joymarie
Registered: June 2015
City/Town/Province: Gilbert
Posts: 1
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Prom night 2015, I found myself knee deep in murky water. I swapped a tacky bedazzled dress for a trash bag, and the Verde River was about to be the recipient of a good cleaning. The day was overcast and drizzling, and the Verde River in serene Payson, Arizona was a paradise plus junkyard.
At first glance, the Verde River is not too shabby, however, once I began exploring the location, it was discovered to be a haven for trash. The most abundant and shocking garbage I found was confetti. I suppose people assume the plain riverside needed some pizzazz. I'm sure the creatures relying on that land disagreed. Some of those reliant including crawfish, rainbow trout, flathead catfish, smallmouth and largemouth bass, and several species of sunfish. More occupants of the land include bobcat, grey fox, coyote, jackrabbit, javelina, mountain lion, beaver, river otter, and even bears. The Verde River is a major support system for a large web of animals; trash is not part of that equation.
But just what is the effect of waste on wildlife? Animals can mistakenly eat indigestible plastics and such. The toxins found in certain materials if consumed by a creature can be deadly. Moreover, many items when left to rot can leak toxic chemicals into the earth as well as into the water source they are either in or near. To drink and eat from or live in polluted water can sicken and ultimately kill any animal relying on it. When land is poisoned by materials, the vegetation can also greatly suffer, when where the plants are rooted has been tainted. And without the greens, herbivores are left to starve. And without the herbivores, their predators are left to starve. It’s a slippery slope when one chooses to abandon their filth and leave it to the animals. It is so simple to clean up after oneself, there isn’t a single logical reason to use nature as a wastebin. Laziness is truly the source of our abuse of earth.
As the afternoon went on, levels of annoyance went up. My trash-harvesting companion said, “People that put their trash here deserve to be shot.” Ironically, moments later we went on to find a shotgun shell, and shortly thereafter discovered in the parking lot a sign banning shooting. It was frustrating knowing that in spite the efforts made that day, litterbugs will never refrain from being pests to the earth. In that situation, perhaps it was the treacherous 20-foot walk from the river to the trashcan that caused people to refrain from depositing their waste properly.
Driving off that day, feeling somewhat accomplished, we suddenly became aware of the trash that was everywhere we turned. On the busy road, we saw countless bottles of water and energy drinks, and it was even tempting to pull over and pick it up (but truth be told I wasn’t quite willing to get hit by a car for mother earth). It felt like no matter what we did, it would never be enough. However, for two people, it took roughly an hour and a half to get a whole lot of harmful materials from that ecosystem. Imagine if there had been more. Imagine the impact on wildlife if we humans took responsibility and rid of our rubbish properly. People in general are pretty disgusting, but if we could manage to take two extra seconds to toss our trash, or recycle our recyclables, think of how much better the environment would be. It’s hard to imagine that a glass bottle or aluminum can could be powerful enough to destroy ecosystems, but when an entire human population has that mindset, it’s deadly.
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