Audry Royzspal: How many times have you watched someone throw a straw wrapper, a paper cup, or a plastic bottle down onto the sidewalk or out the window of their car? I will admit that I see this daily as I walk around campus and drive around town.

The action I just mentioned can be deemed as littering. Littering has only negative effects and should be stopped. Today, we will look at who litters, the effects of their littering, and the consequences for those who litter. First, let us begin with the profile of who's most likely to litter.

In a survey conducted in the summer of 1998 with the Texas Department of Transportation, it was found that over half of all Texans participated in or condoned littering. The surveyors put Texans into five littering categories. And as I read on the Don't Mess With Texas website, these five categories begin with the gross litterers.

These litterers littered major items, like bottles and tires, within a three month period of the survey. The next category is the micro litterers. These litterers have littered minor items, like cigarette butts and paper, within the same time period.

The next group is the reformed litterers, those who had not littered within a three month period of the survey, but had littered within the three year period of the survey. The next group is the tolerant litterers, those who did not litter but also did not tell others that littering was wrong. The last group is the non-litterers, those who did not litter, did not associate with those who litter, and also told others that littering was wrong.

The same surveyors found that several factors made people more likely to litter. If a person is age 24 or under, they are more likely to litter. If they smoke cigarettes, eat fast food at least twice a week, are single, have never been married, or drive more than 50 miles in a day, they are more likely to litter. The effects of such littering can be seen in our own Lubbock community.

Several weeks ago, I took this picture at the corner of Quaker and Erskine. You can see there is a pasture, and it has a fence that lines the corner. In the fence, you can see plastic bags that have blown in from grocery stores and convenience stores. There are bottles and cans in the ditch. And there's also a 12 pack beverage container.

This is not the only place that I found. I also found a great of litter in front of the Walmart super center at West Loop 289. Out front, they have a small pond. It's kind of a drainage pond. And there's wildlife swimming in it. But all along the bank, there are blue plastic sacks that came from the parking lot. There are bottles in the water and that are even caught on the opposite bank in the trees.

This littering has caused effects on our Lubbock community pride. This is demonstrated as Arlen Hilton wrote his November 8, 1998 letter to the editor of the Avalanche Journal after a trip of several northern states, "Lubbock was the most trash strewn city we saw in our 5,000 mile trip. It is a shame we do not have enough pride in our city and our state to keep it clean." Likewise, Brenda Campbell, a resident of Levelland and a frequent visitor to Lubbock wrote in her February 21, 1999 letter to the editor of the Avalanche Journal, "The sight of all that trash is not a very welcoming one to those approaching or returning to Lubbock."

The negative opinions of these two citizens demonstrate the downfall of Lubbock community pride. These effects can also be seen closer to home right here on our Texas Tech campus. I also took some pictures on our campus.

The first of these is in the parking lot of the Hulen-Clement dorm complex. You can see that someone has just opened the door of their car and put out fast food trash onto the ground which re emphasizes the fact that you're more likely to litter if you eat fast food at least twice a week.

Not only does this happen in the dormitory parking lots, it also happens in the commuter lot, as you can see here by Jones Stadium. This one actually looks like a sack lunch that someone has brought from home. And there's a canned drink on the ground.

But not only does it happen in the parking lots, I also found evidence of littering outside of our campus buildings. Right here, you can see outside of our math building. All on the ground are small pieces of trash, like gum wrappers, straws, and receipts.

Now that we've seen a profile of who's most likely to litter, the effects of that littering on our community, let us examine the consequences for those who were caught littering. As I read on the Don't Mess with Texas website, the fine for general micro-littering can be up to $500. And the fine for littering items over 15 pounds can be up to $2,000.

And as I read in Megan Donnell's article for the Avalanche Journal, "Environmental officer sees trash firsthand, the fine for dumping large amounts of trash can be up to $4,000. And you can even be jailed for one year." Lubbock county officials have tried to find a solution to this problem. They are very prepared to prosecute those who have been littering.

And as I read in Megan Donnell's article, "County to Vote on Trash Bashing," a city ordinance proposed in January of 1998 reads, "Lubbock County will take every effort to ensure that no one considers our roads and right of ways as the proper place to dispose of litter. We will enforce our laws vigorously."

Donnell talks more of this solution as she states that Lubbock County has hired Cynthia Metzger to be Lubbock's environmental officer. Cynthia states in her article with Donnell that she'll go through the litter and look for a letter, a book, a picture, whatever it takes to find and catch the litterer. She is very determined, has even planned night surveillance at places where large amounts of litter have been dumped.

She also states, "I'm going to be out there. And if I catch them dumping trash, I will pull them over and they will get a ticket." In light of these severe consequences, let us review what we have learned today. We have seen the profile of a typical litterer, the effects of their littering on our community, and the consequences for that littering.

The severe consequences, and the negative effects on our community pride levels, and turning our city landmarks into eye sores stressed the urgency to stop your own littering habits. Remember, littering negatively effects each one of you. I encourage you to stop your own littering, and to encourage those around you to stop theirs as well. Thank you.

[applause]