A Radical Makeover for the Trash Museum

The Teusaquillo neighborhood's Museo de la Basura, or Trash Museum, used to look like this:

and this:

With its constant denunciations of our human mistreatment of the planet.

'Cosmic suicide will awaken us from our lethargy.'

Of course, the house's owner, Antonio, was correct. Today's headlines about how we're charging down the road to permanently destabilizing the planet's climate, and the accelerating pace of things like deforestation and coral reef destruction prove it.

But few people care enough to do anything about our planet. Except for Antonio, who filled his house and yard with garbage while he stayed inside drinking. Perhaps his 'environmental' campaign was no  more than a justification for never cleaning up, but at least it served as a reminder that the evidence is that we're heading towards calamity.

The trash museum today.

But after Antonio died some months ago his brother, who evidently does not share the same environmenal commitment, cleaned the house up. The change was undoubtedly a relief for the neighbors.Their  property values rose and they can more easily ignore the fact that the planet is careening towards disaster.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours