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The Nation's Pulse
Taking On the Trash
Beautiful country laid to waste has become the norm.
I recently took a hike up Perreau Creek Road near Salmon, Idaho. Its upper reaches narrow to a dusty two-track, which is frequented not only by hikers but by the ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) crowd roaring up and down on those four-wheelers. Perreau Creek Road is also lined with garbage. Guess who leaves that behind? Not the hikers. ATV use on the public lands in the West is a perennially chewed bone around here, though mostly due to the noise. I’m for banning them for no other reason than the trash problem for which ATV enthusiasts are almost exclusively responsible .
On this stunning fall day I amused myself by walking along and collecting cans that I tossed to the middle of the road, and then crushed with my boot. On the way back down I counted scores of these flattened cans in the road like a shiny metallic centerline with gaps. From the air they must have looked like a shiny zipper on a pair of pants. I left them all because there were too many to be carried by five people, much less by one.
Most people who don’t live here have a mental image of the rural West as a pristine place. This is false. Here in Salmon I’m wallowing in trash. It’s everywhere: in the park, along the river thanks to rafters, and on the streets and backroads. What is it about small towns — in the West or elsewhere — that makes people think it’s okay to toss beer and soda cans or empty plastic water bottles out of a car window? My bike rides on local backroads show an appalling litter problem. I sometimes carry an empty day pack to get some of it, but it doesn’t take long to fill it. In Salmon it’s commonplace to see an old pickup truck that doesn’t run behind a barn, or a defunct refrigerator or washing machine on a front porch, so it might be a short stretch to toss a can out of a car window. It’s a mobile extension of a twisted view of libertarian property rights.
Like much of the United States, Salmon is down on its economic luck with empty storefronts and vacant lots. But the socio-economic status of a place doesn’t seem to matter when it comes to trash. When I lived in Cody, Wyoming, the same problem persisted.
Cody is a prosperous tourist town four times the size of Salmon, with a dozen fast food outlets to Salmon’s two. I used to work for the Cody City Parks and Recreation Department, where I cleaned 17 parks daily. Some were so small that I finished them in a few minutes; larger ones — such as the main “City Park” — took a full hour. City Park had a dozen trash cans spread out over three acres. A dozen. And yet there was always garbage spread around on the grass and left on picnic tables. Dirty diapers were common. I always left the park clean only to return the next day to find it as filthy as ever. Cody High School was across the street. Enough said. A recent Friday night football game at Salmon High School showed me much the same thing. The school grounds crew must have had a busy Saturday morning cleanup.
That a lot of this mess comes from the kids isn’t surprising, as much of their material lives are disposable. But they can’t seem to make that disposal in a trashcan or dumpster. Considering all the environmental propaganda they have crammed into their heads at school, you would think that trashcan-use is a no- brainer. Island Park in Salmon (home to a skateboard facility; like Bill Maher’s TV show and Perez Hilton’s blog, certainly one of the signs of the impending collapse of Western Civilization) sometimes reminds me of a landfill with picnic tables. A big item with the kids are those large 32 ounce paper soda cups. Pepsi, Coke, Mountain Dew: they’re everywhere. Maybe along with sexting and taking naughty photos on a cellphone, this is an example of 21st-century teen rebellion. Old fogies like me dropped acid at the Fillmore; today’s kids text while skateboarding and littering the park. So much for transcendence.
America’s fast food culture shares some of the blame for this travesty of manners and civic virtue. Rural towns that as recently as ten or twenty years ago didn’t have a McDonalds or Burger King are certainly a lot trashier now. Add to this convenience stores, which give us the giant soft drink cups that I see littering the park and blowing in the gutters.
The weekend round of broken beer bottles on the sidewalk in front of the building where I live gets a bit tedious. The owners of the three bars in downtown Salmon don’t see a problem here. It’s part of the business they’re in. Yet none of the bar owners ever sweep up the broken glass in front of my building — I do. I guess they’re all in church on Sunday morning.
I don’t have an answer for this nationwide quandary. Much of it points to simple human nature. I find most of the Left’s environmental prescriptions to be bizarre, fanciful and hysterical, yet unlittered small towns used to be the norm in American life. So, short of a national “Broken Windows” program like the one ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani used so effectively in New York City, the trash will continue to blow around from sea to shining sea.
Hey, maybe ACORN could run it.
