July 8, 2008
Musings of Andy Gould on Litter and Territoriality - 6/27/08
Adopt A Highway Event a big success!
On June 27, a record number of 16 energetic volunteers collected more than 50 bags of trash along I-40 west of Flagstaff. The roadside is looking much better as a result of their efforts. Thanks to all who participated!
Andy Gould, 2007 Master Naturalist/Watershed Steward, shares his thoughts on litter lifting:
When Cynthia sent out her appeal to Master Naturalists to come gather litter along Interstate 40 near Flag Ranch Road she said that our permit to collect litter in this assigned area would be revoked if we didn't have at least ten people respond. It took several appeals before ten people responded, but, as it turned out, sixteen people came out to collect. Our permit is safe. That alone is cause for celebration.
Gathering litter I reflected on the different ways in which humans express territorial urges. I recently read of a sociological study of drivers with lots of bumper stickers on their cars. It seems these people are statistically more prone to road rage than drivers of anonymous cars. It doesn't matter what the stickers say, whether they are liberal or conservative. We experience cars as expressions of ego and personal space. As we have gone from one car per family to one car per adult, the back seat of many cars becomes an all-purpose space for litter or whatever we don't take time to dispose of otherwise. Picking up litter by the highway, it was obvious that much of this litter doesn't remain contained in cars. Perhaps there is someone in the back, so it goes out the window. I remember seeing a family finishing dinner in their car by a fast food restaurant. As they prepared to leave, the driver opened the door and dropped several large bags of their litter in the parking lot. Their bumper sticker read "Poor but Proud". What kind of pride is it that finds expression in littering? Coyotes leave their droppings in prominent locations on trails to mark territory. Could it be that humans, at least unconsciously, are expressing this sense of dominion by littering?
For those of us gathering litter, we may be exercising a sense of dominion in reverse. We were defending our permit to gather litter. As I drove home past the big blue bags we had left, I felt a sense of pride and a little more connection with this stretch of highway. Somebody asked me once if I felt discouraged going out to gather litter every year. Do I feel angry or hopeless? No. I enjoy meeting my need for connection with the land in this way. Others meet their territorial needs differently. Given the ever increasing number of cars on the road and the seemingly constant amount of litter each year tells me that fewer people are expelling their litter from cars. Perhaps more cars per capita helps because there are more back seats to hold it all. Perhaps there really is an increasing awareness of Woodsy Owl's message - "Give a hoot. Don't pollute." In any case, I don't expect to be put out of business as a litter lifter in this lifetime. Its part of Nature's balance and it feels good to be doing my part.
