Kentucky Littering Problems

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What is the biggest problem facing the world? Terrorism? Poverty? Drugs? Crime? No. In my opinion, the biggest problem facing the world is the world itself. Because if we mess up this planet, none of those other problems is going to matter. And we are messing up this planet. You may be thinking, I didn’t cause these problems. Why do I have to solve them? In a way, we all do; and if we do not try to help, who will? Kentucky’s roadside littering is worsening. Fast food packaging, cans and bottles comprise most of all this litter. According to the Solid Waste Coordinators of Kentucky, 54 percent of rural road and 43 percent of urban road litter are bottles and cans. A two-year examination of 600 miles of Kentucky’s roads showed that…show more content…
According to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, there are over a million deer in our state today and are reaching a saturation point in many parts of the Commonwealth. More people are killed as a result of deer and vehicle collisions each year than by dogs, snakes, sharks, mountain lions, bears and alligators combined. On average, 130 people are killed, making deer the most deadly animal in the United States (Thomas). Just in Fort Thomas, between 2003 and 2006 there were 47 deer and vehicle collisions reported. This results in a yearly average of 11.75 deer and vehicle collisions there. Based on statistics provided by the Kentucky State Police, due to the number of deer carcasses found along the wooded areas of Kentucky’s highways, it is obvious that many more such collisions go unreported.(www.kentuckystatepolice.org/deerauto.htm#totcol) Each collision results in approximately $2,000 in damage to the vehicle, but more importantly, a collision puts the occupants of the vehicle at risk of injury or death. Wildlife experts and transportation officials agree that this problem is not going away any time…show more content…
Children are never too young to begin teaching that trash needs to be contained and disposed of correctly, without defacing private or public property. This responsibility needs to begin at home with the immediate family; not just preaching, but doing and setting examples. We were taught such units every year around Earth Day. This should not be a week unit, but a daily lesson, a habit for life. The environment is everyone’s responsibility. Adopt-a-Highway provides the opportunity to be a part of the solution. These volunteers save thousands of taxpayer dollars while promoting public environmental awareness and supporting tourism as well as a sense of pride in the Bluegrass State. Each year, the Kentucky Transportation Department spends about $5 million and 200,000 worker hours to remove 96,000 bags of highway litter. (Thacker) This could be tripled with more help. Any permanently established business, association, community or public organization, or government entity, homemaker clubs, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, high school organizations, service clubs, veterans, sports teams, church groups, and college fraternities and sororities can adopt a stretch of highway. As the demand for good colleges and universities rises, these learning institutions are trying to incorporate students into surrounding community and off-campus life. People are starting to realize you need a well-rounded education to make it in the modern

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