"The biggest increases in Queensland litter, were recorded at shopping centres and carparks (both up in volume and number), highways (up in number, down in volume) and recreation parks (down in number up in volume)."
See the report here
As one who has been associated with environmental education folks for some time I find this trend to be exactly what I predicted over ten years ago.
I recall a conversation with 2 educators on Fraser Island (while we were collecting shit off the beaches there left by wankers who call themselves fishermen) that the last thing you want to do is encourage more people to come to national parks, even if it does somehow liberate more funding from the government it won't pay for the extra damage caused by the extra bogans.
6 comments:
Does raise the question of whether discouraging National Park visitation creates a further environmental disconnect though.... not sure if there is much research on the consequences of such a disconnect? Obesity? more environmental degradation?
Why is it Bogans that hit the national parks & not everyone else? or is it just bogans that people notice?
its a thought provoking comment.
I was on the coomera falls circuit at Binna Burra one year (recently) and stumbled across a can of VB ... then another ... then another
Eventually I caught up with the fellas walking along singing songs and one fella had the carton on his shoulder.
I was uncertain if I should have bought a camera or a shotgun with me
ohh ... then there was last year at Bunjalung (http://cjeastwd.blogspot.com/2010/08/bunjalung.html) where some car loads of bogues set up camp just up from us. In the mid morning they came staggering out of their cricled car camp with doonah's wrapped around themselves and started ripping up branches from the local bushes to make a smoke signal.
FFS
Gobsmacked - when I lived in Thailand sometimes I'd pick up as much rubbish I could from the local waterfall & leave it on the park rangers desk. (Nothing changed & they charged me a foreigners levy for the privilege)
Thought this is interesting.. http://thisiscolossal.com/2011/08/glass-beach/
wow ... amazing link.
I'm equally gobsmakcked
The argument of disconnect (education IN the environment) is an interesting one, but I just don't see any empirical evidence to support it. Heaps of "regular Fraser goers" are still burying disposable nappies on their beach campsites and leaving big bundles of fishing line behind.
Have a listen to this:
http://blogs.abc.net.au/files/lara-wilde-30.mp3
Then we have the operators of over tourism businesses at places ... have been up to "natural arch" to see the procession of visitors in their hundreds in and out of the cave to see the glow worms.
PS skip to time 6:30 for some stories about Dogs in national parks and caravan parks ...
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