About the Author
Bill Croke, formerly of Cody, Wyoming, is a writer in Salmon, Idaho.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (52) | Leave a comment
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Michael G| 9.24.09 @ 6:44AM
As Lou Holtz said when he took the head coaching job at South Carolina, "South Carolinians must have the cleanest cars in America given the amout of trash lying beside the state's roads."
Melvin| 9.24.09 @ 7:35AM
Its not the trashes fault for being where it is. Nor does it have anything to do with the economic times.
It has everything to do with people's attitude. Many Americans have been raised to not take responsibility for anything including disposing of their own refuse. "Why should I dispose of my own trash when someone else gets paid to pick it up." The these spoiled brats throw trash whenever and whatever they want.
How many times have we been to a parking lot and smelled something under our car that appears to have died, and only to discover when we look, that it is a soiled pamper that someone that had parked next to you had disposed by tossing it under your car. I don't know about where you live but it happens all the time in the Food Lion Parking in Jacksonville North Carolina.
No longer is this indiscriminate tossing of trash regulated to single items such as soda cans or the like. Americans have discovered that they can toss out whole 13 gallon sized bags of trash directly onto the roadway. Again, this happens all the time in Jacksonville, NC.
In Jacksonville NC a person could outfit their home if they aren't' to worried about the quality of the many pieces of mattresses, couches, tables, chairs, and beanbags that get tossed into the ditches on the outskirts of Jacksonville, NC.
You have probably noticed that I have mentioned Jacksonville, NC with regularity here. Of course I have because many of the citizens that live here Marines and civilians alike are filthy, arrogant pigs, at least in the sense of being so absolutely lazy to properly dispose of their own crap properly.
ravenbran| 3.26.10 @ 2:18PM
Considering that most of the people in the Salmon area consider themselves conservatives and overwhelmingly vote Republican, don't think this has anything to do with the philosophy of politics. These people are just slobs.
Kitty| 9.24.09 @ 7:42AM
A liberal friend of mine thinks nothing of tossing trash out the window of his car, a habit which infuriates me to no end. When I called him on it he replied, "It's okay, it's biodegradable!"
Alice Moore| 9.24.09 @ 7:58AM
What is it with the Left? I guess disposing of your own trash and recycling Flintstone jelly glasses doesn't have enough of a high profile. They'll drive their Priuses and live in a tree (if there's a camera around).
I read after the 9/12 rally, with a range of thousands to maybe even 2 million people, they attendees didn't leave any trash. Contrast that with Woodstock in 1969.
Kitty| 9.24.09 @ 8:19AM
Compare the 9/12 Rally with O's inauguration last January:
http://www.foxnews.com/politic.....-revelers/
Kitty| 9.24.09 @ 7:44AM
Bill Croke dropped acid in his youth?!
Don L| 9.24.09 @ 7:55AM
The dirtiest highway I've seen in my travels were suprisingly, just out side of Seattle-- that eco-purist pinnicle of self-congratulatory good sense.
But they do keep their city clean -expcept maybe for a few homeless parks.
Robert Rosencrans| 9.24.09 @ 7:56AM
Observations from the past several months:
1. Lady in expensive SUV waiting in line at 8 AM at McDonalds. While ordering her food she throws numerous trash items out the window, one remaining behind in the road for others to run over.
2. Pumping gas. Car overloaded with teens rolls in to the pump. As soon as the vehicle stopped copious amounts of fast food boxes are thrown from the windows. The kid driving gets out and walks up to me. Before he could say anything I asked him, "What's with the trash? Why not just place it in the cans?" Without saying a word he walked away.
It's a thugfest. You can see it in the grocery stores where out of control kids run up and down the aisles bumping into complete strangers. You can see it in the grocery line where you go to check out with a few items and an illegal alien is in the 10 items or less line with 30 items that have to be paid for with various vouchers from WIC or a state agency. Or, the person stands there absent minded and when the clerk tells them the amount they suddenly start searching for their money. After digging through the purse or pocket for a few minutes they dig out a check book in the cash only line. What wondrous citizens. I once remarked to a female acquittance that it's a wonder that so many have made it without being beaten to death for their slovenliness or lack of social grace. She recoiled in horror, telling me that I was mean. This was the same lady who was just complaining about those types of things.
It's all about arrogance, gleaned from 60 years of creeping socialism. The message in all this is that it's someone else's problem and I pay taxes so let the government handle it. Anyone who has studied the government will tell you they rarely handle anything. The parks are in their hands and they control the means of production when it comes to collecting trash. System failures abound and since accountability has been forsaken you have seen the future.
As Barack Obama is fond of saying, "Trash America First!" Perhaps the erstwhile citizens are just following his lead.
