia, Washington, a man working to upgrade his family business discovered a leak in an old oil tank. Knowing how vital is was that he get this cleaned up, he reached out for help. It seems not only the entire town responded, but Gaia Herself helped out with some "synchronistic" events!
I'm also including a letter about recycling that shows how the depths of generosity can have a profound effect on many people.

Rather than become disheartened by the negative news of mainstream media, I challenge you to look deeper -to find healing earth heroes in your own community. There are people all over this beautiful jewel we call Gaia working every day to correct the damage we have done. They are doing the physical clean up work, or putting the intellectual thought into solving these problems. Please join me in sending them all energies of love and support.
~All my Love, Boo)

 

 

Company, Ecology work together to clean up Garfield spill

 

OLYMPIA – Jerry Love planned to get that last, old tank out of the ground.

He had scheduled the removal of the last heating oil tank at his father’s company, J.E. Love Co. in Garfield, for sometime in 2012. Love is the third generation of his family to head the farm-equipment manufacturer that his grandfather founded more than 80 years ago in Whitman County. The tank removal was part of the company’s plan to finish switching its buildings from oil heat to radiant heat.

But on Jan. 12, 2012, Love and his employees discovered that the tank was leaking oil – and at least some of it was reaching nearby Silver Creek. The tank could hold 8,000 gallons. Love estimates it contained about 1,300 gallons at the time of the leak.

The company acted quickly. The city supplied booms, which were placed in the creek to stop oil from moving. Workers dug up and patched a storm drain, which had transported oil into the creek.

 

Love said he knew he and his 10 employees needed help. So they contacted the Washington Department of Ecology’s (Ecology) Spokane office and also hired cleanup contractor NRC.

They also caught a couple of breaks. First, it turns out that a sidewalk-replacement project a few years earlier had broken a sewer pipe, which was not repaired. Some of the oil that seeped out of Love’s leaking tank reached the pipe and ended up at the city’s wastewater plant.

 

They also managed to get NRC on scene almost immediately to start cleaning up and doing what was needed to stop further damage from occurring. That was important, because a strong winter weather system was expected to move in to the area in a matter of days.

 

“If it did have to happen, it couldn’t have happened at a better time,” Love said. The weather was dry and the creek level was low without much movement.

The NRC crew and Love’s employees worked feverishly to clean up and to install a treatment system to capture any remaining oil. Garfield residents pitched in, including some experienced in construction. A local tavern helped supply coffee and food.

“That’s the great thing about living in a small town,” said Love. “We had people bringing plates of cookies that they’d baked at 11 o’clock at night. These are people that are usually in bed by 9:30.”

 

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/news/2012/130.html

 

 

A Random Act of Recycling

 

--posted by dailybread on May 1, 2012

Last Saturday when I was in the car with my children, I realized that I hadn't made time to do out usual recycling, and our water bottles had been piling up (in our car actually!).

We were going to be driving past the recycling station at the corner grocery store and as we approached it, I took in the long line of people, bags in hand, waiting their turn to cash in for a few bucks and some change.  I thought about the times I've waited in that line, not always just for a little extra cash or purely to help the environment - but sometimes simply because I actually needed to buy milk or bread didn't have the money.

I made a last minute decision and pulled into the parking lot.  I jumped out of the car and grabbed the few bags of plastic bottles that I had in the back of the car.  I went up to the person at the front of the line (he seemed to be the neediest). 

My kids were watching me the whole time wondering what on earth I was doing stopping to recycle when we clearly had to be somewhere and soon :) I hadn't thought about exactly what I would say to the recipient and the beauty of it always startles me, when I realize it really doesn't matter.  The act alone speaks volumes. 

I stood in front of the man while he pushed his cans tiredly into the machine, with my bags hoisted and asked him,

"Would you mind taking mine too?"

He responded with a huge smile and a bit of a laugh......

"I would love to." 

Glad he could help me out like that.  ;-)

 

http://www.helpothers.org/story.php?sid=30871