Joshua Tree BLM Public Lands Clean Up
Joshua Tree BLM Clean Up
I’ve spent a lot of time driving this year and this a difference between driving familiar and new roads. On the familiar roads everything becomes mundane – almost taken for granted like it’s always been there. However on new roads, it’s like a first date, each curve offering a new vista, a new scene at sunset or sunrise. Unfortunately, in almost every state and on every road of this beautiful country we’ve found garbage. Bottles, butts, furniture, fast food waste, human waste and toilet paper everywhere.
There is no doubt that you and I both produce waste as does everyone else on this planet. And it’s also true that our recycling systems are broken and our landfills are overwhelmed, yet this is no excuse for blatant disregard for the responsibility of your own waste.
Perhaps this is one of the most visceral impacts on the climate which makes it so easy to rally behind and because it’s so prevalent in every community. I’m not sure what spoke to each of the 250+ attendees this weekend at the Joshua Tree BLM Public Lands Clean Up, but it was a unified front of passionate people from the overland community who showed up, got dirty and made a small dent on this issue.
Most of the waste I picked up was fresh, within the last year, someone believing that it was OK to leave their garbage behind. Yet on the second day we found garbage that was 20-30 years old scattered around a plateau. Broken glass, shot up cans, mattress springs, fencing. It was someone’s personal dumping ground and shooting range. To see my son’s walk around and pick up this mess felt like there’s a change coming. That people are waking up to our impact on this environment. And while we cannot deny that each of us has a carbon footprint far beyond appropriate waste management and recycling, we the people are showing up to make an impact. Additionally, the organizers of this event found some incredible brand partners to jump on board to co-sponsor and this also is a sign of the times.
Make sure to follow @Lost.sasquatch and @RoamingLost to keep up to speed on the next clean up, or if looking elsewhere around the country, the @parksproject is leading these clean ups with folks like you at the helm.
