This Bothers Me

This bothers me on many levels (and no, the quality of the image isn't one of them). I was out for a walk today and came across this soda container in the grass...it bothers me that a person would either discard it as they walked by or threw it out a car window...couldn't they wait to get to a trash can? But what I find equally bothersome is the size of the container...64 ounces! That's a half-gallon of soda. Could one person have drank that entire thing? I was recently at a movie theater and the smallest soda available was 24 ounces...popcorn came served in containers larger than a waste-basket. But then again that may explain why the container was lying in the grass...maybe the owner drank the entire 64 ounces and passed out and had to be rushed to hospital...leaving only an empty container as evidence.

Comments

Anonymous said…
That's about 800 calories. No wonder Americans are so fat. Nothing personal, it's just a statistical fact. From the CDC, 65% of people in the USA are either overweight or obese.
Jim said…
Recently I was walking by the beautiful river near my house, teaching my kids how to ride their bikes. Up came 2 youths on a scooter ( about 8 and 14 years old. ) One got off the back carrying a disassembled scooter frame without motor, forks, tank, etc and then chucked it into the river next to a sunbathing woman who stared in disbelief. When I opened my mouth to say something I was met with abuse, threats and we were followed around for 20 minutes.
I don't know what depresses me more; the fact that dumping stuff into a beautiful river in broad daylight before witnesses is normal activity for these children and what hope can we have for keeping nature in some sort of decent state - or that at a such a young age they are (and need to be) stealing and dismantling scooters. I shudder to think what their life must have been like so far and what the future holds for them... I live on a different planet to alot of people I often feel.
2whls3spds said…
We need to outlaw all types of disposable plastic containers. I too have wondered about the 64oz (and larger) drinks and cups. It used to be 6oz bottles then 8,12,20 and so on. Americans love their carbonated sugar water and consume massive amounts of it to their own detriment. I get looked at strangely at restaurants when I only order water. ;-)

As far as the dumping of the scooter mentioned by Jim, welcome to the world generated by lack of responsible parenting.

Aaron
Sally said…
Your comment that the owner was rushed to hospital, leaving only the drink container made me laugh -ruefully. I have to think that most of us do not litter or else our parks and streets would look far worse. In the recent Toronto garbage strike, neighbourhood associations stepped up and did a good job of cleaning up the parks and bins. Friends visiting us from out of town commented that they hardly noticed a strike was on. I thought that was a hopeful sign that most of us do care about litter and don't just throw our trash on the ground. By the way, thanks for your great blog, I always enjoy reading what fits onto a bike!
Joe said…
Sally, thanks for commenting...and for your kind words...Toronto, btw, is one of my favorite North American cities.

Thanks, too, to all others for commenting...I agree and enjoyed what you had to say...personally, the enormous-sized foods and disposable culture just gets to me now-and-again.