Fargin' Litterbugs

I have to shake my head in disbelief some days. I was out for a hike at a conservation area yesterday afternoon, and as I was stumbling along the trail, I came upon a pile of plastic bottles. Not one bottle, but a pile of them. They were those sporty drink bottles that cross country cyclists typically consume. Probably a bunch of cyclists paused along the trail, and after slaking their thirst, they jettisoned their trash at the side.

After the previous weekend's cleanup at Red Death, I was in no mood to pick up someone else' trash. How hard can it be to carry an empty plastic bottle a few hundred meters back to where you parked your gas guzzling automobile and throw it in the back seat until you find a garbage can? The bottle is lighter without the liquid in it, and hopefully the person who drank the contents wasn't so clumsy as to spill the contents all over himself, making everything sticky.

It really irritates me that so called nature lovers could be so low to drop their garbage in a conservation area. It's not like there isn't enough information out there about the longevity of plastics and the corresponding decline in oilstocks because of our mass consumption of plastic packaging. Some people figure a walk in the bush should include a garbage pail every few feet so they don't have to expend any effort to carry their refuse.

This rampant laziness speaks volumes about the efforts people make to do anything. "If it detracts from my amusement and ease of passage, why should I bother?" Normally, I'm opposed to the death penalty, but I think that perhaps we could bring it back for litterbugs. Cadavers are biodegradeable. Plastics aren't.