Another Sad Sign of our Society

I received an email tonight that just saddens me because of the potential implications it has on our society.

The email describes a new issue posing a significant risk, where individuals use empty soda bottles and common household items to make bombs out of empty plastic soda bottles.  Then they put these bottles into folks’ mailboxes or leave them on people’s lawns. The unsuspecting person sees an empty bottle on their lawn, picks it up to properly discard or recycle it, and it explodes. The chemicals inside heated to a boiling point, and cause severe thermal and chemical burns, likely to the hands and face, and the explosion can take off fingers.

We teach our kids to be litter conscious, and if they see things on the ground, to pick them up and recycle the things that shouldn’t be discarded.  The kids I know at our school and in our boy scout troop get this message repeatedly, and have become accustomed to seeing things laying around and picking them up.

Now what do we tell them to do. Do we simply leave all litter and bottles on the ground for fear that what looks like an empty soda bottle with a little soda left in it is actually a bomb? How do we re-train our kids to ensure they don’t have one of these explode on them? I know for myself I don’t want to even touch one again after reading the article and viewing the video.

Think about the implications this likely will have on our environment, recycling, and our safety.  Just sad.

What can be done so individuals stop ruining our society and our way of life?

Here’s the link to the story and video:

http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/bottlebomb.asp