One of the things that makes me angry and sad is the litter that I see left by visitors to our public parks and public lands. It is bad enough that there is litter and graffiti almost everywhere in public places and even marring private property, but why do those visiting our parks have such a disregard for the prominently displayed and publicized rules for being allowed to enjoy such places?
One would think that those seeking enjoyment of our great and scenic outdoor areas, would want to have those areas as unspoiled by human visitors as possible. Apparently, this is not the case for many visitors. Unfortunately, I think that we are failing as a society in inculcating respect and care for our environment, respect for public and private property.
This seems to be a universal problem. I spent some time in Europe in the early 1970s. When I visited again in the early 2000s, I was horrified by the level of graffiti and litter in the cities that has been so much neater and cleaner just 30 years earlier. How is it that people think that marking buildings (public and private) and leaving their trash in public places is acceptable behavior?
I now encounter more and more litter and defacing of property or natural features in every public park and wilderness area I visit. I found numerous beverage cans, bottles, clothing items or other litter in the sand dunes of Monahans Sandhills State Park, Texas during my recent visit. Many of the items noted had been recently left there. I’m guessing those leaving such items sometimes felt that they were being funny or cute with the way they left their trash. It is neither funny nor cute. It distracts from the natural beauty of such places. Just stop it! If a full beverage container or food package can be carried into an area, the empty package or container can easily be taken back out and disposed of properly.
Remember, take only memories (or photos) and leave only footprints, which nature will wipe away.
It is bad enough that one wanting to photograph our natural areas has to work to find places with no trace of human footprints, but those are mostly unavoidable and will eventually be erased by nature; but trash such as the beer can in the above photo will linger for many, many years.
I know that sometimes people drop items accidentally, but I have witnessed some purposely dropping or throwing trash away in public places. If you see such behavior, please offer a friendly suggestion that they “accidentally” left some trash behind. Maybe this will let them know that such behavior is not acceptable.
If you find such litter in a public place, especially our great natural parks and public lands, if possible take it to a proper disposal place.
Rantingly yours,
Ken