Richard E.| 9.24.09 @ 7:59AM
Same thing when I lived in Pittsburgh 30 years ago -- nice neighborhood a couple miles from Pitt (Univ.). Every day I'd clean up a lot of trash thrown from car windows on the bit of grass next to my apt., and next day there would be just as much. I'd sometimes see a perp driving by and just throwing the stuff out. So many people doing it! They just didn't care if the city they lived in was a trash dump. Never a word in the newspaper, and probably nothing drilled into them at home or school. Now here is a good project for Michelle Obama or any of the preceding first ladies -- lecture the country incessantly about littering. Might actually do some ecological good.
Marty| 9.24.09 @ 8:06AM
the most environmentaly sound way of disposing of a mcdonalds wrapper is to throw it in the roadside ditch. the sun and rain will take care of that wrapper in a matter of months if not weeks. the worst way to dispose of it is to pay an army of workers to gather up every wrapper under the sun and collectively seal them in a gigantic pit, where they will become a liability for generations to come.
Andrew B| 9.24.09 @ 8:34AM
I ascribe the trash problem chiefly to the idea, rampant in our society, that words and appearances are much more important than actions. For celebrities, this means they can condemn global warming, then drive an SUV to their private Gulfstream jet and fly to a movie premier halfway around the world. Perfectly acceptable. On the plebian level, this means watching "An Inconvenient Truth", then throwing styrofoam containers out of your car as you drive to the 7-11 for more Red Bull.
I lived in Seattle for two long years. I was the token conservative in my office, but I was the only one who walked to work. All my liberal co-workers drove, citing "convenience".
Now THAT is an inconvenient truth.
Bohred| 9.24.09 @ 8:59AM
When the county considered charging to dump trash at the transfer station, I went down and argued with them. I had seen the results in two other states; garbage bags and large trash along country roads, people who are too lazy about anything other than themselves sponging off of society. I would like to blame it on left liberalism, but I know too many conscientious liberals and trashy conservatives.
The county now spends more to pick up trash along the road than they ever make up with transfer dump charges. And our farm road needs picking up every few weeks.
Now if I could just get them to stop smashing the mailbox.
Pecos Pete| 9.24.09 @ 9:33AM
I sure don't want New Mexico to be ignored when discussing trash. Five Democrat Congress Critters, a Democrat legislature, a Democrat governor. Yet, trash litters all roads and particularly the "pristine" Pecos River headwater canyon.
I doubt it would be any better if Republicans ran the state. As stated in another comment above, people just want to leave it to the govmint.
Bill in Houston| 9.24.09 @ 10:01AM
This is the douchebag-ization of our culture. I would like to thank all the parents who think that buying their kids stuff is a substitute for love, and to the teachers who would rather raise Junior's self-esteem, and in general The Left for elevating "anything goes" into daily life.
My wife and I had the opportunity to make a day-trip to Goliad, one of the famed sites in Texas history. We brought our lunch with us. As we sat at the picnic table we noted another family sitting some twenty yards away. They left their cups, bags from Whataburger, and a wad of napkins on the table and hopped into their overaccessorized pickup and left. The trash can was maybe, at most, ten feet away from their table ON THE WAY to their truck.
I had been brought up to leave a place cleaner than I found it. I picked up their trash (had to chase down some napkins in the breeze) while my wife bussed our table.
Your welcome, d-bags!
Wicked Dickie-Virginia| 9.24.09 @ 10:13AM
It'll likely get worse as long as the Dems run things. Beck showed us a video presently being fed to our kids to inform them that the government exists "to take care of us". Hopefully, there are still enough real Americans around as exemplified by the 9/12 crowd, that we can overcome the steadfast stupidity shown by the likes of marty (above). I suspect his neighborhood is replete with broken windows and squeegee men.
Ray| 9.24.09 @ 10:15AM
When I was in the Army, we had to police call. One of the results of picking up untold trash and cigarette butts is that trash stays in my pocket or my car until I find a can to dump it in.
I did not like picking up other people's trash, and I don't leave mine for other people to pick up.
Bobnormal| 9.24.09 @ 10:29AM
My beautiful mts.in Socal yes California,are being trashed by a certain illegal population,diapers,trash and beer bottles,Open fires in a fire zone,now my son and I have discovered back country hikes just to escape the scum down below,what a shame
owyheewine| 9.24.09 @ 10:40AM
That's it Bill. Thanks for reversing the image from last week's column. We're just overwhelmed with trash from whomever, and not a good place for the bicoastals to invade.
