When considering the delicate question 'do humans deserve the planet?' you will probably need to address the secondary question 'why do people vandalise toilets and telephone boxes - which other people need?'

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Tags:   The Human Touch Vandalism Social Comment 200_3_P1120977E

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This is the first in an occasional but, I suspect, eventually large series.

When I visited several Central American countries in 2008, I was horrified by the amount of litter I saw from our tour buses. At the time I thought my country was a lot cleaner but these days I look at it a little more critically. Only recently I was on the the A13 and many miles of it are lined with rubbish. The guilty parties are, in equal measure, those who discard it and those who fail to clear it up.

Today, this was the sight near Myrtle Avenue in west London. We have choices to make about our planet and this is not one of the right ones.

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Tags:   Detritus Social Comment 200_2_P1090151

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This is the second picture in my occasional series showing what we do to the places we live.

Helsinki is actually a pretty pleasant city albeit one with soulless suburbs but it has not escaped entirely the scourges of litter and graffiti. This subway is near Central Station.

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Tags:   Subway Graffiti Helsinki 200_2_P1120038

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Starkly illuminated by the rare use of flash, this painting-like image of litter against a background of tarmac is comment enough on the manners of a few consumers of fast food. To the west of Truro are a McDonald's and a Pizza Hut and this is actually in the car park of the latter.

I don't think one can directly blame the fast food providers for the actions of some of their customers but I seethe with rage when I see such sights across the country. It is quite literally beyond my comprehension how anyone can consume a meal and then leave all the remains and packaging in a public place, quite often intentionally ejecting it from a car to do so.

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Tags:   Litter Social Comment 200_2_P1150140

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The latest pictures in my 'The Human Touch' series come from the same area as the first. Only yards from the site of that image was a similar scene which provides a commentary both on the littering habits of some and attitudes towards shopping trolleys. There is a certain convoluted irony in using a trolley as, essentially, a litter bin.

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Tags:   Social Comment Detritus Litter 200_3_P1010878

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