The Human Footprint

The picture says it all.  The ingenuity of the human species is beyond doubt.  The results of our achievements are all over the world.  There isn't a part of the world that we haven't occupied or visited.  But one unfortunate downside of our intelligence and ingenuity is arrogance.  Many of our species have almost a complete disrespect for the one thing that is responsible for our achievements - the planet.  A planet that we share with millions of other species.

Now I have published a number of posts about climate change, particularly after I participated in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on the subject, earlier this year.  Our carbon dioxide polluted atmosphere is a fact, not theory!  It can be measured at over 400 ppm and the destructive results of global warming are already being experienced.  But this blog post is not about climate change, it's about waste and more particularly, the disposal of waste.

As we walk through any countryside, it is highly likely that human disposals will be encountered.  Now if it were banana skins or apple cores that wouldn't be a problem, since both are biodegradable.  But when it's plastic bottles, plastic bags, aluminium cans, cigarette packets, etc, not only is it unsightly but the human act of dumping rubbish is totally irresponsible because of the damage to the environment.  What is really astounding is that the disposal of non-biodegradable rubbish is as a result of conscious human actions.  Now I know that many countries are making sizeable investments into waste management, including recycling.  There are also many examples of volunteers scouring the countryside and collecting waste.  But why is the rubbish there in the first place?  It is because many (and thankfully not all) individuals don't care.  They think solely of disposing their rubbish, wherever they are, regardless of the long term environmental problem they are creating.  Now I'm sure there is a Pareto principle at work here, with maybe no more than 5% of the population causing 95% of the problem but I have no real data to back that up. There is also undoubtedly learned behaviour involved.  When Dad throws an empty packet out of the car window, why wouldn't his children observing the act, think that's the right thing to do.

So that's it, I've got it off my chest........TAKE YOUR RUBBISH HOME!