The Fountain of Rubbish
… how we are literally trashing our green environment.
This morning, I set off on a walk around my current neighborhood in Lusaka, Zambia, ready to take some pictures and write some words in response to the monthly challenge to “show some green”. Here’s the challenge, as issued by Anne Bonfert:
I live in a pretty green area, so it should have been a relatively easy task. As you can see from my next image, green is by far the dominant color here, making for a pleasant and relaxing walk between the tarmac and boundary walls.
But very quickly, other colors (and other thoughts and feelings!) started to push their way into my head. Thoughts that made me see red, actually.
Within a few yards from our house, I could already see the signs of human arrogance. Assorted trash floating down the gutter from where uncaring humans had just chucked it out of car windows. Empty bottles, crisp packets, styrofoam food containers, plastic bags of all sizes and colors, you name it.
Perhaps it’s a sign of “out of sight, out of mind” when people just chuck their trash overboard, but it’s pure arrogance. Out of their sight means into mine, into my environment, and into my mind.
In a city where there’s a lot of rainfall during this time of the year, yes, there’s a lot of greenery. But we also have gutters that very literally overflow, to the extent that they are sometimes entirely invisible, and our road, between our boundary wall and the one on the other side, is one brown torrent of water.
The reason? Blocked drains.
In an attempt to reduce the amount of trash that appears in front of their houses, many landlords have installed grids in the gutters. It’s not rocket science to understand what comes next. All that jetsam just floats down the gutter until it hits that obstacle, and then it forms a dam. At that point, the gutter fills up and does the opposite of what it was intended to do: It delivers the water up onto the road (along with its load of plastic, paper and other assorted materials).
I should apologise that this story is a bit of a rant, and submitted to a monthly challenge that was clearly intended to encourage more positive stories about greenery. But to provide some background: Some of my work involves support for governance of the mining sector, addressing issues around impacts on the environment, and so on.
But while we all are so very critical of mines and other industries, while we easily share our opinions about the perceived impacts on our desired green environment, many of us humans live the opposite lifestyle: We just discard our trash anywhere, for others to care about, for others to rake out of gutters.
So, we humans, are actually the Fountain of Rubbish. We should stop pointing fingers at industries that we love to hate, we should instead look in the mirror.
Have a look at Julia A. Keirns’ story, linked below:
And do read about another, very green country, on the other side of the globe, as described by Ophélie Quillier:
What would those beautiful areas look like if they were covered in empty bottles and plastic bags? I am obviously not ranting at you, my fellow Globetrotters, but I am convinced that many of those people who jettison their trash out of their car windows are also the same people who complain about mines, and who “ooh and ah” about beautiful green areas in National Parks and so on.
Trust me — this is certainly NOT only a Zambian, African issue. I have seen signs of this problem in many parts of the world.
Rant over.
Please do enjoy the more positive and uplifting green stories this month, but please also encourage the people around you, to “walk green”, and not just “talk green”.
I will leave you with a final green image from Zambia:
