Are SECoPA States and (leading) Cities Getting “Cleaner?”THE 2014 SECoPA Southern State Litter Scorecard

Steve Spacek“American State Litter Scorecard”

The Southeastern Conference for Public AdministrationThe Marriott at Perimeter Center

Atlanta, GA

September 18, 2014 

This Presentation Dedicated to :

Professor ROBERT BULLARD“Father of Environmental Justice;” Fighter against Ecological Racism!

 

Bullard’s classic, Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental Quality, received ample credit in MY graduate thesis, “DO MESS WITH IT:

A Sociopolitical Study of Littering and the Role of Southern and Nearby States,” available Online and Slideshare.net

INTRODUCTION

According to Professor Bullard, with accord from Drs. Augustus Cochran and Beverly Wright, the American South is “…increasingly plagued with symptoms

produced by their [politically-induced] maladies,” leaving the region’s… [“seriously-contaminated community”] land

“the most befouled in the United States.”  

One seemingly undeterred malady: The HUMAN behavior of littering and dumping

solid wastes onto public lands. This unlawful conduct breeds diseases and pests. Its deemed by experts a threat to public health and welfare.

One of this threat’s consequences: Over 180 HUMANS KILLED EACH YEAR! in vehicle crashes with

un-removed road debris in the SECoPA Southern States.

QUESTION:

ARE the SECOPA States and (leading) Cities getting “cleaner?”

Its tough to measure actual, real world results. To answer this inquiry, researchers use

commonplace “surrogates” (data elements) that adequately function to measure public performance,

address problems, or develop non-existent knowledge.

Source: Dubnick and Frederickson, Public Accountability: Performance Measurement, the Extended State and the Search for Trust.

 

TWO UNITS OF ANALYSIS

  

1. The SECoPA Southern States--

10 Governments with combined 70+ Million Total Population (2013) *Decidedly racially diverse; Politically conservative; Strong, devout religiosity

2. Leading SECoPA Cities: New Orleans, Atlanta, Memphis, Miami, others

*Total populations over 175,000; Tend to be non-white, youthful; Politically moderate-liberal

Sources: 2014, 2011, 2008 American State Litter Scorecard; Major Publications (Forbes; Readers Digest; TRAVEL+LESURE); U.S. Census Bureau

1. SECoPA Southern States

State                        2008 Scorecard        2011 Scorecard       2014 Scorecard        Cleaner Since 2008?

FLORIDA                        “below average”           “above average”                  “best”                                        YES

NORTH CAROLINA              “worst”                            “best”                    “above average”                          MIXED

TENNESSEE                           “worst”                    “below average”               “average”                                    YES

MISSISSIPPI                           “worst”                           “worst”                  “below average”                             YES

ARKANSAS                             “worst”                “below average” (36)  “below  average” (30)                      YES

ALABAMA                              “worst”                           “worst”                  “below average”                             YES

LOUISIANA                             “worst”                           “worst”                         “worst”                                      NO

KENTUCKY                              “worst”                           “worst”                         “worst”                                      NO

GEORGIA                        “below average”                 “worst” (42)                “worst” (47)                                 NO

SOUTH CAROLINA “worst”(42)                       “average”                  “worst” (50)                                 NO

                2. Leading SECoPA Cities

City                            RDigest ‘05      Forbes ‘10    Forbes ‘11   Forbes ‘12  T+L”Dirtiest’‘11  T+L”Dirtiest”‘12       Cleaner, Recent Years?

NEW ORLEANS #1                      #2                               NO

ATLANTA #11                                                                               #9                      #5                              NO

MEMPHIS  #4                      #9                           FAINTLY

MIAMI  #9                                                                                 #8                      #8                               NO

ORLANDO                                                                                     #17                    #17                             NO

BIRMINGHAM  #7               #7                                                                                                     NO

LOUISVILLE #11            #16                                                                             FAINTLY

BATON ROUGE #14                                                                                  NO

KNOXVILLE #15                                                                                          INCONCLUSIVE

TAMPA #17                                                                                                                                   INCONCLUSIVE

JACKSONVILLE #20                                                                                                                                   INCONCLUSIVE

VERDICT

ARE the SECOPA States and (leading) Cities getting “cleaner?”

RESPONSE:

As a group, SECoPA Southern State public spaces (highways, parks, trails, waterways, beaches) are seen

as (somewhat) cleaner since 2008. There’s steady adoption of proven public performance methods and citizen behaviors that

reduce litter volumes and tax-paid removal costs. Yet, top SECoPA cities have habitual illegal littering/dumping

events and deficient abatement practices.BOTH citizens, visitors suffer obnoxious conditions that shrink valued tourist and economic development dollars.

CONCLUSION

A “zero waste” movement continues to spread, from the pro-Green Far West and New England regions to ten SECoPA States, their Counties and Cities.

Polls have indicated a majority of BOTH Southerners and Americans believe governments “[are] not working enough to protect the environment, and

that economic growth should be sacrificed to do so.” Successful performances are obligatory with modern day governments.

Public litter prevention and abatement remains an ordered function of ALL SECoPA states, Counties and Cities.

Sources: Dubnick and Frederickson; Forbes, Reducing Litter on Roadsides; Gallup Organization, “Environmental Polls;” Leal and Meiners, Government versus the Environment; Staley, “Research in Review,” Waste 360.                                       

Illegal Littering/DumpingBreeds Diseases; KILLS

Humans, Pets, Landscapes!! Copyright 2014, S. Spacek Public Service Consulting. NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE.

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