16 November 2006

Yellow Thing lives on

by Adam, onboard the Esperanza

The Trash Vortex leg of Defending Our Oceans is now over. However, the Yellow Thing lives on.

It's a plastic Pacific out there, and the Esperanza has just emerged from the trash vortex. We've spent 17 days investigating and highlighting the impact of plastic debris on the ocean's ecosystems. As we head to Mexico there is time to reflect on the voyage and think about the future.

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13 November 2006

Taking Stock

by Marie, onboard the Esperanza

It's the end of the U.S. leg of the expedition, and the beginning of another. For me, it's my last day onboard, and I'm sad to leave. For the crew though, this is a day to prepare for the next part of the journey, and the ship has been buzzing with activity. In addition to the open boat tours, supplies for the ship arrived, and Matt, the bosun, is operating the crane to bring it all onboard.

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Live Webcast: History & Future of Whales

from Adele, in the Stockholm office

Sorry to rudely interrupt but I thought readers of this blog might be interested in the following Live Webcast on November 16th by esteemed biologist Steve Palumbi.

Thursday, November 16, 2006 - 7 PM CT (Unfortunately that's 01:00am on Friday GMT, 02:00am Friday CET, or a far more pleasant Friday 12:00pm in Sydney)

Live Webcast

The History and Future of Whales
by Dr. Stephen R. Palumbi
Professor of Biological Sciences, Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station

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11 November 2006

Watch Keeping

by Thilo, onboard the Esperanza

3:50 o'clock, my alarm clock wakes me up. My head and body find that much too early. That doesn't count, I have to get up, I promised Mary Anne to take her watch from 4 to 8.

The watch keeping system on the Esperanza runs as on all ships: there are six watches, having four hours each. From 0 to 4 o'clock, from 4 to 8 o'clock, 8 to 12 o'clock etc. Each watchkeeper team consists of 2 people, a mate who stays on the bridge, and a watchkeeper doing tours on the ship, which is me today. My job is to do a tour once every hour and watch out if everything is in place, everything well secured, no fires and all fire doors firmly closed. Actually the watch from 4 to 8 is my favorite one. Everything is calm, the ship rests.

Armed with a torch I make my way. I first have a look at all the cabins with electrical devices, e.g the ones with photo and video equipment, the campaign office with 6 computers and most importantly, the radio room. A whole lot of electrical devices are blinking and whispering from every corner. The machines guarantee our 24 hour internet connection. You can imagine what it takes to maintain that connection out here hundreds of miles from the mainland. I just stick my head in the cabin, don't touch anything and out again!

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Picture of the Day

We arrived in San Diego this morning.

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Picture of the Day

It's our last day at sea before arriving in San Diego, and what a day it was. Calm waters, bright sun, a pod of pilot whales, and three humpback whales.

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10 November 2006

Garbology 101

by Mary Ann, onboard the Esperanza

Everywhere, everyone generates garbage and the Greenpeace ships are no exception. We have what we call a garbologist onboard (that's my job), to collect and store the rubbish everyday. Every morning I sort the garbage. I start at the bridge, next door to the campaign office (I would be surprised if I found any trash in it, zero waste policy), radio room, lounge, down to the mess, galley, and last but not the least, the engineers alley way. The garbage that I collect are plastic bottles, aluminium cans, steel cans, paper, general garbage, toxics and glass. There are also the organics (galley and mess slop, food left overs) that I get rid of every two days.

All this stuff I sort into green bins on the poop deck, labelled according to the type of waste. The beer and soda cans have to be rinsed (stale beer mixed with stale soda is one of the worst smells) as well as the tetra paks of juice and milk, paper sorted into cardboard and... well paper! Steel cans are rinsed in the galley and the glass as well. The general waste, those that are not recyclable have the most bins as that is the type of waste most generated, the toxics stuff have their own exclusive bins between the funnels where we store used and empty paint
cans, aerosol cans, oily rags, etc. etc. There are only two things that we ever throw overboard: the organics and smashed glass (which is of course made of sand). I love it when we are on long transit because I can freely throw the organics over the side but here is the deal: it has to be 12 miles from any land.

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9 November 2006

Picture of the Day

Conchi rust-busting on the heli-deck.

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8 November 2006

Yellow Thing Gets an Extreme Makeover

by Adam, onboard the Esperanza

So we are now well on our way to San Diego and it is time for an update on the adventures of the intrepid Yellow Thing. However, I would not be British if I did not mention the weather: over the last few days - the change has been dramatic. Gone are the azure skies and crystal clear seas. Instead, the sky is heavy and foreboding and each dark wave is crowned with white foam. We all long to reach the coast; the warmth and shelter of San Diego.

