A Monster Energy can is left trampled and forgotten beneath a rusting metal railing. I can almost reach out and touch its cool tin casing, feel the dents and specks of dirt on my finger tips. I want to call out to the person leaving the crime scene, demand that they respect the natural sanctuary. Though as I look around me I see more cans, bottles, pieces of plastic, cigarette boxes, and caution tape. The land is covered in the presence of humans, the toxins are a gift the earth did not ask for, they demonstrate a superiority over one that cannot fight back. Alaimo speaks a lot about toxins entering the body from air pollution, pesticides, or processed foods and only become aware of when our own health is jeopardized (Alaimo, 89-94, 102). However, when we think of (or rather don’t think about) the toxins we leave behind we only understand their impact when a proactive member of the community brings it to our attention. The Monster Energy can also reminds me of Cohen’s Monster Theses. Thesis two suggests that the monster always escapes, that is to say that this can could be thrown away, but the litter will always return in some new form (Cohen 4). Litter is a man made monstrosity that brings havoc upon nature, killing animals and decimating ecosystems.
Dirt is externally reproached, but ignored internally. As evidenced by the societal desire to be clean both physically and metaphorically, we seek to eliminate dirt from out daily lives. If someone drops a McDonald’s cheeseburger into the dirt, they will refuse to eat it because it is unclean even though the health risks from the processed foods would cause more issues than the dirt itself. So it can be noted that people become uncomfortable with dirt when they do not desire it, particularly external dirt. With external dirt, such as the dirt on the hand above, it will be washed off with disinfecting soap for fear of illness. However, people will live in industrial cities breathing in pollution and eating processed foods and vegetables that are covered in pesticides willingly, ignoring the health risks. Alaimo states that medicine is a business made to create cures and society has no interest in preventing the reasons we fall ill to begin with (Alaimo 87). Therefore, we can conclude that as long as we can control the illness there is no need to stop doing something that feels/tastes good or makes tons of money.
