After

Garbage
Originally uploaded by Krista 1366.

With the good goes the bad, and one of the more distressing aspects about life in Italy, is the chaotic atmosphere and the drama that goes with it. The daily contradictions faced everyday enhance the experience. I illustrate this with the this photo taken at the market Saturday evening. Garbage! Yes it is picked up and yes we do recycle. It is just not at the levels of other European countries or anywhere in the United States I have lived. Pictured here is the aftermath of the daily fruit and vegetable market. The garbage is piled high in one spot at the end of the day in order to be carted off. Fine, but notice that nothing is separated for compost, plastic, or cardboard. Again credit for the photo goes to Sarah Crockford, 10 years old. Could we have an artist or budding environmentalist on our hands?


Update: March 15, 2005 Found this tibit while reading the news this morning. Seems my observations on conservation were on the mark. Maybe instead of spreading the WORD nationally Italians should WORK locally? There is hope, the study does show a general awareness....Maybe action cannot be far behind?

ENVIRONMENT: 52 PCT OF ITALIANS NOT WELL INFORMED ECOLOGICALLY
(AGI) - Rome, Italy, Mar 14 - Environmental themes are scarcely known by Italians, insomuch that a very high percentage, 52 pct declared to know them very little or not at all. Atmospheric pollution, the nuclear issue and waste management are the themes that preoccupy the most (natural disasters, climate change, water pollution and pollution caused by industry are perceived with less seriousness ). The environmental situation is critical according to 80 pct of Italians who however think that in 57 pct of cases they can personally contribute to protecting the environment. This is some of the data presented today in the convention on "Environmental communication", resulted by research done by the ISPO (Institute on Public Opinion) on behalf of the Environment Ministry. The study monitored, from May to November 2004, the level of sensibility of Italians towards environment from which it emerged that 80 pct of them consider the national environmental situation to be very or quite critical, while only 10 pct considers it little or not critical. Nevertheless, 65 pct of interviewees considered the environmental theme the most important or one of the most important ones to work on. It is especially national and local TV channels to spread information on environmental themes (according to 60.1 pct of interviewees), followed by magazines and newspapers (39.3 pct) and radio channels (19.3 pct). Environment Minister Altero Matteoli said: "This research allows us to know what Italians think of the environment. It is a necessary instrument of work to favour the process of environmental communication to start a fruitful dialogue with citizens and politicians. The sensibility of Italians to environmental themes grows and with it a clear, transparent, concrete and easily accessible communication should grow". (AGI) -
141930 MAR 05