You are walking along a city street and you
see someone in front of you throw a greasy, empty sandwich bag
on the sidewalk

 Vous marchez dans la rue et vous voyez quelqu'un
devant vous jeter des papiers gras sur le trottoir

 ask them if they forgot what garbage can looks like (rudely)

curse them

depending on how dirty it was, i would pick it up and throw it away

either point it out to them, or nothing, if they've gone.

go ahead

I cross to the other side

I decide to be careful not to litter.

I pick up the bag and I throw it at him

I would do nothing, though I would be mad at the person.

I would pick it up and throw it in a garbage.

I would pick it up, while loudly saying something sarcastic about it.

I would probably leave it there.

I would probably pick it up if there was a nearby trashcan

i would yell "the trash goes in the trashcan, not on the floor!"

I'd pick it up and throw it away.

i'm too jaded to care, i litter too, what about the environment, we all suc

if there's a trashcan near by, I pick it up and throw it out.

if there's a trashcan nearby i'd throw it away

if touching the grease is avoidable, pick it up and throw it away

if trash is near pick it up

ignore it

ignore it -- I wouldn't want to start trouble with some random person

keep walking.

Pick it up and put it in the trash.

Pick it up and throw it away.

pick it up and throw it out

pick it up and throw it out

pick it up and toss it into a trash can

think that they're gross

throw it away

 c'est mal voila voila voila

ça dépend de mon humeur

Ca ne se fait pas mais je ne dis rien

Ils ne respectent plus rien

indignation mais résignation

je dis :"Y-a des poubelles pour ca!!!"

Je fais un réflexion à voie haute, sans l'interpeller.

je fais une remarque à voix haute mais non directe

Je l'interpelle : "excusez-moi, vous avez fait tomber quelque chose"

Je le ramasse et le met dans une poubelle.

je le regarde de travers mais je ne dit rien

je les pousse dans le caniveau

Je les ramasse derrière lui

je lui demande de les ramasser

Je me dis qu'il est mal éduqué.

Je me dis qu'il n'a pas de "réflexes citoyens".

Je n'ose rien dire mais je n'en pense pas moins.

Je ne dis rien mais je suis consterné

Je ne dis rien.

je passe outre

Je pense qu'il est dégueulasse et irrespectueux.

Je pense qu'il exagère.

je pense que c'est un geste incivique

je pense que c'est un salopard

je pousse le papier dans le caniveau

je ramasse le papier devant lui

Je regrette que trop peu de gens s'inquiètent de l'environnement.

selon la personne je lui fais une remarque

throw it away

Discussion

bonjour Beaucoup d'Américains réagissent pratiquement : ils ramassent le papier alors qu'une seule personne française pense à le faire. Mais en même temps, ils ne disent rien à l'individu en question. Ne pensez vous pas qu'il faudrait aussi faire une remarque à la personne? J'ai entendu dire que la ville de Washington était assez propre, est-ce vrai?

Most of the time people are in cars here in America, when we outside, we step into our car, then we go inside again. Walking is not one of the major daily activities. There are not a lot of trash on streets; since people rarely walk, it becomes rare to see others in front of you throwing trash in streets.

It's believed that having a direct confrontation with strangers is not wise.

I wouldn't pick up the trash because I don't know why it was throw in the first place. I think saying something to the person would just make them bitter, and therefore more likely to litter later on.

Je suis très étonnée par ce que dit Moran G\. Est-ce particulier à ta ville ou bien est-ce la normale que chacun se déplace en voiture? Et les transports en commun? Et la marche à pied? Et le vélo? Et les scooters? En France, les étudiants qui ont une voiture ne sont pas majoritaires, et dans les familles il y a rarement plus de deux voitures. Est-ce totalement différent aux Etats-Unis? Je suis curieuse de savoir. Merci de me répondre!

Claire, In the U.S., not many college students have cars at school because it is very difficult to find parking on campus. Most of us get around either by walking or riding a bike. However, in high school it is very common for students to have cars, as well as for both their parents to have their own cars. Three cars in one household is not totally uncommon; parents sometimes like their kids to have their own cars so they won't have to drive them around.

Nicholas, I would consider Washington DC to be a clean city, especially on Capital Hill. (The outskirts are a different story.) It's difficult to know what "assez propre" means though.

Claire, I'm signing in to let you know that my family has 4 cars! In the Midwest, where I'm from, owning three cars is quite common. We do rely on driving, and subway systems aren't common. In fact I've only taken the bus 2 times in my 16 years of living in Columbus, Ohio. In general, not only are Americans demanding consumers (price, speed, quality?-maybe not), but we're also accustomed to adundance. We expect the meals we order in restaurants to fill us, even to be more than we can eat. And I'm sure stereotypes abound... -Michelle

I recently had my new bike stolen, so now I walk everywhere that I want to go in the city. I tend to hate going anywhere because I'm so used to driving everywhere. Where I'm from (the WONDERFUL state of Maine) the nearest bathroom is a mile away (just kidding, by the way) so it is truly necessary to have a gas consuming mode of transportation. I expect to go home for Thanksgiving and see seven cars parked in the courtyard.. one for each family member. We would never get along if we had to share.

Salut à tous. Suite à cette discution sur les voitures, je me pose une petite question. En France, dans les grandes villes, on cherche à développer les transport en commun pour lutter contre la pollution. N'y a-t-il rien de semblable aux Etats Unis ?

there are trains and busses and things like that here, but the cities here tend to be so spread out that there's no way *fast* public transportation can reach them all. i.e. a bus may go by someone's neighborhood, but it might be every half hour or so.

at home it's even worse. busses go nearly everywhere, but they range from converted minivans to huge old busses that run on odd schedules. They're building some sort of an Urban Train project, but it looks like it will be rather useless and expensive. Hooray for government!!!