Even the Yellow Thing does not like these seas. Not only is launching and recovery difficult but the plastic that we are interested in, is, as best, neutrally buoyant. Seas as rough as these churn the water and mix the plastic down through the water column. Sampling now would not give us an accurate measure of the amount present in this part of the ocean.

Instead we have been taking the time to overhaul the Yellow Thing. The last 8 months at sea have taken their toll. Just like when any metal that enters “the soup,” rust prevails. A paint job was necessary as “the orange thing” doesn't roll off the tongue quite so well. Three days later and with the help of many hands we are now proud to present the new, the improved, even brighter yellow thing!

She is now ready to crest the waves once more. To sample where no plastic sample has been collected before. To do her bit for science, to help us inform our society of the magnitude of its impact on the 70% of the planet that we do not inhabit.

Editor's Note: Listen to an interview with Adam on BBC

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7 November 2006

Picture of the Day: A Nurdle

Next to a small snail (Janthina janthina), this plastic pellet, or nurdle, is easily confused with fish eggs by marine life.

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What's a Nurdle?

by Charles Moore, Founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, onboard the Esperanza

Plastic is now everywhere. When locating plastics anywhere in the environment, scientists have little difficulty fulfilling the age-old saying, "Seek, and ye shall find."

But where do plastics come from? Most plastics are made from the natural gas portion of our petroleum resources. The gasses, like ethylene, are purified and turned into plastic by the use of polymer catalysts, which link ethylene molecules together to make polyethylene. Polyethylene plastics make water bottles, clothing fabric, and Tupperware as well as thousands of other products. So how does the polymer get to the processor who makes the goods for the consumer. The answer is “nurdles.” Over 250 billion pounds of nurdles are shipped around the world to plastic processing factories every year. Nurdles are plastic resin pellets that represent the most economical way to ship large quantities of a solid material, that is, in a pelletized form.

The pellets come in rail tank cars, and at 20-25,000 per pound, there are about a billion of them in each tanker. So many have escaped over the last half century during the transfer from rail car to factory by vacuum hoses, washing during rainstorms from rail sidings to the sea, that nurdles now represent about 10% of the litter counted on beaches worldwide.

In surface trawls for plastic particles aboard the Greenpeace vessel Esperanza, nurdles have been found in every trawl. The plastic industry itself is the biggest single source of plastic particles in the environment.

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6 November 2006

Beach Combing

by Marie, onboard the Esperanza

I live in a beach community back home, on the Chesapeake Bay. I try to pick up trash whenever I walk the beach. Usually, I'm out hunting for fossil shark teeth - it's a hobby of mine - and sometimes, I'd rather keep my hands and pockets free for my little treasures, rather than picking up trash. I've even walked past trash and thought to myself, “I'll pick it up on the way back.” But knowledge can be a double-edged sword, and I don't usually get more than a couple of feet before my guilty conscience drags me back, and I think of the sea turtle that might eat that plastic thinking it's a tasty jellyfish. Ignorance may be bliss to some, but it's lethal to others.

I've known for years that marine life was threatened by plastic pollution, but until now, I had no idea of the scale. In fact, we're just scratching the surface, literally, on this trip.

Even if you don’t live near a beach, chances are, you vacation there when you can. I know we all like to relax on vacation, but next time you’re at the beach, take just a moment to pick up trash when you see it. And remember, ocean protection begins on land, so even if you’re not at the beach, pick up trash when you see it on the street, and make sure it doesn’t get swept by rain into rivers, and end up here in the ocean.

For my part, I've got a new beach combing hobby when I get home.

