Originally posted in 2009:
Is there such a thing as litter on a highway? I'm not addressing the objective reality of people throwing trash out their windows at 80 miles per hour but rather can one say there is "litter" on a "highway?" Is it possible to befoul the environment of that which by it's very nature befouls The Environment? I'm going to vote "No!" because it's all trash.
For years now I've been observing the disconnect between urban garden fantasy and smog-choked reality. We cultivate greenery around our antiseptic homes, trimming everything living down to neat categories when not just burning it down. This is all cosmetic, no concern for ecosystem or biosphere or sustainability, just what gets you in good with the Home Owners Association. A shrubbery is so nice, just don't let it grow into the neighbor's yard. And god forbid you drop a can or cigarette butt in a park or one of those manicured "nature trails." How dare you pollute our Fake Earth!?
Not even the fauna escape this madness. We lock them up in micro-habitats for the amusement of children who would rather be playing video games. It's like some collective containment fetish, boxing in anything that would naturally grow or roam -- and then we're confused when things work out badly! Why do orca fins slump over in captivity? Maybe they don't like being captives.
We then turn around and feign concern for our own victims. We pass laws to keep trash off our precious, natural... roads. Roads we built by grinding up soil and plant life and all the small mammal and insect life that went with it. Which is the greater case of pollution? And while we're on the subject, how are "clean air" acts anything but a bag joke with millions of cars hitting the road every day in this country alone? It's - I mean - How goddamn crazy must you be to have such an inverted view of your own ecosystem!?
Jesus, all you suckers probably buy that invisible hand bullshit too.
Is there such a thing as litter on a highway? I'm not addressing the objective reality of people throwing trash out their windows at 80 miles per hour but rather can one say there is "litter" on a "highway?" Is it possible to befoul the environment of that which by it's very nature befouls The Environment? I'm going to vote "No!" because it's all trash.
For years now I've been observing the disconnect between urban garden fantasy and smog-choked reality. We cultivate greenery around our antiseptic homes, trimming everything living down to neat categories when not just burning it down. This is all cosmetic, no concern for ecosystem or biosphere or sustainability, just what gets you in good with the Home Owners Association. A shrubbery is so nice, just don't let it grow into the neighbor's yard. And god forbid you drop a can or cigarette butt in a park or one of those manicured "nature trails." How dare you pollute our Fake Earth!?
Not even the fauna escape this madness. We lock them up in micro-habitats for the amusement of children who would rather be playing video games. It's like some collective containment fetish, boxing in anything that would naturally grow or roam -- and then we're confused when things work out badly! Why do orca fins slump over in captivity? Maybe they don't like being captives.
We then turn around and feign concern for our own victims. We pass laws to keep trash off our precious, natural... roads. Roads we built by grinding up soil and plant life and all the small mammal and insect life that went with it. Which is the greater case of pollution? And while we're on the subject, how are "clean air" acts anything but a bag joke with millions of cars hitting the road every day in this country alone? It's - I mean - How goddamn crazy must you be to have such an inverted view of your own ecosystem!?
Jesus, all you suckers probably buy that invisible hand bullshit too.
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