Ohio River Flooding Reveals Massive Problem with Littering [Photos]

Monday, I had to drive across the Blue Bridge for a meeting in Indiana.  When I crossed the Blue Bridge, I was absolutely mortified by what I saw.  The flood waters are scary enough.  If you've driven across the Blue Bridge from Owensboro to Rockport, you know exactly what I mean.  The water is literally roadside for about three miles.  It's like driving on a road that was constructed in the middle of the lake.  But what's even more sad than the high water is the amount of litter in the overflowing river waters.  This is sad and disgusting.  Who in the heck is doing this?

There is so much bitter irony in this sign.  A "Do Not Litter" sign stands loud and proud along the highway, but it's clear that lots of folks are ignoring it and the threats of massive fines.

This is insane . . .

Honestly, I'm speechless.  Now, I realize that this some of this trash could have actually floated here from other parts of the country, but I'm not convinced that's where the bulk of it's from.

A couple of years ago, I took a bus ride across the Dominican Republic.  I rode from La Romana to Santo Domingo.  And while the coastline was beautiful, the roadways were overcome with litter.  My mother was with me.  It was her first time out of the country.  She was horrified . . . especially when we saw members of a sanitation crew picking up handfuls of trash with their bare hands.  The problem there is this.  The Dominican has limited resources.  They don't have the equipment or labor force to control the output of waste.  We don't have that problem.  Our issue in this country isn't a lack of resources.  It's a lack of respect.  The Mountain Dew bottles in this photo don't provide commentary on a sanitation crew.  They're providing commentary about the people who decided it was okay to just to dump them on the side of the road or in the river.

The photos in this blog were all taken between Owensboro's Blue Bridge and Marvin's Fireworks (which is three miles from the Blue Bridge).  I could have taken dozens more.  There is literally trash floating everywhere.  And there's also plenty of it sitting roadside in the few sections of grass that aren't under water at the moment.

There's a giant billboard that sits at the base of the Blue Bridge on the Indiana side.  It says "Welcome to Owensboro" or something similar.  Nothing along that road at this point is very inviting.  What's littering the side of the road doesn't reflect well on the residents of either state.  We're better than this.  And it's time we literally and figuratively clean up our act.