Oh, and if you want to read more about what we've found so far, check out this new CNN article

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aha! again... or is it still?

by Buffy, onboard the Esperanza

it’s official. again. the oceans are in deep, deep trouble (pun mostly intended). a new study released this week reports that if things continue as is, all commercial fisheries will collapse by 2048. in my lifetime. yes, i'll be an elderly version of myself by then, but still...

the study also found that greenpeace is right – there’s hope. and that hope comes in the form of marine reserves.

when you protect a marine area and make it off limits to uses such as fishing, oil drilling and mining, the ecosystem can repair itself – so close an area, get more diversity. get more diversity, get more productivity. the more diverse an ecosystem is, the better the recovery. this study also concluded that the conservation of biodiversity and economic development on a long-term scale are interdependent – you can’t have the latter without the former.

as you may know/have guessed, i'm onboard the my esperanza right now, onboard campaigner for the u.s. leg of the defending our oceans tour. and though this new study is alarming, even to me, i can’t think of a better place to be than on the ship that’s making its way around the world, calling for a global network of marine reserves.

greenpeace is all about promoting solutions. and when it comes to our oceans, we’re calling for 40% of our oceans to be protected. in hawai’i, we spotlighted the success and ongoing work of an amazing grassroots effort to protect the northwestern hawaiian islands, now a marine national monument and the world’s largest marine protected area. this is a great first step for the u.s., but we need more – and this new study backs us up. if we’re going to defend our oceans, the most important and meaningful thing we can do is set aside and fully protect marine ecosystems so that those that come after us, after the middle of this century, will know the beauty of the sea that we (and those before us) took for granted.

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4 November 2006

Picture of the Day

Just another example of corporate pollution

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3 November 2006

Blue Water Diving

by Thilo, onboard the Esperanza

Hi, my name is Thilo Maack. I am from Hamburg, Germany. I have a degree in Marine Biology and work as an Oceans campaigner in the Greenpeace Germany office. It is a pleasure for me to be part of the campaign team onboard of this leg of the Defending Our Oceans expedition.

What do people usually think when I start to talk about diving? Nice coral reefs, colourful fish, and other little critters that don't even have spines and that most of us can't even name. Out here in middle of the North Pacific, the situation is a little different: since we're in the open ocean, diving here is called "blue water" diving. Out here, the ocean is about 15,000 feet deep and there is only about 300 feet of visibility. It is very easy to lose your orientation in these conditions, where the words "open water" get their literal meaning. To add to that, I'd like to
throw in another factor: darkness. We dive at night as well. Because of safety reasons, we have a strict diving protocol and we always have a safety diver who observes the working team and of course we always have our reliable boat drivers close by.

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2 November 2006

Picture of the Day

The objects we're finding here in the Pacific could belong to anyone. Do you recognize this?

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Message in a Bottle

by Marie, onboard the Esperanza

My sister is 8 years older than me, and growing up, I used to listen to her music. Everything from Led Zepplin records to (even though she'd hate to admit it now) Sister Sledge. When I came out on deck this morning, I had a song stuck in my head from one of her old albums. It was Message in a Bottle by the Police. No wonder, the lyrics describe exactly what I'm seeing. There really is a message in these bottles floating past the ship, and they really are sending an S.O.S. to the world.

I mean, think about it, we’re literally out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the largest ocean on the planet, and in this vast open ocean are bits and pieces of our disposable lifestyles on land.

Just from the samples we’ve taken, it’s as if a bomb exploded millions of pieces of plastic that rained down on the Pacific. But this is no bomb. It's not a storm that caused this. We did. All of us. With every piece of trash we've seen, but haven't picked up, every water bottle we've bought, but didn't recycle. It's all here, floating in front of me, the evidence of millions of moments of lapsed judgement, all combined into one heaping mess. It's overwhelming.

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Picture of the Day

Fish swimming inside a floating plastic crate in the Pacific

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1 November 2006

Garbage at Sea

by Steve, onboard the Esperanza

Our mission out here is clear: to get a better sense of how plastic pollution affects our oceans. What we've been doing over the past few days is taking many different looks at the plastic and how it interacts with the oceans. We've sent teams of divers down below to see for ourselves the plastic in the oceans. We've also been sending our boats out from the ship to go find the bits of plastic debris that we can't see directly from the ship. I spent a good portion of the afternoon pointing out to the boat drivers where this plastic is, so they can net them and bring them back onboard so we can have our scientists onboard take a close look.

It's still surprising how much plastic there is out there, and even more surprising how some of the things we use on land end up here - in the middle of nowhere. A toothbrush, melted plastic bits, crates, bits of rope, and bottles have all been pulled out of the remote area of the Pacific we're passing through. If people knew that their household items would end up out here, poisoning the small sea creatures that are also making their way past Esperanza, I wonder if they would throw them away. We really have no idea that what we throw away on land just may end up here in the oceans.

