Tom wrote:

> What if I ignored the bird, sent $10 to Black Hills
> Audubon or Mike Waller for Zoo outreach to schools,
> and picked up trash on the highway for an hour? :)
>
> Tom

The $10 donation is fine, but tell me, what is the benefit to wildlife of
picking up roadside trash? Makes you feel good, right? Makes drivers have a more
aesthetic experience, feel better about their community, OK. But with the
exception of a few things like six-pack rings and styrofoam, is the litter
really harming anything?

Or, like wildlife rehab, isn't trash pick-up just another example of a certain
sector of the population trying to clean up after another (and probably larger)
sector? And isn't there a danger that people driving past, seeing litter
picker-uppers at work, will feel more sanguine about tossing out their trash?

Chris Maack
Bird Treatment & Learning Center
Anchorage, AK
73201.3124 at compuserve.com