Change – good or bad! Most of us are resistant to change. We become comfortable with a “status quo” life style. As my wife says – “I want a calm pond with no ripples.” Even though we generally have that attitude, changes still come! On special situations, when we do want change, we tend to want it quickly and become impatient if it isn’t accomplished instantly. Making changes in our behavior patterns is a challenge. Those behaviors that are negative to maintaining a clean and attractive landscape and place come both quickly and slowly. Most of us want a society without litter and clean and attractive settings. One of the changes that seems to have come quickly is a negative one - the attitude that streets and roadways and both public and private property are places to get rid of items we don’t want so we feel that we have the right to through it away so it becomes litter and debris. This change seems to have come within a relatively short time frame. Four or five decades ago, the idea of throwing something out of a car window was virtually unheard of. Today it seems to have become commonplace. In fact the cost of clean ups and picking up after ourselves in Iowa is estimated to be nearly $30 million per year. Just think where those dollars could be used instead of cleaning up our litter and debris. Forty or 50 years may seem like a long time but over the time span of being in Iowa, it is a pretty short time span. Can we make the change back to being a clean and tidy state and reduce the tremendous cost to society in a shorter period of time? Keep Iowa Beautiful has been at it for over a decade and I keep thinking we are making progress, but then I go out for a drive and question whether we have. All of us and in particular the up and coming younger generation in particular, need to develop a behavior pattern that does not include the thought or practice of littering. It may seem to be a trivial or small issue, but when you total it up the cost is staggering. In many cases it can also lead to other negative behaviors. If I can throw something out and litter and not get caught – then maybe there are other laws I can break. Pretty soon the “small” laws become bigger and more significant, leading to a society without rules or with a great deal of gray or lack of clarity to society. It is the rule of paying attention to detail and following all of the laws – not just the ones that suit us. Gerald F. Schnepf, Executive Director |
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