Paul| 9.24.09 @ 10:44AM
This sort of behavior has become the norm in many areas of my state. I chalk it up to the general deterioration of our society and culture, some th9ing the left has been working at for years.
The problem is that the alternative to the socialists-communists in the Democratic party is the progressive-socialists in the Repuiblican party. The only real difference between these two parties is their rhetoric. The agenda of both parties is bigger government, more control over peoples lives. and an abrogation of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Why would anyone pick up their trash when someone else is paid to do it for them and they are continually told it is governments responsibilty to take care of them?
Havoc| 9.24.09 @ 10:49AM
Mr. Croke is far too easy on our bicycle-riding betters. Moab, Utah, is a popular location for these enthusiasts. The typical back-country bicycle trail fades just beyond the city limits - where the naturalist deposits a calling-card, hangs used TP from a sage bush, and heads back into town for another latte.
JAH666| 9.24.09 @ 10:56AM
Having lived for over 35 years in pre-Katrina New Orleans, a city run by Dems for generations, I thought all cities were cesspools of trash and garbage. After moving to a small town in southwest Kansas I was gratified to see that some places stayed clean because the people that lived there cared about how their town looked. In New Orleans the phenomenon is called "the Mardi Gras mentality" that centered around the belief that "it was somebodies job to clean up after us". On Ash Wednesday, the City of New Orleans would gather up all of the tons of garbage that were left by revellers and WEIGH it. Then they would compare the number of tons of garbage that year to past years and guage the SUCCESS of that years' Mardi Gras. As a result of this publicized metric the people of the Crescent City became generationally lazy about cleaning up after themselves and habitually throw trash onto the street. Most are not even aware that they are doing it. It is just a reflex. Now that attitude is creeping into the once pristine area that I moved to in Kansas. And, as noted by other posters, it is mostly the younger people and the illegals that litter. The regional Wal-Marts are like the supermarket that was mentioned, with soiled disposable diapers reeking from nooks and crannies. People are becoming more and more foul also. What is happening? Is this a symptom of the degradation of society or a proliferation of the New Orleans' Mardi Gras Mentality.
happy feder| 9.24.09 @ 12:23PM
Does TAS not have any (insulted) ATV riders?
marcia| 9.24.09 @ 1:07PM
I grew up in Minnesota. When I have visited several years ago, I was amazed to see the pristine condition of the 60 year old school building in which my sister was teaching. No cat-pee graffiti any where. Indeed no evidence of numerous coats of paint on lockers and restroom partions to cover it up. Highways were free of litter.
Here in CA. Walmart and Target parking lots are festooned with used diapers, fast food wrappers and piles of butts from ashtrays. Schools waste buckets of money cleaning up after students who have no regard for their surroundings.
George Bruce| 9.24.09 @ 2:26PM
While not the sole source of the problem, a big part of it is the third world attitude toward litter that is being imported with our "undocumented immigrants." Ever been to Mexico? If you have, you will know what I mean. If you haven't, take my word for it.
765x53| 9.24.09 @ 3:03PM
Cops used to write tickets for littering. Now they are too busy waiting for the big-money drug bust.
Every town used to have a convenient, free, local dump. Now we have regional "land fills". Who is going to haul their trash 150 miles and pay a rediculous fee to dump it, when there are rivers, country roads, and public parks near-bye?
Some day archaeologists will excavate our land fills and wonder "What was the mater with these people, didn't they know about fire? Must have been a religious ritual." And, they will be right.
KyMouse| 9.25.09 @ 3:03PM
We have a big recycling bin behind our neighborhood firehouse, and I don't mind putting in my paper and plastic items. I'm always amazed at people who put non-recyclable things in it -- including, once, a set of curtain rods with the curtains still attached; on another occasion, there was a styrofoam box for shipping meat, complete with puddles of blood inside. And if the bin is full, people just pile up their stuff outside it. I guess the mindset is simply, "I want this stuff out of my house -- let it be someone else's problem."
GENE HAUBER| 9.26.09 @ 4:30PM
YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT THE LACK OF MUNICIPAL DUMPS AND ALSO ABOUT FIRE.
YOU CAN'T BURN IT BECAUSE OF LOCAL ORDINANCES AGAINST BURNING.
JUST ANOTHER REASON TO LOATHE THE EPA.
UpChuck.Liberals| 9.24.09 @ 4:11PM
I'm wondering if the same people (term used loosely) tossing the trash are the same that can't figure out turn signals, STOP signs and the like? In CA I'm inclined to say YES. I'm guessing that their self-esteem doesn't require giving a damn about other people.
