It’s Okay to Litter if it’s Bio-Degradable, or is It?
One answer is, “It depends on how you look at it.”
At the recent condo board meeting I talked about items on the beach that were not part of that natural eco-system, like food, and
cups,
straws,
cigarette butts,
wrappers,
bottles,
bottle caps, and similar material.
The fact that even if it was bio-degradable is not an excuse to leave it on the beach, or most other places, as many times I’d find either lemon slices (I talked about that), or watermelon rinds, or apple cores. You get the idea. It’s simply not cool.
While living in California in the 1970s I visited the amazing Sequoia National Park. It was there, while speaking with one of the park rangers, that I finally understood why it was not appropriate to toss any left over food out the window within the park… like an apple core. He said, what happens when multiple people do that over time it adds way more food material than what the natural habitat is used to handling. For example, the ants and other life that live by the road now have an overabundance of food, more than they’re capable of eating. What happens as a result of this additional supply, is the ant population increases, setting in motion an unbalanced chain reaction. This is not good for the forest which is such a wonderful place to experience just as it is, and as it has been for thousands of years.
I think it’s easier to be conscious or aware of the impact of leaving anything in our wake when we know more about how our actions can adversely affect the environment. I’ve never forgotten that mind-changing conversation and have shared it with others, like I am doing here.
Nature has much to teach us. Contemplate being an exemplary student.
