Our World Tuesday: Talking Junk

It's March in North Carolina, and summer is coming and going like a dizzy flirt. Cross the bridge, cross the dunes, come to the beach. It's summer.

From March 24, 2012

This is the beach where alcohol and any glass bottles are prohibited in the name of protecting the integrity of this beautiful beach, this liminal space between dry land and that beautiful mystery we call the Atlantic. But who needs rules--especially when the need to get buzzed is so overwhelming?

From March 24, 2012
Look up from the trash as darkness falls and enjoy these guys. Watch them ride the thermals and loop round and round and play in a beautiful aerial dance and then off they go to fish.
From March 24, 2012
From March 24, 2012

Watch your step, though. You might trip over some non-biodegradable remant of somebody else's happiness, some lethal pile of plastic that just won't go away.

From March 24, 2012
From February 26, 2012

Then, there's the McDonald's refuse that will need picking up. Even if McDonald's is a good six miles away and nothing could possibly get here warm. The kind of people willing to settle for that at the beach are also clueless enough to let the beach Cinderellas clean up after them. They are somehow entitled. Just ask them as they loiter around the toilets and in the parking lot at closing time. They love watching you clean up for them. It's a private joke they share with Ronald McDonald. To hell with the planet; the entitled have arrived. Pick it up, though. Because these feathered guys are depending on you, and they are worth the trouble.

(Thanks to Adella for the bottom two photos, which she took with my dad last month down in Surf City.)

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28 Comments

  1. It never ceases to amaze me how much trash people knowingly leave behind. I mean, seriously!!! Talk about rude.
    They are just plain slobs in my opinion.
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  2. Interesting post, Sandy. So romantic the first perspective with that cloudy sky.

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  3. Trying to think if there is anything I hate worse than litter. Nope, that would be it...
    Sandi

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  4. Oh, I hate litter, too!! They make a great effort here to keep the beaches clean, but it isn't always enough. Your photos are terrific, Sandy! It's very easy to see, hear your love for your new home and every time I read one of your posts, they make me smile and I'm so happy for you!! Adella is going to be a great photographer, just like her Mom!!

    Sylvia

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  5. what I don't understand is how people can be so careless! I simply don't.

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  6. Anonymous1:36 PM

    This is one of many reasons why I care about animals more than my own species. Some humans are just too disgusting for words, especially when they do careless things like in your photos.

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  7. Sometimes people are worse than animals. I just don't understand them.

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  8. I hate litter, too! But I don´t see litter on the beaches here. I love the composition of the first photo.

    My entry is here

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  9. Great shots Sandy and a good reminder of how lethal trash is to animals. I get furious when I see litter in the parks where I live or on the beaches I visit. It's so irresponsible. I've even found beer bottles in the overgrown bushes in front of my house. That's kind of creepy thinking of who was hiding in my bushes drinking.

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  10. yes, pick up your trash! recycle it or better yet don't buy it in the first place.

    lovely photos of nature
    i understand your dismay over trash

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  11. Such a beautiful bridge on the way to the beach! Oh I hate those people leaving their garbage for others to pick up!! :( I use to say to my boyfriend - if they really love it this way (to leave theri garbage out in the nature), if they love the garbage sooo much, why do they not bring it with them home, to decorate their windows and houses with it!! :))))

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  12. I got so upset now.. I forgot to say: beautiful photos!! :)) Amd I love your pelicans! and the seagulls drifting away.. :)

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  13. man's litter is so sad...

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  14. Damn, this makes me mad.

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  15. I thought only Tennessee had thoughtless litterbugs. The junk we find on trails miles from anything is amazing.

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  16. It is the same scene everywhere. How disappointing!
    Great pelican captures.

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  17. Yes yes they are worth the trouble.

    I can understand how you feel about thrash in places which are supposed to inspire and clean us within.

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  18. Anonymous11:31 PM

    Beautiful shots of pelicans and beach... yet so sad that people just can't seem to pick up after themselves.

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  19. The pollution on the beach is a sad reflection of our world today.

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  20. These people that do this littering are slobs. I always figure their own homes are a dump. It is so frustrating to see the mess. Thank goodness there are the people who clean up others messes.

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  21. Anonymous7:39 AM

    Love the shots of the birds and the first photo. The litter scene is terrible here. Most people aren't bothered at all!!

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  22. I hear you!
    I've been ditch diving for junk about every 3 months. Cannot believe what I find.
    I'm doing a post on it soon. It's criminal.
    Stupid, stupid people. We're about 5 km from a coffee place, and usually get a cup or two weekly.

    My world!

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  23. Sad! Sad! Sad! Why don't people ever understand how important it is to keep nature pristine, to protect the animals, to leave something untouched for the next person to enjoy? It's all me-me-me in this world, and that is sad.

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  24. I meant to tell you how much I appreciated you stopping by my quilt blog, also and commenting! Have an awesome week!

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  25. People are so thoughtless. We all need to be more mindful of others and nature.

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  26. Nice pics, of the critters,

    My theory is that 95% of our fellow beachgoers pick up after themselves pretty well. The other 5% create havoc.

    Years ago, I went to a city park at lunch with some coworkers. Most of them just got and left their trash on the ground within 50 feet of a trash barrel, "they have people whose jobs it is to clean up" I was told.

    It was me, it turned out. The middle aged kid of a Forest Ranger.

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  27. It boggles my mind that people can knowingly destroy their surroundings like that -- even birds know not to foul their own nests!

    Keep looking up and seeing the beauty though (although when you have to pick up after everybody else, sometimes it's hard I know).

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  28. Beautiful pictures!!! Some people never realise the beauty of a healthy environment, we just have to fine them I guess.

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Thanks for being here.