Littering our World

There are people in our world who think only about themselves. Of course this statement is not shocking, and self centered people are even more prevalent in today's world than in years past. I find it odd that there are some people who don't even think any deeper than what they can see with their eyes, not realizing that their actions can have negative effects on not only nature, but all of civilization. Not all of these people, but many of them litter our world with their garbage. How many times have you seen someone toss a bag of fast food out of a car window, or how about the idiot who leaves his old couch on the side of the road for someone else to take to the dump? It does not happen as often as it did back in the 60's and 70's, because environmental ads have educated people about the effects of littering. Although our world has come far in preserving our earth for future generations, we still have a long way to go. There needs to be more realization that many natural treasures in this world will disappear or be destroyed if we don't stop to think about what's outside of our own tiny box.

In the 1970's I saw two public service commercials that would change my life and many others' lives forever. Do you remember the Indian standing on the side of the highway crying about all the garbage strewn about our land?

This ad made a mark forever and caused many people to think further than their own backyard. Do you remember Hootie the Owl? I loved Hootie :-)

I guess people became desensitized to these commercials, but I wonder why there have not been more of these catchy ads over the years. Our environment is even more fragile than ever today because of the garbage that we don't see; garbage that was buried or lives under the sea. Everyone needs to do his or her part in keeping this world clean.

One of the semi-invisible environmental phenomenons that opened my eyes most recently, is the ocean dump below the surface of the water in the Pacific between California and Hawaii, commonly known as "The Garbage Patch." Several different currents in the Pacific Rim have pushed all of our litter into one large clump that is larger than our entire United States, all in one spot. Sea creatures of all kinds get caught and tangled up in this garbage patch and worse yet, they swallow all the plastic and it clogs their intestines. Need I say more?

There are strange and ignorant people in this world who still do not know that throwing their garbage on the road is bad or understand about the effects of their littering on the earth. Pass this blog on to anyone you know, so they can pass it on. As we did back in the 70's we need to educate the public any way we can, thinking about others, specifically future generations. Let's leave this world a better place.