Editor’s Note: In the daily observation of life around him, the author occasionally feels the need to point out ridiculously inane behavior and general thoughtlessness. These are called “Rants” and this is one of those times.

Today is Blog Action Day , a day when bloggers across the internet have agreed to publish a post about one topic based on the concept:

“What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day? One issue. One day. Thousands of voices.”

We found out about this project in August.

My environmental hot button has always been litter: how incredibly easy it is to contain, how unnecessarily careless people are with their minor waste and how it’s grown into such a huge problem.

I’ll let the more environmentally educated in the world tackle the statistics on garbage collected and how best to recycle, etc. I want to focus on the simple everyday problem of daily litter and stopping people from littering.

Many people of a certain generation will remember in 1971 the Keep America Beautiful campaign’s TV spot for Earth Day where the actor known as Iron Eyes Cody came upon all the litter surrounding America, which made him cry.

That was 1971.

It’s not much different in 2007.

At least twice a week as I’m driving my car, I see one of the other drivers tossing some wrapper or cigarette or other refuse out of their car on to a street or expressway. Somehow the materials that got into their car “immediately” need to be expunged from the car…for some reason, it can’t be disposed of in their home’s garbage can or in a nearby trash receptacle at their next stop (there are trash cans at public places almost everywhere these days).

It’s not just cars though. Parks, streets, its everywhere!

I know Americans are lazier than ever, I know we’re less educated than ever and more disrespectful than ever. So all I think it takes is a quick reminder…a loud, public, always polite reminder that will attract attention from anyone within ear shot and embarrass the crap out of the litter bug.

(In an overly clear loud voice professional voice talent….but you can do it too>) “Hello, HELLO SIR!!!! I’m sure you dropped that wrapper on the sidewalk by accident so I just wanted to remind you to please, right now, pick up that wrapper and throw it in the garbage can you’re standing next to, great, thanks!”

Start politely humiliating the offenders, wherever possible. If we’re silent, litterbugs think we don’t mind. We mind and we need to let them know it.

I think one of the best ways to tackle a huge problem like protecting the earth’s environment is to start small. To a person, litter is a small thing, something that if we each just THINK about it, about what we are doing, how and where we are disposing our trash, we can make a huge impact.

I hope you’ll help by not littering and publicly (and politely) calling out anyone who does.

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