This was an interesting read, and an oh so familiar theme I see repeatedly in my travels.
Firstly, thankyou Big Al for your environmental stewardship! Nice to hear stories of Respect for the planet.
Secondly, knowing the players ... Humans .
We are the quintessential enigma in this universe, in one package exists the capabilities of angelic goodness and heinous evil all rolled into one.
Many factors influence which pathway one follows.
I've noticed over the last few decades how the global mindset seems to be shifting towards a more "self indulgent" attitude. What I'm calling, "The Me First" movement. You'll see it everywhere, in traffic on the roads, at the local markets and malls and unfortunately in our wilderness areas as well.
That apparent lack of Respect for the environment or other denizens of our little blue planet. A truly sad commentary on the state of the world.
Time after time, I've come across this same scenario that Al describes. People out in nature enjoying their experience as a one time / one use event.
This attitude develops the lazy thinking actions of, "oh well, not my problem I'm out here". Leaving the mess for someone else to clean up, should they so desire. It's easier to just enjoy your time without having to do the proper work required. As a lifeform we all tend to strive for existence, while exerting as little effort as possible to do so. It's the nature of things. We humans with our elevated sentience have the capacity to see beyond the "now". Some of us actually do practice this and show respect for others and our environment, alot of us unfortunately don't