A titan passes

News blues

A day late and a dollar short: Earth Day – missed it! It shows up on calendars in SA but holds with no ceremony nor receives official recognition.
In the US, Earth Day is a big thing – well, not big enough for a day off work and certainly not big enough to do anything serious about addressing our slowly suffocating planet or climate change….
(FYI: Wednesday is Freedom Day in South Africa and, yes, it’s a public holiday. Grocery stores will remain open, all other stores and offices closed.) 

Editor's note: This is a special cartoon Gary drew for Earth Day 1990,
as part of a project in which many cartoonists participated to bring
more awareness to the state of the environment.
© The Far Side,  Gary Larsen

***

Back in California, George Baxter Humphreys passed away. His obituary presents details about the man and his life that I never knew, but I knew him as a gift – knowledgeable, courageous, curious, generous with his knowledge and time, and dedicated to both educating residents and ensuring our town was as safe from toxic contamination as is possible under the circumstances. I also knew him as a gifted and patient watercolorist and artist. 
George served on the town’s Restoration Advisory Board from its inception in 1997 until now. 

A RAB  is designed to act as the local citizenry’s oversight group that ensures – as far as possible – the clean up and removal of toxic contamination, In our case, the clean up and removal of toxic contamination produced by decades of military and navy activities.

George fulfilled his role as RAB president, co-president, community member and as informal outside educator. I visited his home several times on RAB business, learned a lot from him, and was impressed and amused at his RAB filing system: boxes and boxes containing years of RAB documents piled up in his large kitchen and his small office.
Past posts on RAB and RAB activities:
Plus ça change… 
Play ball! 
Consequences 

Most impressive about George, vis a vis The RAB, was his activist heart. IMHO, it is unusual for someone with his professional education and background to engage with exposing systemic wrongs. He was a mainstream (white) man who questioned US Navy personnel about their assertions regarding health and safety measures – or the lack thereof – as they “cleaned up the base.” Many times US Navy personnel and contractors modified their assertions and their clean up actions based on George's professional feedback.

We’ll miss you, George. Thank you for your service.