We don't make the connection between our daily lives and the health and well-being of the oceans, which is all too disappointing. We pulled up a plastic crate the other day - totally intact. Two things really struck me about this crate: one was that it had little shell creatures growing all over it (among other things), and that it clearly had Japanese writing across it. To think that this crate found its way to the middle of the Pacific from Japan was really just amazing - I don't even know how far away from Japan we are right now, but I can tell you one thing: pretty far. know I've said it before, but it happens at least five times a day here: I'm starting to think about all of the plastic stuff that we use in our daily lives, because watching these everyday household products swim by definitely makes me pause and think.

I realized during the ship's stop in Hawaii that one of the worst culprits in this whole equation is plastic bags. Hauling all of my Greenpeace stuff around all day was quite tiring, and believe it or not, plastic bags just don't work all that well. Thankfully, the good people at the Patagonia store in Hale'iwa, Hawaii sold me one of their canvas bags. The solutions to the problem of plastics in the ocean can really be quite simple: something as easy as using a reusable bag.

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31 October 2006

A Haunting Ghost Story

by Marie, onboard the Esperanza

It's Halloween, and even out here in the Pacific, I have a ghost story to tell you... a true tale of horror and death. Here, in the middle of the ocean, hundreds of miles from land or other ships, there are unnatural creatures prowling the ocean depths, killing sea turtles, dolphins, and other animals indiscriminately.

They're called ghost nets, and they drift aimlessly through the oceans, killing anything that crosses their path. These nets once belonged to commercial fisherman, but were abandoned overboard, to live on for years, creeping through ocean currents in search of innocent victims.

When they've killed so many animals, they sink to the ocean floor with the weight of their prey, and let the elements devour the remains. Once the bodies ensnared within their ropes decompose, like Freddie Krueger in your worst nightmares, they rise up again to continue their dance of death beneath the waves.

THE END

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30 October 2006

Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

by Steve, onboard the Esperanza

So, we're out here in the Pacific to get a better sense of how much plastic is in our oceans, and what it's doing to ocean life. Since this is my first time at sea, I was in awe at how blue and clean the ocean looked. I assumed it was because we were passing through a relatively untouched part of the seas, but slowly but surely, I kept getting glances of little reminders of how humankind is trashing the oceans.

If you look overboard long enough, you'll see lots of plastic bits passing Esperanza by. A buoy here, a blue chunk there, a bucket top over there. It's a bit surreal to see all of this garbage floating out here, and I can't help but wonder how long it's been out here, and what each little piece of plastic was once a part of, and where the rest of it is. As you've already read, the samples we've taken up from the ocean so far are pretty nasty.

I guess what they say is true: don't judge a book by its cover. Even though the ocean out here looks clean, we've seen a disturbing amount of plastic come up. In looking at all of the stuff that the yellow thing has pulled up, I can't help but think of all of the plastic I use at home, and how we really do think it's disposable and easy to use. But let me tell you, after seeing the huge hunks of junk float by me out here in the middle of the ocean, i'm going to think twice about those plastic water bottles and i'm definitely going to stock up on cloth bags for shopping. Just recently, I was reading a story about a whale in the Cook Islands of the Pacific who died from eating a plastic bag. Apparently, the whale (whose name was Temata) mistakenly thought the white plastic bag was a jelly fish, and the rest is as you can imagine it.

We're going to learn a lot over the next week or so about what plastic does to our oceans, but sadly, we already know enough to be certain that changing how we live on land is the only way to make life better for our oceans and all of the life that depends on them.

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29 October 2006

Cookin' Up a Storm

by Marie, onboard the Esperanza

Sundays are a day off onboard the ship, and that includes the cook. Charles Moore, one of our onboard experts on the subject of plastics in our oceans, also happens to be quite the expert cook too. He was in the galley for both lunch and dinner today, cooking up a treat for our resident birthday boy Steve - a pineapple upside down cake. I tagged along to help out, and it was a lot of fun to cook in a moving kitchen.

We've changed course to avoid a storm and search for calmer waters to conduct our testing. But the storm front has kicked up the waves just enough to make cooking more of a rollar coaster ride than a chore. But now it's time to go clean up after dinner - nothing can really make that fun.

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28 October 2006

Picture of the Day

The first sample collected here in the North Pacific had high concentrations of plastic.

