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Introduction
I love the world as it is.
I find it mind-bogglingly beautiful.
So a part of the reason for my walking is purely selfish; I want to enjoy
the world before it is irreparably damaged by climate change and the other environmental damage that is continuing to accumulate.
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The link: roadsides and atmosphereThere are similarities between the rubbish that is dumped on our roadsides and the carbon dioxide that is dumped into our atmosphere. Both are put there by irresponsible and unethical people; neither should be there.
To knowingly lie in order to keep the dying coal industry alive longer and to slow the change to renewable energy is nothing short of criminal, and it is a crime that has been perpetrated by the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison Australian governments in the Liberal Coalition's war against renewable energy. |
This photo and the one above were taken in South Australia's Clare Valley.
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Trees following a very long hot summer, of the type we will get more often with a climate change future.
Looking at the two photos, which do you prefer? |
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Where have I been?
So far I've picked up rubbish in the following areas:
SA, Clare area
SA Crystal Brook areaIn the Crystal Brook area I have picked up roadside rubbish along the following roads:
Mandurah and WA generally
The photo on the right is of the Serpentine River in Mandurah; a beautiful area, partly spoiled by the rubbish that people dump. Move to Erskine, a Mandurah suburbIn February 2022 my wife and I moved from SA to Erskine. As mentioned on another page I have continued picking up rubbish there.Specific areas I've collected rubbish from in Erskine are: Singapore
There was a street sweeper who cleaned-up the footpaths and roadway near the hostel each morning, but there was a parking lot just across the street from the hostel and there were many cigarette butts and assorted rubbish – which I cleaned-up. Singapore was not a dirty city, but neither was it a clean city. See a photographic record of a short visit to Singapore on another page on this site.
Port Pirie
I have noticed the amount of rubbish around Port Pirie's parks before, and have picked up a little on occasion, although most of my efforts have been closer to home. Today I spent about a half hour picking up rubbish in Flinders View Park which is opposite the Woolworths shopping centre on the main road into town. I was pleasantly surprised in there being less rubbish than I remembered there being on my last visit, but I didn't have any trouble in finding a bag full. Unfortunately the people of Port Pirie seem to have less civic pride than those of Crystal Brook and Clare. On the other hand, there is probably a comparable amount of rubbish around parts of Mandurah. I suspect that small town people tend to have more community spirit than city people.
I picked up rubbish in Memorial Park and Flinders View Park again on 2021/08/19.
Climate Walk
I noticed that drink containers were a much greater proportion of the roadside rubbish in these two states than they were in South Australia. There is a refundable deposit on drink containers in SA, not in Victoria or NSW. The walk took place between 2014/09/21 and 2014/10/21.
Coca ColaOrganisations such as Coca Cola are trying to stop an Australia-wide container deposit from being implimented.You can object by squashing Coke cans flat, placing them in standard envelopes, and posting them to Coca Cola. |
| The Clare hills, 2005/09/27 |
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The long answer is given on
What type of rubbish do I find?
Also see What to pick up?
Throw-away cups
Most coffee shops and bakeries give you the option of a ceramic cup if you are having your coffee on-site or a disposable one if you are taking it away, but some only provide throw-away cups and mugs. What should you do if you care for the environment? You can either refuse to take a disposable cup – go somewhere else if they can't provide a reusable one – or you could bring your own cup.
A responsible business will discourage, not encourage, the use of throw-away
cups.
The proprietor of Cafe for Ewe in Brinkworth, Sharon Middleton, has been very active in looking for responsible, compostable, and reusable containers. It is a pity there aren't more like her in the district. I see that France has banned disposable coffee cups, except those that are completely compostable. The ban is to come into force by 2020.
At least one type of disposable cup is compostable in commercial facilities,
BioCup; if throw-away cups must be used, these would be better than
those that are not bio-degradable.
I have seen these in Western Australia, but not South Australia.
Alternatives to throw-away cups
Coffee shops that want to be environmentally responsible could encourage people to bring in their own cups; for example they could display a sign explaining the implications of throw-away cups. They could also provide reusable take-away cups, such as those in the photo, for sale.
Climate change
A few days later, in early October 2013 the Australian Bureau of Meteorology produced the map on the right, showing that almost all of the state of South Australia, and a substantial part of the whole nation, had its hottest year on record from the beginning of October 2012 to the end of September 2013. Higher temperatures, and predicted lower rainfalls, will of course have negative impacts on agriculture and on our native flora and fauna.
More on climate change.
Climatologists forecast that severe weather events are likely to become more common as climate change advances. Ironically, adverse impact on agriculture from a wind farm development has been used by at least one wind farm opposition group as justification for its activities, but climate change will have an incomparably greater adverse impact on agriculture than any wind farm.
Paper bags and wrapping
These paper bags and wrappers (with many others) were picked up on a roadside near Crystal Brook on 2015/04/23. The two marked Balfours and Vili's were bags for pies, pasties, cakes etc. The Subway one was a wrapper from a bread roll. Irresponsible people throw this sort of thing out of cars; that is a fact of life at present. Being bleached white paper these bags and wrappers are conspicuous and unsightly; if they were unbleached or brown paper they would be much less so. I have suggested to these three businesses that they change their packaging.
CouncilsAs of late 2013 I have been working in the council districts of Port Pirie Regional Council (PPRC) and Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council (CGVC).Around October I contacted PPRC asking about disposal of the rubbish that I collect. On 2013/12/16 I received a phone call from Kevin Browne of PPRC telling me that I would be able to dispose of the rubbish I collect at no cost to me. I have sent similar requests to CGVC, but have never had a reply. Update, 2020I have been able to dispose of the roadside rubbish I collect in the CGVC area at no cost to me at the Clare Waste Transfer Station.
Related pages
External sites relating to action on climate change:Climate Action Network Australia Australian Youth Climate Coalition The CORENA fund aims to fund renewable energy installations on Australian roofs. Friends of the Earth push for an environmentally sustainable future. Australian Conservation Foundation Doctors for the Environment Australia Of course there are far too many for me to list here; there is a big list on the Climate Action Network site. Information on climate change (Australia): CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Bureau of Meteorology Climate change and variability
The Climate Council is to
take over the work of the Climate Commission, which the
Abbott Government closed down because
they don't want Australians to know the facts on climate change.
Related pages on this site:Climate change from a global perspective and from an Australian perspective, ocean acidification, ocean warming and sea level rise. Responsible cafes in Mid North South Australia A million-step walk for climate action Greatest crime in the history of humanity; to intentionally lie and distort the facts in support of the coal industry and to oppose the development of renewable energy; especially from a position of authority. Killer coal; an industry that kills millions of people world-wide each year and is one of the main causes of climate change and ocean acidification. The Australian Liberal party's war on renewable energy, the Abbott Government, the Turnbull Government and the Morrison Government. Why you should support wind power |