UpChuck.Liberals| 9.24.09 @ 4:11PM
I'm wondering if the same people (term used loosely) tossing the trash are the same that can't figure out turn signals, STOP signs and the like? In CA I'm inclined to say YES. I'm guessing that their self-esteem doesn't require giving a damn about other people.
KyMouse| 9.25.09 @ 3:16PM
There is a nice little park near my house that has a stream with lots of wild ducks. Beside a footbridge over the creek stands a sign that clearly asks people not to feed the ducks, for various reasons (such as, having too many ducks together makes it easier to spread disease among them, etc., etc.). But right beside the sign, you'll always see parents handing out scraps of food to their kids, so they can feed the duckies. I guess signs are for other people. Besides, it's just so gosh-darn cute!
GENE HAUBER| 9.24.09 @ 4:52PM
I HAVE THE ANSWER TO THE PROBLEM OF THROWING TRASH ONTO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD , AS DISTINCT TO TRASHING THE ENVIRONMENT.
I own 44 acres of pristine property in the Endless Mountains of northeast Pennsylvania. I have lived there since 1987 and if you were to visit you would not find any trash about my property. ... WHY?
FIRST OF ALL, LET ME SAY THAT I DESPISE "ENVIRONMENTALISTS AND THEIR ILK, INCLUDING , EPA, AND ALL ITS ILK, WWF,
SIERRA CLUB, PETA, ELF, ALF.
I ALSO BELIEVE THAT GOD DETERMINES WHICH SPECIES LIVE OR DIE AND WHEN THEY DO SO. IF A SPECIES IS TO GO EXTINCT...........LET IT GO AND DON'T PESTER THE REST OF US WITH YOUR IDIOTIC PSYCHOSIS. HUMANS HAVE DOMINION OVER ALL OTHER CREATURES....GET OVER YOUR MINISCULE CRAP
All of these organizations are refuge's for the remaining elements of the communist party in
America AND THE WORLD, MOSTLY EUROPE . These are NOT pro American clubs or orgs, but subversive elements in OUR society.
I don't throw trash on my property even tho I could, legally.
I don't throw it because I don't want to look at it and still more don't want it leaching into MY soil.
I resent looking at other people's trash also, but I would take more direct measures against them.
I used to own a parking lot used by a doctor and everyday I would find someone who had emptied their cars ashtray onto the gravel of the lot.
Without a moments hesitation, I scooped up the trash and the butts and dumped them onto the drivers seat of the offending car. with a note; If you feel free to dump your TRASH here, I feel free to dump it back in your car.
THERE WERE NO REPEATERS!
They can be rich or poor, but they are the stupid or the ignorant of society, and my bet is on the militant POOR that is trashing our countryside.
My belief is that they see throwing trash alongside the road, especially in a pristine area, and mostly when they are unobserved, as a shot at the establishment that has "OPPRESSED" THEM.
It's the cheapest of shots by stupid, cowardly people.
MAYBE SOME CAMERAS WOULD HELP....IF THEY DO......PROSECUTE, PROSECUTE, PROSECUTE.
A PLASTIC BAG ON THE BACK OF YOUR atv OR snowmobile IS not TOO MUCH TO ASK.
Ted| 9.24.09 @ 11:39PM
Your post reminded me of William Tucker's September 14 article regarding "The Tragedy of the Commons" concept.
http://spectator.org/archives/.....er-to-your
I see the trash on the country roads I travel to get to my house. Tonight, I actually saw a refrigerator thrown on the side of the road, and I thought about cameras too.
conservative Bob| 9.24.09 @ 7:29PM
I have lived all over the country from CA to AL and parts in between.
I live on a lake in a remote area. People with undeveloped land or with long driveways through the woods must put up a gate or barrier or someone will dump trash or furniture or an old washer or building materials rather than take it to the dump.
If you look into the back of sloughs along the lake you will find all manner of floating debris. Some is blown or washed away from people’s property but much of it just thrown into the lake.
I have seen similar behavior in all across the country and have seen people of all economic levels toss debris out of their vehicles.
It all comes down to personal responsibility, I put my own trash where it belongs, I taught my children to do the same and now am teaching my grand children to be self reliant and responsible.
As to the rant on ATVs I am often amused how people choose to view others who share a recreational activity different than their own and vilify them. I have seen plenty of hiking trails trashed where no motorized vehicle is allowed. Some hikers object to sharing their trails with horseback riders due to the deposits they leave.
