This post may be a little bit more boring than others, but I feel it's far more important than other things I could write about. I apologize if I start to rant at all but this tends to be a very touchy subject for me.
I find it very sad, the amount of litter and garbage you can find on a hike in the woods, in a secluded mountain river or even in our streets and local parks. Generally somebody who litters has some convenient excuse like, "I didn't have a garbage can" or "it will break down eventually." These are silly reasons and poor excuses for being lazy and dirty. As I was picking up garbage yesterday, it was sad to see the results of people's junk. I picked up an oil can that was floating in the water, all around it the water was just filthy and the plants were dead. I found a dead bird that looked like it had choked on a mouthful of something, probably somebody's trash. I found a variety of garbage, everything from candy rappers to car batteries. I even found a bag of trash and some diapers. It was disgusting.
I've mentioned before that the purpose of this blog is to help people appreciate and respect the beauty all around us. I feel that once you've gained a deep respect for nature and our environment the "convenience" of littering becomes a lost habit. Luckily my family growing up was taught to never litter, we would even go out as a family to the local park and pick up garbage on a semi-regular basis. That may sound gross and boring, but it was always good to spend time as a family and it always felt so good to see the results. I wanted to invite anybody reading this to take some time in the next week, or month to go outside and pick up some garbage. Make it a family activity or turn it into a fun date night. The results can be quite satisfying. You don't need to go far out to find garbage, pick up your street or stop by the local park. For those of you who live around the Provo area here in Utah, come out this next Saturday morning at 7:00 to the dike at Utah lake and help me clean it up (drive down center street and turn left right before the bridge that leads into Utah lake marina). I'll have plenty of trash bags, you'll probably want to bring gloves. Spread the message and let's pick up some trash!P.S. I would love to see comments on this post about your litter cleaning experiences! Thanks.
It's sad to see the condition of even our State and national parks.
It is very sad when people don't pick up after themselves. We've done FHE activities with picking up trash in the canyon before. People need to respect nature and others!
ReplyDeleteIt is very sad to see litter around us, especially in our parks and wilderness, let alone around our own homes. I am glad, Jimmy, that you remember our dislike for litter as you were growing up, and that you retain that attitude. I remember as a child (particularly 5th grade) going out once a week in the school yard with my other classmates to pick up somebody's litter. I remember in basic military training going out with my fellow troops to pick up litter in our training areas and out in the field during exercises. And, its not just cigarette smokers flinging their butts around (although still very disgusting), but it is also gum chewers and candy biters, picnic eschewers, beer and soda guzzlers, and, you name um (not to mention graffiti problems). Their marks and trails are all over the place. Indeed, let's do what we can to clean up our environment and to keep it clean. There is much beauty around us, if we can see it through the trash.
ReplyDeleteI was really pleasantly surprised at the lack of litter on the River Trail yesterday as we picked up on a section. I was equally pleased when some 12-14 year old kids playing on a river rope swing acknowledged what I was doing and brought me over to where they were and showed me some trash and then each of them picked things up for a few minutes without being asked to. Another thing that was pleasing was the number of people who also acknowledged our efforts and said thank you. I am glad that you are doing this. It is like the starfish on the beach you can't save them all but you can still make a difference!!
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