California's Litter Problem

California has a serious litter problem
and for some reason it's been really bothering me.  Litter has always bugged me but in the past I would just walk by or drive down the street and not really pay attention to it.  It's getting much worse though and in my city, no one is really doing anything to clean it up.  I've determined that I'm going to commit to walk around my neighborhood a few times per week and at least try to keep my neighborhood clean and free of trash to the best of my ability.  Keep things from washing down the gutters and into the drains.

People just dispose of stuff on our roadways and out in nature.  You see it everywhere you go.  I'm sure it's a problem all over the world and not only California.  Look at our oceans, a sea of plastic.

Three photos below I found online.

What happened?  People used to take pride in where they live.  I don't understand how someone can be walking down the sidewalk, drinking a soda or whatever and just drop it on the ground or in the gutter when they're finished.  What is wrong with them?  Did we neglect, as parents, to teach better?

Truck drivers piss in bottles and throw the bottles out at truck stops and elsewhere on our roadways.  What is wrong with them?  Why can't they hold onto the bottles and empty them and dispose of them when they stop to eat or sleep at a rest stop?  It boggles my mind and is disgusting.

These photos are from my walk around the neighborhood today.  I came upon a small section of the bike path and this is what I found.  It overwhelmed me and made me decide to wait until I had an extra hand or two.

Here's a new group I created https://www.meetup.com/California-Litter-Busters/ to hopefully clean California up.

Please teach your children and grandchildren to respect our world.  Teach them that the stuff blows around and ends up in our waterways and out into the ocean.  Our ocean is full of plastic and it's going to take years and years to clean it up.  We need to get involved.  All of us that are capable.

Many people claim to love nature and the outdoors but when they are out on the trails, do they pick up litter they might come upon?  I didn't.  I know most people don't.  They expect that someone else will pick it up.

But who is going to pick it up?  Is it getting picked up?  It's time to pick it up, guys.  The litter bugs aren't going to do it.  So we must.