I personally wouldn’t mind if I could get a PWC stamp when I purchase my hunting license. As they tend to disturb my fishing. (Sarcasm) I guess it depends on whose Ox is being gored so to speak.
If you really have a problem buy some land or go in with some likeminded others and then you can make whatever restrictions you agree to.
As to the cans along the trail left presumably by the ATV riders if they are beer cans just stay out of the way and allow natural selection to work it wonders, it is what I hope will trim the PWC population.
gene hauber| 9.26.09 @ 4:17PM
I certainly did not mean to pick on ATV or SNOWMOBILERS.....HIKERS fall into the group of people that tend to trash the woods.
My complaint is simply with those tiny minded cretis that can't abide a piec of trach in their pockets but feel its OK to throw in on someones property....they are just polluters and will NEVER change unless it costs them someday $500 or $1000 .
THEY'RE IGNORANT CLODS WITH SWINISH BEHAVIOR.
Jar'sfit| 9.25.09 @ 12:09AM
This might … reveal
White Man's Burden
Take up the White Man's burden--
The savage wars of peace--
Fill full the mouth of Famine
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
The end for others sought,
Watch sloth and heathen Folly
Bring all your hopes to naught.
Margie| 9.25.09 @ 1:06AM
I grew up rather on the poor side but with a Father who had a lot of integrity. I willingly followed his example. It was one of being considerate toward others in every way. My Mother was the same. I really don't think it has to do with money. Not that long agao my husband and I moved to what we thought was a better town, as the one we were living in was beginning to have a lot of young gang members roving spilling over from a town over. In this new neighborhood, where our auto. ins. is now a lot lower due to this fact, and the people you see everyday are dressed extremely well, we still have the same problem. It is with the youth. Recently I called the police because there was a small gang of 4 kids who were tearing through the neighboring parking lot of the Diner. They were talking ( at 2 am.) loudly, one was urinating right in the open, while 2 others decided to try and pull down the parking signs. They were like roving bandits. Must have been about 15 yrs. old or so. I watched as the Police were talking to them. The one kid was actually denying everything to the cop. They cops had them there for some time and I was so tired I couldn't watch anymore so I don't know if they took the kids away. They must have been high or drunk. It is the youth that I am most afraid of. They are like wild animals and if you aren't young anymore good luck getting any respect from them. They are products of today's Parents who don't give a damn. that's my opinion. So much for moving to a "nicer" neighborhood where people dress so well!
David| 9.25.09 @ 3:52AM
Before recently moving I lived on a street with several apartment complexes and almost every day when I went to get the mail I would find trash in my yard. Fast food and beer bottles seemed to be the most frequent items. I never understood why people thought it was ok to throw trash in my yard. They couldn't wait the 2 minutes it would take them to get home and use their own trash can?
Eventually I stopped finding trash in my yard but it wasn't because people stopped throwing it out their windows. As I was coming home from the night shift early one morning I saw an older gentleman walking down the street with a bag picking up the trash others had left.
Pingback| 9.26.09 @ 10:03AM
Twitter Trackbacks for The American Spectator : Taking On the Trash [spectator.org] links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Tenn Slim| 9.28.09 @ 4:34AM
All
If one travels to Vermont, the absolute opposite is apparent. The Entire State is squeaky clean. Why? Pride. SImple pride in their nest. Vermonters are Extremely Liberal, sometime idioticly so. but they do keep a clean house. Travel to the rural areas of Tenn, Arkansas and Mississippi, same road sides condition. SOme litter, but mostly clean. The Old LBJ Litter bug signs of fines for littering still exist. Folks just choose to keep thier nest clean. Now, a small suburban town, western tenn, litter is apparent, but never large trash. Why, a cheap, easy to get to, well managed landfill. EPA be D.....
bt
Attitude is all. USA Citizens, for the most part do take pride in their nests. It only takes a few miscreants to spoil the nest. I agree, litter is unseemly and a symptom of neglect of pride, self, and attitude. Evidence that also in last November fiasco election.
end
Semper Fi
adfafd | 12.21.09 @ 8:24AM
Your post reminded me of William Tucker's September 14 article regarding "The Tragedy of the Commons" concept.
www.led-lamp-manufacturer.com
www.us-bapeoutlet.com | 4.5.10 @ 9:29PM
www.us-bapeoutlet.com
poptropica | 4.9.10 @ 8:50PM
thanks you very much for your information
Poptropica
Poptropica