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Plastic Pacific

by Adam, onboard the Esperanza

The scientific sampling program has now begun in earnest. Our pelagic
marine debris sampler, the courageous and now very well travelled "yellow
thing," has been in action twice. Skimming a meter-wide section of the
ocean's surface, it collects everything floating past, down to 0.3 mm in
size. The initial findings are not good. Considering the narrow strip of
water that we're sampling, the hundreds of plastic particles found
paint a shocking picture. Of course, from the ship we've seen the odd bottle
or fishing buoy floating by. However, other than that, the water looks fine;
crystal clear and beautiful. Yet, in reality, out here, in the middle of
nowhere, the sea's surface is a floating mosaic of plastic. We have
collected a diverse range of particles; mostly fragments of indeterminable
origin but also a number of pre-production pellets (negligently spilt by
industry). Judging by the number of organisms growing on the
plastic, many of these pieces began their journey years ago, potentially from
anywhere around the North Pacific.

Our work is currently being hampered by a factor beyond our control, the
weather. The location of where high pressure that creates the vortex sits
during the summer months is currently the same location as a storm. This churns the
water, mixing plastic down throughout the water column. And even the
gallant yellow thing can't work there. So we are heading east, looking for
the calm.

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The North Shore

by Steve onboard the Esperanza

So, we departed last night from Hawaii, from a place called the North Shore. I had heard of the North Shore before, because I've seen loads of surfing movies and have seen photos of the huge waves that this place is famous for. But, I had no idea that the people there would be so warm and welcoming and supportive of Greenpeace and the Defending Our Oceans expedition.

There were so many people who came out to our events. We met an incredible and inspirational woman named Jane, one of many amazing community leaders there, who helped us get in touch with the right people to help us get the word out about the problems facing our oceans. We also met Jeannie, who hosted us at her house on Sunset Beach, and came out to nearly all our events. There was also Crystal, whose work to get the positive messages out to the schoolchildren of Hawaii is so important and such a great help for the overall cause. A great guy named Mark helped us clean beaches on the North Shore, and kept telling us that despite the huge problem facing our world, he was tired of plastic polluting our beaches. There was also a woman named Cora, who's always trying to bring attention to the problems facing the environment up there. Really, the list could go on forever, but the point of the story is that these folk have inspired me so much.

Many of these folks came out to the dock at Haleiwa to bid a fond farewell to Esperanza. Some of them even paddled out to wave goodbye. In Hawaii, they talk a lot about the "Aloha Spirit," which I hadn't really understood until yesterday when we left. Aloha means hello, goodbye, and love. Its spirit guides the work of so many on the islands, and it was in full effect during our stay there. As I rode in the boat to board Esperanza, and the paddlers waved goodbye to us, I couldn't help but feel embraced by the aloha of these fantastic individuals. Every now and again, we can bear witness to the power of a community, and I really feel honored to have spent even a little bit of time in the North Shore of Oahu, and to have met even some of the folks up there whose work is so necessary and profound. Although we're now in the Pacific, I just wanted to thank all of the people there who showed us the true spirit of aloha. I don't know when I'll be back there, but hopefully soon, because the people there have impacted me more than they could ever know.

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26 October 2006

Paradise Lost

by Marie, onboard the Esperanza

When you picture Hawai'i, the first thing you think of is paradise and beautiful beaches, right? Well, it is paradise, and the beaches are beautiful, except on the windward side.

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.

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25 October 2006

Mahalo Tyler

by Marie, onboard the Esperanza

The Espy has been Defending Our Oceans for 11 months now, but yesterday was Day 1 for me. It's been a whirlwind of activity, with a supporter reception last night, and open boats all day today. I've met so many great people among the more than 400 who came onboard, but one really stood out for me, a boy named Tyler. Tyler was on my last tour of the day, and just as he was about to leave the ship, he handed me an envelope addressed to the crew of the Esperanza. Inside was this letter:

"Hi my name is Tyler. I heard you defend the ocean. I like the ocean too. I know not to walk on the coral and stuff like that. So anyway, do people still go whaling? I mean, I know it's against the law, but I wonder if they still go whaling. Good luck for the next time you defend the ocean.
Sincerely,
Tyler"

On the back of the letter was a fantastic drawing of the Esperanza and some of the wildlife we've been working to save over the course of this expedition. I absolutely loved it, and so did the rest of the crew.

This whole expedition has been about exposing the many threats facing our oceans, and asking all of you to become ocean defenders. It really warmed my heart to meet the next generation of ocean defenders, and I just want to say mahalo to Tyler for his beautiful drawing and letter.

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24 October 2006

Get Onboard

by Marie in Honolulu

This morning we stood on the dock of Pier 9 in Honolulu and watched as the Esperanza appeared over the horizon. I was surprised by how excited I was to see her - this was my first time seeing a Greenpeace ship in person. As she got closer, we waved to the crew, and soon we were able to make out recognizable faces, including Bill Richardson, our Deputy Executive Director in the U.S. office.

