Outdoors Column | Les Winkeler: Make a New Year's resolution to stop littering - The Southern
The world is big. The world is complicated. It is easy to feel overwhelmed.
There are times I’ll be watching WSIU and NOVA will come on the air. Although the science has been simplified considerably for public consumption, the concepts will fly right over my head.
At those moments it’s important to realize that despite the world’s complexity, we can all make a positive difference. We, each and every one of us, can have a positive, measurable, impact on a daily basis.
It may seem like a small thing, but it is important to remember that the Great Wall of China, the largest man-man structure in the world, is made of individual stones. Taken individually, the stones are insignificant. Put them all together and you have a monumental work that has captured man’s imagination for centuries.
Now, consider that lowly fast-food beverage container stuck in the grass along the highway. By itself, it’s not that obtrusive. It doesn’t ruin the aesthetics of the overall landscape, or pose grave danger to wildlife of the overall ecosystem.
However, drive down virtually any road in Southern Illinois and you know that single beverage container doesn’t exist in a vacuum. We live in one of the most biologically diverse areas of the United States, and we have adorned it with a monument of trash.
It is virtually inescapable. You’ll find soda cans or candy wrappers crammed between rock formations at Garden of the Gods. The most obscure trails in Giant City State Park are vandalized by the presence of empty beer cans.
Worse yet, the trash seems to regenerate spontaneously.
Well-meaning individuals or groups of people take it upon themselves to clean up corners of our world, but the unthinking, the uncaring, trash it nearly as fast as it is cleaned up. The saddest part of this scenario is it is avoidable.
If you are guilty of littering, you can help reverse this trend, this region-wide shame. It’s easy. Just consider the consequences of your actions. When you finish that drink, candy bar or cigarette, don’t toss it out the window. Simply put the cup down, crumple up the wrapper and place it on the floor or seat of your car.
It takes minimal effort to dispose of your waste properly.
Believe it or not, the thoughtful action of one individual can make a huge difference, especially if you live in a rural area. If just one person decided to take personal responsibility for their environment and quit littering, think of how much cleaner that stretch of road would look after a week, a month or even a year.
Now, let’s say you are so impressed with the difference, you tell your friends. You convince them that they too are capable of making a positive impact with minimal effort. And, those friends tell their friends.
This positivity has the potential of being as contagious as the Coronavirus.
The best part — there is no politics involved in maintaining a clean environment. Keeping the world clean violates no religious tenets, nor does it have racial implications.
There are simply no negatives.
With 2020 mercifully coming to an end, we can all start fresh.
I’ve never been one to make big, grandiose New Year’s Resolutions … they rarely last through January. But, this is something simple — just think for a moment before you throw that trash out the car window.
That simple act of thoughtfulness can change the world for the better … for all of us.
Happy New Year!
LES WINKELER is the outdoors writer for The Southern Illinoisan. Contact him at les@winkelerswingsandwildlife.com, on Twitter @LesWinkeler.
2021-01-01 20:00:00Z
https://thesouthern.com/outdoors/outdoors-column-les-winkeler-make-a-new-years-resolution-to-stop-littering/article_857455f3-483f-56c6-a3f7-30a2b7e4f9c4.html
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