Do Developing Countries “Give a Hoot”?
I just returned from an extraordinary visit to Central America. I will long remember the region’s natural beauty, its cobblestone streets, and friendly inhabitants. But I will also remember something that is much less idyllic – the litter. In particular, I will remember three very striking moments on my trip.
The first occurred aboard a “chicken bus” in El Salvador. I recoiled as a young woman threw an empty bag out the open window. I watched as the toddler on her lap placed a near empty juice bottle to her lips. She ran her tiny finger along the rim, trying to gather the last drops of her drink. I waited in anticipation for two hours to see whether the child would toss the bottle out the window as her mother had done. For two hours she clung to the bottle, periodically shaking it about to see if she could make more juice appear. As we approached our destination, the girl’s mother grabbed the bottle – and tossed it into the street. I thought briefly of the words of the Senegalese philosopher Baba Dioum: “In the end, we will save only what we love, we will love only what we understand, we will understand only what we are taught.” And I longed for an opportunity to teach this young child about the beauty of her country.
Days later, I would remember this child as I walked alongside Candido Melgar, a humble and kind Honduran. We hired him as a guide one afternoon to explore Celaque National Park. Candido was the perfect guide: knowledgeable, patient – and $20 for the day. Moments after we entered the park, Candido pulled a plastic bag from his pocket. For hours, he walked along, highlighting the flora and fauna – and bending to pick up discarded water bottles and candy wrappers. Seven hours later when we descended the mountain, three bags of trash were tied precariously to his small pack. “I’ve noticed Americans do not litter,” Candido remarked. “I wish we could teach Hondurans to do the same.” Candido bemoaned the environmental ethic of his countrymen – and thought wistfully of a national park that could somehow be protected from the people it was meant to serve.
The third memory was perhaps the most disheartening. My husband and I were hiking along the beach in Livingston, Guatemala. Ultimately, we would arrive at a series of cascading pools – the “Siete Altares.” The destination was spectacular. But the journey was startling: The beach was completely covered in litter. I thought briefly of Candido and his commitment to cleaning the national park in his backyard. Yet, the scattered debris in Parque Celaque was no match for the Guatemalan shoreline, which was covered with abandoned fishing nets, bottles, and toiletries. I thought briefly of collecting some of the debris – but quickly realized it was no use. In fact, occasional clusters of trashbags were decomposing in several spots along the shore – evidence of well-intentioned visitors before me who lacked either the energy or resources to see their efforts to completion.
So, where does that leave me? Two weeks in Central America. Three countries and three stories that will long linger in my memories. In truth, litter is the least of the problems our world faces. Certainly, a plastic bottle along the shoreline is less concerning than rising temperatures that will cause our oceans to destroy adjacent cities. Yet, I don’t think we can tackle these bigger problems unless we address the litter.
Any student of sociology has learned of the broken windows theory — broken windows left unrepaired lead to more vandalism and crime; uncorrected, graffiti begets graffiti. And unadressed, litter begets litter. Conversely, if we clean our beloved places, we teach our children the importance of caring for the world around them. If the shoreline is clean, perhaps people will demand laws to protect the fish and water that live there.
So, by my new theory, Woodsy the Owl is a “gateway” public service announcement. As Candido acknowledged, Americans have taken tremendous strides to address litter. Is this a meaningless victory – or is the first step to addressing larger problems? And if I’m right, what can we do to teach those in developing countries to “give a hoot”?
Nice observations! And witty prose, as always. Someday, maybe, when the average Guatemalan has more resources at his or her disposal, he or she will have the inclination to care about the world beyond everyday hungry mouths and dirty water….
Hmmm, I’m not so sure that Americans don’t litter. We just do it differently (and even worse) — with car exhaust, power plant emissions, exports of toxic used computers, etc. etc.
I would agree with the comment above that Americans still litter, but yes we have improved on this thanks to campaigns like “Don’t mess with Texas.” But I have to say that moving from a clean city in the Northwest to Washington, DC, that I saw a lot more trash around in DC.
On Central America, I spent three months in El Salvador. I do think there is a lot that needs to be done there and it will happen. Already some communities are replanting trees, and fighting gold mining companies that will pollute the land and destroy community health. CESTA, the Salvadoran Friends of the Earth Chapter is doing a lot there. Environmental education is a challenge when 2% of the country is forested now- one of the worst ratios in Latin America next to Haiti. But environmental sustainability and awareness building will need to go hand in hand with economic opportunities- an equally dire problem.
What Americans do isn’t really littering, by in large. It’s polluting and wasting resources, the difference is that littering has an immediate visual impact – the externalities of air pollution and resource waste are well hidden, visually and temporally.
What our children need to learn is that things like extra hot water going down the drain is a waste of water and energy, which is probably just as bad as tossing a coke can out the window. They are just invisible for a while.
We manage to teach our kids to finish everything on their plate, so there is no reason we can’t teach them to only fill their plates (or sinks, gas tanks, or lives in general) with more than they really want or need. On the flipside, as Americans we like to build, create and see the great works we have completed….so perhaps we should leverage this tendency to “do” rather than “not-do” by: planting trees, volunteering to build green facilities and ensure that waste is stopped systemically.
(Last note: the amount of trash found on a city street is as much a function of how many people/trucks are paid to pick it up, as it is how much is put their in the first place.)
Great piece- thank you. I have just returned from hiking in American’s oldest National Park and noted the 2 pieces of garbage that were left on trails. Two pieces of garbage on over 25 miles of trails hiked. Americans have learned to keep litter out of our domestic beauty, and that gives me hope that we can keep litter out of our shared world, too.
Wow, with the repression by govt. security forces of environmental organizations in central america – from the forestors in Guerrero Mexico to the anti-mining coalition in El Salvador, COEJL decides to look at the terrible impacts of local insouciance about their bottles!
Would have been more important and relevant to address the systemic factors leading to pollution and deforestation, such as anti-democratic corporate-managed neoliberal trade and security policies which our govt has been pushing through from NAFTA, to CAFTA, to Plan Colombia (and CFTA) and this year they want to double Plan Mexico (the Merida Initiative funding) which would send $$ and lethal aid to the Internatioanl Law Enforcement Academy in El Salvador where the govt is implicated in drug dealing at the very top and where the police and courts are used against communities refusing international mining operations.
The U.S. should demand reforms (land and political) BEFORE US $$$ is sent. This $$ and lethal aid has a direct harmful impact on environmental activists targeted by these govts. throughout the hemisphere.
Shana Tova,
Robert