Once the Espy pulled into port, I got to meet new faces of the crew, and everyone was so friendly. I also met some supporters who were just as excited to see a Greenpeace ship as I was.

Taking a tour with some of the outgoing crew was almost surreal - this is going to be my home for the next 3 weeks.

By 2:00, the ship and her crew were welcomed by Hawai'i's Lt. Governor, James Aiona. He stressed the importance of marine protected areas like the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument, and thanked Greenpeace for our work defending the oceans.

But by the evening, we got to blow off some steam and get to know each other over dinner. I think this is going to be an amazing experience, and I couldn't ask for a better group of people to share it with. I'm really looking forward to getting onboard tomorrow.

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23 October 2006

No Ordinary Day at the Beach

by Marie in Honolulu

A toy soldier, a toothbrush, ribbon from an unwrapped gift, duct tape, a Nestle candy bar wrapper, bottle caps, ropes, fishing nets, and an explosion of plastic bits... not exactly ingredients for a perfect day at the beach. These were just a few of the things we collected on our beach clean up this morning.

We arrived at Kahuku beach bright and early this morning, but not quite early enough - the community-organized beach clean up had already begun. As soon as we set foot on the beach, we started noticing little specs of blue. I bent down, and found fragments of plastic. As I started picking them up, the sheer magnitude of what was happening hit me - these little fragments were everywhere, and they were being washed up from the ocean - from the very trash vortex we'll be investigating when we get onboard the Esperanza. We spent an hour filling our trash bags with pieces of fishing rope, plastic pieces of all shapes and sizes, when we realized the rest of the volunteers were around a bend in the beach. We picked up trash as we worked our way over to them.

As I turned the corner, my heart just sank - the trash was so much worse on this side of the beach. The entire beach was speckled with plastic bits - it literally looked like the kitchen countertop in our office, made of recycled containers. But this was exactly the opposite - evidence of all of the plastic swirling around the Pacific Ocean that hasn't been recycled, hasn't been thrown in the garbage. It was the worst result of littering, and every piece of plastic I saw represented a massive threat to wildlife, like sea turtles and albatross, who eat these pieces of plastic mistaking them for food, and end up starving to death, because they can't digest any of it. I used to wonder how an animal could mistake a plastic bottle for food, but today, as I bent down and looked closely at the debris, it wasn't until I picked something up that I could see the difference between clear or white plastic, and bits of shell that are natural on the beach. Once plastic breaks apart, it's hard to tell what it once was.

Margaret, one of the organizers of the clean up, told me that this part of the beach is worse because of the wind and currents. Here, in addition to all the little bits of plastic, were huge items like a tire, and a huge, heavy tangle of fishing nets. It was so depressing that I really felt like sitting down and giving up. But that didn't last, how could I give up, when the locals here come out all the time, and keep working to clean the beach?

So, we'll be back here again, this time with the Esperanza anchored offshore.

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22 October 2006

The Aloha Spirit

by Marie in Honolulu

Aloha! I’m writing from Honolulu, awaiting the arrival of the Esperanza. This is my second time in Hawaii, and I’m excited to be here again. In Maui last year, I was so lucky to see humpback whales during their migration, spinner dolphins, and sea turtles – talk about seeing some of the top animals on my life list. I’ll never forget seeing baby whales learning how to breach, or snorkeling above a green sea turtle.

This time around, I’ll be boarding the Esperanza for 3 weeks, as we celebrate the new Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument, and investigate the trash vortex swirling between Hawai’i and California.

I arrived a couple of days ago with some other Greenpeace folks, including Buffy and Steve who will be getting onboard with me. We’ve been fortunate enough to participate in a couple of community events here in Honolulu, including the Bioneers conference at the Manoa campus of the University of Hawai’i, and a warm welcome at the Patagonia store in Hale'iwa. The people here have been amazing, and what they've managed to accomplish through local activism is an inspiration to us all. My favorite line came from our Bioneers host, Joshua Cooper, when he explained the meaning of the Hawaiian expression, ma ka hane ka ike: in the action, that’s where knowledge is. Well, I think that sums up Greenpeace pretty well, and describes what we’re here for.

I hope you’ll follow our journey and share in the knowledge we discover.

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All updates from the Southern Ocean whaling 2007 leg »
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