Stop leaf burning (cough, cough)

City officials in Rock Falls plainly care little about the rampant burning occurring daily throughout the year within Rock Falls. Otherwise, they would not indifferently slough off the objections espoused by environmentally concerned, health-conscious residents concerning this indisputable ecosystem depleting anachronism.

It would be a futile exercise, then, to again approach them to secure prohibition of this socially unacceptable, biologically injurious, and morally reprehensible practice.

No, this inquiry, doomed to meet the same apathy expressed by the city of Rock Falls, is directed toward the collective conscience of the citizens of Rock Falls. The impetus behind this abbreviated communique is not only the year-round burning mentioned above, but the more acute occurrence this past weekend of nearly the entire population of Rock Falls incessantly engaging in the malodorous act of setting fire to their fall foliage.

As a result, a low-hanging fog of poisonous gases permeated the air throughout Rock Falls on an otherwise beautiful autumn weekend. Those unable to tolerate such pollutants were imprisoned within their homes as a consequence. Toxic fumigants still trespassed by penetrating the closed windows and doors of nonconsensual residents attempting to escape. Noxious chemicals then quickly infiltrated the lungs and soon the entire being of those held hostage, often irritating pre-existing medical conditions.

To the myopic, contemptuous citizens of Rock Falls with an insatiable desire to incinerate, perhaps a concerted, communal effort could be mounted, as it would undoubtedly require the collective intelligence of all, an as-of-yet amorphous entity could manifest and fathom what is being asked, realize a sense of moral responsibility, and devise at least quasi-justifiable answers to the following admittedly rhetorical ponderings.

Do you think the gases released into the environment by burning are innocuous?

Do you think polluting the air we breathe substantially affects the quality of life of all organisms throughout the biosphere and beyond?

Do you think about others or future generations?

Do you think about your children and the message you are sending them by engaging in such wanton behavior?

Native Americans have many axioms reflecting their enlightened understanding of the symbiotic relationship of humans and the environment. A short one, worthy of remembrance, and which all would do well to heed, states: “Treat the earth well: It was not given to you by your parents; it was loaned to you by your children.”