Dispatch from America: People who litter and their Corporate Accomplices

I was too hard on Missouri upon rolling through it's steep Western hills. The Ozarks, while short in distance were quite stunning. Everyone warned us about the heeling dogs of MO and KY, turns out that all you have to say is "NO" with some force and they do an about face. We are sitting in Berea, KY, the gateway into the Appalachian Mountains. Back to the topic at hand.

There has been an exponentially growing trend that I have noticed along the roadsides of our country . . . LITTER. Now this has very little to do with an environmental concern, more a socio-economic observation. I do not have to be a statistician to make the following statement, all I had to do was ride 6-8 hours a day, 3000 miles across the country. By riding a bike at an average of 8 mph one sees the amount of trash easier then at 60 mph.

There is no doubt that the amount of litter increases in rural areas within this country. Call it the lack of volunteers for road side cleanup, I'll give you that. Never the less, this McDonald's trash is not just wrappers and cups. Imagine if you will, the next time you eat on the run; that when you finish your meal, place the wrappers in the bag and simply roll down the window and chuck it. A complete disregard for your community and neighbors. There is an understood truth that animals do not defecate where they sleep, well you would think that this is not much different.

With all the options of today's mega-gas stations and fast food chains, the most numerous items found along America's byways are McDonald's, Pepsi/Coke products, Miller/Coors/Anheuser-Busch products, and cigarette/smokeless tobacco items. You do not see traditional grocery items frequently unless some slack jawed yokel has tossed out an entire bag of house-hold waste. The bulk of road-side trash are items bought primarily at fast food and gas stations, consumed within close proximity to their point of purchase, and from a small amount of manufactures when considering the amount of companies that produce the offending items.

This is not to stereotype individuals that use the mentioned products, but to point out who's company they are in and thus represented by and associated with. The answer? Signs warning of fines and jail time will continue to be mocked and blasted with buck shot unless strict and just punishment is policed. More roadside disposal containers,it worked in British Columbia, even in the most rural and desolate sections one can find a trash can. "Who's to empty the cans", you ask? How about the offenders?

In closing, throw your trash away in a proper receptacle, do not dump your old furniture into streams, and have some respect for where you and others live. If you find that you just can not wrap your troglodyte mind around this concept, chamber a round and place it in your mouth!