Where are you, Iron Eyes Cody?

I was driving along the other day and glanced up at a billboard. The billboard was asking us to stop littering. This struck me as somewhat odd since I was under the impression that everyone knew about litter. I thought the concept that litter was terrible was omniscient.

I first became aware that littering was bad in 1971. I was watching

“Scooby Doo – Where Are You?” when a commercial came on. I was transfixed by the image of a Native American paddling his canoe.

On first glance, the water seemed beautiful and pristine, but as he got further along his journey, the river became more and more polluted. He pulled his boat ashore and walked toward a bustling freeway. As he looked over the polluted landscape, a passenger hurled a paper bag out a car window. The bag bursts on the ground, scattering fast-food wrappers all over his feet. The camera zoomed into his face to catch a single tear cascading slowly down his cheek. I still remember it to this day.

As my travels continued, I was met with another billboard. This one attempted to persuade me to buckle my seat belt. Again, a concept that I believed everyone was thoroughly aware of and practiced.

My mind’s eye can still see the crash test dummies Vince and Larry wisecracking their way into crashes. Vince and Larry taught me about the importance of seat belts all the way back in 1985.

Finally, as I rounded the curve and headed for home I spied a billboard telling me that smoking would kill me. Yet another concept I believed was ingrained in the human psyche.

I am ancient enough to remember when President Nixon signed legislation officially banning cigarette ads on television and radio in 1971. Gone were the days of the Marlboro Man and Joe Camel.

My curiosity was peaked and I started researching why things that I thought were common knowledge were still being advertised. What I found out surprised me.

According to a 2020 National Litter Survey conducted by Keep America Beautiful, litter is still a massive problem in the United States. The Study estimates there is nearly 50 billion pieces of litter along U.S. roadways and waterways. For many, that is an unfathomable number. However, when accounting for the U.S. population, 50 billion pieces of litter equates to 152 pieces of litter for every U.S. resident.

In regards to seat belt use, the nationwide seat belt use rate was 90.7 percent in 2019 as measured by NHTSA’S National Occupant Protection Use Survey. Pretty good but it still means almost 23 million people do not use a seat belt on a regular basis. Where are you Vince and Larry?

Now we come to some almost unbelievable stats. In 2020, nearly 13 of every 100 U.S. adults aged 18 years or older smoked cigarettes. I guess the Marlboro Man is a lot stronger than any of us realize.

Some folks are double dipping into the oblivious pool. In 2020, 5.7 billion cigarette butts were tossed along the nation’s roadways.

Iron Eyes Cody would be disappointed.