The truth about trash

For the last couple of years I've been a big fan of shows like Man vs Wild and Survivorman. As all of my friends know, the closest I come to the wilderness is the Animal Kingdom amusement park in Disney World. I'm on my way there now, and while traveling I've made a few stops along the way and came face to face with the truth that Bear and Les (hosts of the two shows above) talk about.

No matter where you go in the world, they say, there's trash from civilization. They find old water heaters washed into the Everglades by hurricanes, or fishing nets from ships long since visited the coasts of remote Alaska.

I find plastic bottles, tossed cigarettes and enough plastic bags to make a balloon that might get me to place where there is no trash. Not likely though, because I hear that there's trash even on the jagged slopes of Mt. Everest.

But while none of us is likely to get into too many wild places that another person hasn't already been and maybe left some stuff behind, it's good to know that there are organizations -- and the people in them, of course -- that care enough about the outdoors to clean it up. Futile as it may be, and although returning every few years to pull another truck tire from the river or styrofoam cups from a creek makes me think that they're crazy, I am glad there are thousands of volunteers around the U.S. and the world who do that type of stuff.

I'm going to join a group when I get back to VA and do my part, act crazy and demonstrate that I care a little more.