AUTOMOBILES AND TANGIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

IN my recent trip to Guanica, a desert like town in the south west of Puerto Rico, I was able to collect many seeds, enjoy the flora/fauna and noticed the subtle, evident destruction that takes place placidly and complacently. The region gets on the average thirty inches of rain and the vegetation is similar to that seen in some westerns.

No one sees it, even though is there, evident and destructive. I am writing
about people parking their cars in any imaginable space on the road shoulder or close to the shore, with total anarchy, as close as possible to the Caribbean sea, under the shade of the few scrawny trees that have survived these brutal, stupid, treatment. Some are still alive. But for how long?

These people or the populace go early in the morning with all the beach parafernalia to spend the whole day or a few hours and
enjoy the free oudoors entertainment. Mostly alcohol, drinks, beer in cans, food, plastic/paper bags, cups, bottles, and so on. Quite a few
have installed sound systems in the back of their cars, movable discos,
with too much bass...another irritating kind of pollution, AUDITIVE.

There is also the CAYO AURORA (Gilligan's) crowd. Twenty five people in a boat, travel for ten minutes to arrive to this islet. Without water
or portable outhouses..Imagine what it looks like at the end of the day!
Twenty five people per hour from nine to five.... Some listen to their radios with the volume all the way up, with shitty music, another problem! But lets keep the focus, garbage, human waste, noise pollution, is another issue...

The many mentioned cars compact the soil, destroying the most important resource in Guanica. When soil loses the capacity to breath, it can not absorb water either. It becomes solid as concrete! Anything that is living on compacted soil is
destined to pass away. On top of that, nothing will be able to grow, except, with luck, some weeds.

That is the scenery, what I see when I observe ground, soil, anywhere in Puerto Rico, by the beach or not. Vehicles constantly driven or parks, ground, on soil will destroy its structure.

Pedestrians can also destroy the soil, runners in parks, forests create
the same problem. This is something else that our environmental keyboard journalists can not see, since they do not practice horticulture,
do not plant even a couple of beans to watch them grow...Soil compaction
in every possible context.

The police or the VIGILANTES from our 007 Department of Natural resources do not see, perceive this certain destruction of one of Puerto Rico's (mine at least) most interesting shores, environment, flora/fauna resources.

That is why I write. Watching, trying to find solutions. In this token of the Guanica Destruction, the solution is to prohibit any
cars beyond the public beach in Canha Gorda. Provide public means
of transportation every 15/30 minutes, certainly not for free. Clean portable toilets, enough for the crowds that gather around, changed
daily at the end of the day, garbage collection every three hours on week ends.

Why do people have to drive anywhere, everywhere without any other concern than their comfort? Protecting the environment intelligently requires constant review, criticism and proposals.

Even if the dumb horses refuse to drink the water, one's duty is to bring
them to it.