Last week I spent many hours hiking and fishing the outer beaches of Cape Cod
As on any beach there was a large collection of flotsam and jetsam.
The number one item seemed to be plastic bottles, both water and sports drink.
The second item was even more disturbing.
Mylar helium ballons.
These things seemed to be everywhere. Some in large clumps with miles of ribbon. This stuff was tangled up in seaweed and driftwood everwhere you looked. I don’t imagine this does the birds, fish, and other wildlife any good.
People ought to know by now not to throw their garbage out the car window or over the side of a boat.
What they may not realize is that every time one of these “pretty” bouquets of ballons are released it is nothing more than another form of liter. Plastic liter that will not go away.
I hear ya loud and clear! When walking on the national seashore beaches of cape cod you can come across sculptures made by the people who walk by from found objects. They are sometimes interesting, but always too many of them and too often. I wish they could not find that material.
Plastics are one of the worst offenders. If we used help line instead of plastic for our netting, fewer plastic baloons, kids toys flip-flops etc. This stuff would decay quickly and the problem would not be so bad, but alas we are a plastic based society and are suffering from it. I hate to show you the photos I took from a beach this spring, prior to the invasion of the summer tourist season. It is minutes away from dMicus’ fishing area. I can only imagine what it looks like after the summer tourist season gets fully under way.
Symptoms, I think, of our collective selfishness and nearsightedness. This problem is so pervasive that some even accept it as the norm. It’s sad and unfortunate, but educating our children is the answer. They need to realize that this is wrong – completely unacceptable – and to understand the value of putting trash in its place.
Fred, … I guess it’s just a sign of the way “society” has lowered the bar. … Heck, I can remember when I used to pull the day pass on a skier cause they were swearing in the lift line or for running in the cafeteria.
Chris, I think I can answer that one for Fred. But nevermind.
What I really wanted to say is that when we did our river clean up this spring, we uncovered evidence not just of a culture of carelessness but of a culture of abuse. The cans and bottles we expected to find. But the appliances? That speaks of an abuser who goes to the river specifically to dump trash.
And why? To get it out of their sight. “Not my problem anymore” they seem to say. To a degree, cans and plastic bottles run with water from hilltop to valley, pushed by wind as well, through the grates of storm sewers in less rural areas and down into the river. From there to the gulf and the ocean. If you can picture that, you can easily see how picking up a can instead of walking by amounts to thinking globally and acting locally.
When discouraged, I think of the 88 people who helped clean that river and all of the people they touch in their lives who now have an example.
I also feel that our throw away culture needs some schooling in respect. Not just respect for mother nature, but the self respect it shows to take care of your surroundings.
Lastly, a greater effort needs to be made in the rural areas of the upper midwest to make the disposal of trash, waste and junk as easy and economical for the outstate citizens as it is for me and for so many of the rest of us.
Sorry, that was not the last point- a take-home lesson for each of us is to reduce the waste we produce. Choose consumer goods with less packaging, recycle, reduce and re-use. And since I’m preaching to the choir. . . .
People are using the Pere Marquette State Forest as a dump site. It is very evident in the spring and fall. You can spot the places where people have backed up along the trails and “dumped” the trash from the garage! T.V.'s, washers, dryers, etc. Big stuff! Someone dumped a half dozen 5 gal paint pails just down the road from me!!
When we hit our favorite river, the “Little Manistee” we bring home more than we took in!! Michigan has a littering hot line and if I get a plate number they will get a call.
I feel more like I do now than I did when I got here!
Good Subject! Something we can all help with every time we go out afield or on a
stream. While we’ll alway be picking up
behind some folks who never learned any
better, I can definitly see a difference
here in SC. The state has a litter hotline
that is well publicised and printed on the
little packet that holds our hunting and
fishing licences. I think the advent of cell phones has provided a boost to reducing
the problem. What I’d like to see is the
guilty parties walking the riverbanks or the
country roads wearing an orange safety vest
with “I am a Litterer” emblazened across the
back picking up litter. Warm regards, Jim
“The more widely one observes nature, the more it appeals to one’s soul. Why? Because there is a music there; and the wider one’s outlook on life becomes, the deeper one’s understanding of life, the more music one can listen to, the music that
answers the whole universe.” --Inayat Khan
Last summer I found two pieces of trash miles into the backcountry of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The first, a .338 rifle casing, presumably from an elk hunter. The second, a mylar “Way to go, Grad!” balloon. The balloon bothered me, but I took it with good humor since I had just graduated. And just so you can all sleep well at night, both were packed out.
Jack,
A month ago,while stocking trout,we came across some dumped paint cans. The Conservation Officer that I was with copied down the serial number on the cover and took photos. The paint was traced and the litterer was busted. It can happen.
Now adays it can cost good money to dispose of your trash. I see lots of construction materials like roofing shingles piling up in the woods.
[This message has been edited by dudley (edited 21 June 2005).]
