Littering students not practicing what they preach
It was very good to see and hear all the speeches by all the students who traveled to New York via planes trains and automobiles etc. sharing their views about the need for changes to be made. Then all the students who took the day off school on Friday to express their concern about the environment. I am glad to see all that concern for the environment and the need to do more to protect the planet.
I was going to meet a friend at A&W in and while waiting I went for a walk on a trail. This trail in Mill Bay leads from a group of eating places including MacDonald’s, Tim Hortons and A&W (be clear, they are not the culprits).
This trail passes over a creek that flows directly into Mill Bay. The trail carries on to the local high school. It seems to be a favourite route for students to get to the eating places.
I was very saddened when I compared the rhetoric of the students about the need to protect the earth with the garbage of every imaginable shape, size and composition on the trail, from plastic straws and cup covers (right beside the creek) as well as all kinds of wrappers, containers etc. strewn along the whole trail up to and including the stuff on the ground around the garbage can by the road near the high school.
Clearly these students have a disconnect between the rhetoric and the protests about the environment and climate change, and their behaviour of dumping garbage along the trail. Some of the stuff i.e. plastic straws etc. end up in the ocean. I speculate that based on how much garbage was strewn on the trail the majority of the students who travel it do not really practice what their leaders who spoke to the UN spoke about. It is always hard when it comes to making personal choices vs. blaming someone else for the issue.
Sadly based on the behavior it does not support the rhetoric.
Glenn White
Shawnigan Lake
