26 October 2006
Paradise Lost
by Marie, onboard the Esperanza
©Greenpeace/Alex Hofford
We returned to Kahuku Beach for a second beach clean up today. Each of us focused on a particular item, and I chose fishing net and rope. Of course, I could only collect smaller pieces, because it took several people to carry the large masses of fishing net that had been washed up in a tangle. Adam, one of our resident experts onboard, explained that the ocean has a way of knitting together abandoned remnants of net.
Adam also described a beach he visited on the Big Island of Hawai'i last week, which was worse than the one we were cleaning yesterday. Considering what I was looking at, and what we found, I thought that was hard to believe - until he told me that the sand there is almost completely replaced by fragments of plastic.
You see, Hawaiian beaches receive trash from the outer currents of a trash vortex, where plastic and trash from all over the Pacific Ocean are pulled by currents and wind, into a swirling mess that can reach the size of Texas in dimension.
This trash vortex is what we're here to see, so after the beach clean up, we got back onboard the Espy, and said Aloha to the friends we'd made during our brief stay in Hawai'i. We'll miss them, and hope to come back and visit them again soon.
Comments
"The sand there is almost completely replaced by fragments of plastic"
C0ME ON GUYS!!!!
I live on Kauai and am disgusted with trash but exagertating is not the way to make one credible.
I visit the Big island quite often and we would notice something like that. If it was true where are thie photos of that beach??? That would be a better cause that the trash vortex!
Just the facts please!
Thanks for everything you do but keep it REAL.
From Adam, Onboard the Esperanza:
I hope I can qualify that statement a little. The big island has some stunning beaches. However the coastline near South Point is both shocking and stunning. At Kamilo we found beachs nearly a foot deep in plastic fragments. This area, due to the local currents, is terribly affected by
marine debris, as this picture demonstrates.
Posted by: Joel at October 28, 2006 7:06 AM
Marie,
You may remember me as the first person you met that you had e-mailed from Greenpeace. We met on board the Esperanza when it was docked in Honolulu. A big mahalo from all of us here in Hawaii to you and the rest of the crew. You have inspired me to do more and educated me about the problems we have here in Hawaii with pollution here on the windward beachs. Bon Voyage.
Aloha, Terry
Posted by: Terry at October 28, 2006 11:15 PM
Dear Greenpeace Esperaza crew:
It was so exciting to visit and see one of the ships fighting to save our oceans. While the Esperanza appears to be a big ship, the reality of just how much the crew puts their lives on the line, really came in to focus when I toured the Esperanza in Honolulu. Thank you for all that you do. I am proud to be a Greenpeace member.
Michele Nihipali
Posted by: Michele Nihipali at October 29, 2006 11:00 PM
Hi Marie!
We met aboard the Esperanza while you were docked at Honolulu. My friends and I tried to meet up with you for the beach cleanup at Kahuku. When we got there there was no one and plenty of trash.. (maybe we got the dates mixed?!?!) We picked up some, but between 3 souls and our k9 companion, we could not overtrow the plastic empire!
Posted by: Pollyanna at November 14, 2006 6:12 AM
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