Hip Hop Gossip: Roadkill

There has been a steady increase in roadkill and animal collisions by motor vehicles every year. According to the Sustainable Energy Institute, an average of 190 million motor vehicles hit the road every day, while one million animals get hit by those vehicles. As I ventured out to find some roadkill in the early morning hours, I didn't have to go far before I approached a dead animal struck by a vehicle. In most cases, I found that food from fast food bags or other trash was near by from where the animal was hit at. So not only are humans contributing to the death toll of animal collisions by adding more roads and construction work in animal habitats, but we're lurking animals out of their habitats by throwing unwanted garbage on the ground. This garbage is acting as an attraction for animals to unknowingly risk their lives for food. Another contributing factor to roadkill is the excessive speeds motorist are driving at. I watched the back roads to see how many people would exceed the speed limit, because this is where I was finding the most roadkill at. In a speed zone of 35 miles per hour, 7/10 vehicles were speeding far over the speed limit within a 10 minute time frame. It is a sad and disgusting sight to continuously see, however until we as humans change our polluting and driving habits, it is an ongoing problem that is going to rise until we decide to make change with ourselves.