There’s something obscene about litter, and it’s even more scandalous when it reposes against the green grass of spring. Maybe we notice it more then, when the year is fresh and new and when all should be right with the world.

A reader has suggested we hold a contest to identify “the most littered places” in our counties. We are not sure what the prize would be, but we will welcome your suggestions (for the most littered places, and for the prize), hope to receive some photos of these places, and give our readers a chance to reflect on the problem.

The accumulation of trash and litter is a perennial problem. Scolding will never solve it. Perhaps a bit of laughing at ourselves (Mirror, mirror on the wall … what’s the ugliest of all) will make us really see what’s out there.

We are preparing to celebrate Earth Day and observe it this week through the idealistic eyes of our young people (see above article and Section C). But when we descend to...