Yesterday in Albuquerque, we had an afternoon thunderstorm. Afterward on our way to dinner, we found this street-wide storm drain with lots of debris. This is one reason why we should not litter. Much of the trash enters the storm drain and makes it way (in this case) to the Rio Grande River which empties into the ocean eventually. Besides polluting our rivers and lakes, we add to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Mostly Albuquerque is a very clean city, but the washing of its litter into one location illustrates how much a problem small amounts of litter can become.
Today, we walked the LaLuz Trail in the Sandia Mountains in New Mexico. The trail was very clean of litter. We saw one plastic bottle that was probably dropped by accident. Everyone removes their trash and leaves only footprints. It was a glorious experience.
Tara said,
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 @ 12:04 pm
Wow - what a great, albeit sad, visual of how small actions can add up. Whenever I’m out walking, I try and pickup at least one piece of litter and pitch it when I get home (or pass a trash can). I figure my small actions might add up to something, too!
Fighting Terrorism Since 1492 « The Earth Is Not a Trash Can said,
Sunday, July 27, 2008 @ 8:47 am
[...] Native Americans, Santa Fe, Storm drains litter, Tent Rocks National Monument We revisited the site of the storm drain trash yesterday in Albuquerque. The garbage had been removed. I was glad to know that Albuquerque is [...]