Wouldn’t it be great if there was no garbage on the side of the road? Man. Nirvana. See grass, trees and bushes the way they are supposed to be seen: not encased in plastic or surrounded by Styrofoam cups and beer cans.
And, you know what? The crap overloading the sides of our roads across the United States shouldn’t be the norm. It should be the exception.
When I travel by car long distances, I catalogue in my head the level of the garbage coating our raw environment. It helps me draw distinctions and make sense of the type of people who live in certain areas of the country. An imperfect measurement of life quality, no question, nonetheless….
Recently returning from a trip that started in Wisconsin and ended in Texas, I zoned in with my observaton gauge to determine how each state fared on a scale that rated which one has drivers that throws more trash out the window – a scale that determines to me how much people care about where they live. It didn’t turn out the way I thought it would.
On the trip, I covered Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. For you, what state do you think had the most garbage? And which had the least?
Using my intense visual observation skills, the state with the least garbage (ranked #1) to the one with the MOST garbage (ranked #5): 1) Missouri, 2) Wisconsin, 3) Illinois, 4) Oklahoma, 5) Texas.
You can argue about any of those choices. Part of the ranking is the roads I drove and maybe certain ones are cleaned more regularly by highway crews than others, but it was pretty much all interstate, so that kinda goes out the window.
No question that wind plays a factor. Flatter areas allow the wind to whip more waste products longer distances, particularly if there are no trees or shrub growth to block the projectiles. That theory implies Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas would be the worst, which turned out to be the case.
The inherent cultures of each state come into play in the rankings, IMO. Which state has a better conservation ethic? Which one could care less about keeping their land pristine? Again, IMO, I feel like Wisconsin has the best land ethic, protecting its resources. Not sure how I would rank the other states. But, Wisconsin was below Missouri in my rankings.
How well funded state cleanup crews are is certainly another variable. As is volunteer groups that get out and regularly do pickups, which seem to be increasingly necessary with each passing year, as flaying plastic materials launch across our national landscape.
I sang “America the Beautiful” to myself on the drive, changing the lyrics to more accurately reflect our country, which is definitely NOT “America the Beautiful” these days when you look around and open your eyes. We can easily do much better. It’s on the shoulders of all of us to make a difference.
Next time you take a long drive, look out the window and make your own assessment. Take photos of the egregious spots. Think about what your part is in keeping our country beautiful. How does your state rank?
And, you know what? The crap overloading the sides of our roads across the United States shouldn’t be the norm. It should be the exception.
When I travel by car long distances, I catalogue in my head the level of the garbage coating our raw environment. It helps me draw distinctions and make sense of the type of people who live in certain areas of the country. An imperfect measurement of life quality, no question, nonetheless….
Recently returning from a trip that started in Wisconsin and ended in Texas, I zoned in with my observaton gauge to determine how each state fared on a scale that rated which one has drivers that throws more trash out the window – a scale that determines to me how much people care about where they live. It didn’t turn out the way I thought it would.
On the trip, I covered Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. For you, what state do you think had the most garbage? And which had the least?
Using my intense visual observation skills, the state with the least garbage (ranked #1) to the one with the MOST garbage (ranked #5): 1) Missouri, 2) Wisconsin, 3) Illinois, 4) Oklahoma, 5) Texas.
You can argue about any of those choices. Part of the ranking is the roads I drove and maybe certain ones are cleaned more regularly by highway crews than others, but it was pretty much all interstate, so that kinda goes out the window.
No question that wind plays a factor. Flatter areas allow the wind to whip more waste products longer distances, particularly if there are no trees or shrub growth to block the projectiles. That theory implies Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas would be the worst, which turned out to be the case.
The inherent cultures of each state come into play in the rankings, IMO. Which state has a better conservation ethic? Which one could care less about keeping their land pristine? Again, IMO, I feel like Wisconsin has the best land ethic, protecting its resources. Not sure how I would rank the other states. But, Wisconsin was below Missouri in my rankings.
How well funded state cleanup crews are is certainly another variable. As is volunteer groups that get out and regularly do pickups, which seem to be increasingly necessary with each passing year, as flaying plastic materials launch across our national landscape.
I sang “America the Beautiful” to myself on the drive, changing the lyrics to more accurately reflect our country, which is definitely NOT “America the Beautiful” these days when you look around and open your eyes. We can easily do much better. It’s on the shoulders of all of us to make a difference.
Next time you take a long drive, look out the window and make your own assessment. Take photos of the egregious spots. Think about what your part is in keeping our country beautiful. How does your state rank?