Blog

From Miwa:

Marti, baby, and me–made the trek today to Oahu’s Windward side for B.E.A.C.H‘s clean-up of Laie Beach. This rural beach was littered with all varieties of plastic debris, and about 35 volunteers were there to pick it up and try to count it. Hundreds of bottle caps, plastic nets, and plastic refuse, washed up from all over the world. Years and years of plastic debris.

Plastic takes hundreds (possibly thousands) of years to biodegrade–what it DOES do is break into smaller and smaller pieces over time. In addition to the ancient toothbrushes, lighters, food wrappers, plastic pens, and styrofoam takeout containers, we found a beach littered with a confetti of small plastic bits.

I talked to a man who said he has lived on Laie for over 30 years–he was out on the stretch of beach beside us with a leafblower. A regular task, he says, trying to blow the plastic bits mauka, up off the beach. He talked about how he has seen the plastic problem get worse over the years. I asked him about the future, and he said he envisions his beach eventually “covered in a layer of colorful plastic grains, floating above the heavier sand and collecting a layer of algae slime.”

We finished our clean up a few hours later, and I felt a pang of sadness, looking at the result. More trash will wash in to replace what we cleaned. And even the many pounds we had piled into trash bags, was simply going off to a landfill. We can move it around as much as we want–but the plastic we create today is with us forever.

When we eat our lunch from a styrofoam box, it should make us think a bit: something with a useful life of minutes (okay, maybe a few days) will exist in our world–where we play and swim and hike and live–forever. Our great-great-great-great grandchildren will share the world with our old styrofoam cup. Along with the other 25 billion that we throw away each year.

We can do better. Hawaii is the final destination for a lot of the world’s plastic rubbish, washed up here by Pacific currents. Even in the remote and uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Hawaiian islands, plastic trash–marine debris–is a problem.

Happily, a few of our electeds are listening and we have a few opportunities this year to stand up here and show the world it can be done. This is historic, progressive stuff. And if we don’t, who will?

One current proposal to ban styrofoam takeout containers in Hawaii in 2010. To learn more and to support SB2495 and HB2495, go to www.stopstyrofoamhawaii.org. The word from those folks is that SB2495 has a second hearing scheduled for 2/14 and desperately needs to be heard to get out of committee! Send in those letters!

In this week’s Honolulu Weekly, Ian Lind’s Honolulu Diary has a brief outline of some of the tools available to citizen activists for keeping up with state decision-making–everything from members of the Legislature to individual Commissions and Boards. Resources include the state calendar at www.hawaii.gov. And the campaign spending records at www.hawaii.gov/campaign/.

He also points out numerous problems:

“A check of the calendar last weekend listed meetings of the Land Use Commission on Maui on Thursday and Friday, February 7-8, with an agenda that included an item with staff recommendations regarding LUC’s position on land use bills pending at the Legislature. A quick check of the LUC’s own website, initially to see if more information about the agenda items might be available, turned up a notice that the Maui meetings have been canceled. Other agency meetings, such as the Board of Land and Natural Resources, are missing from the central calendar, and with well over 100 state boards and commissions, it’s difficult to know whether agencies ignore the main calendar or provide only the minimum six day notice required by law.”

The end result being, it seems to us, that while more information than ever is available via the internet to individual citizens, the system of posting and providing information on the web has a ways to go before it really meets its potential for making decision-making at the capitol truly accessible to the public it serves.

from Marion Ano, KAHEA 2008 Graduate Intern:

The afternoon sun cast a warm glow throughout Stadium Park last week Wednesday on the corner of Isenberg and King. I attended the “Blue Line Project” Demonstration to build awareness of climate change, global warming, and to break the silence about sea level rise.

Each participant contributed their own message to Hawai’i. I enjoyed seeing children with their blue chalks in their hands and exchanging in the higher consciousness of the event. A blue line drawn seven blocks from Stadium Park proved to be the boldest statement of the demonstration. Onlookers stopped us and asked questions like “What are you doing?”. We responded by saying that sea level would inevitably rise to this blue line within 50 to 100 years. Unfortunately, no onlookers felt compelled to join in and be a part of this effort.

As I reflect upon the demonstration and the success of the event it is important for all of us to ponder and think of ways to continue building on this momentum. How can we effectively reach out to people and inspire change in the face of an inevitable doom?

One way or another each of us will contribute some effect on global warming. The choice is ours whether that effect will continue to be rapid and unforgiving or slow and responsible. The dialogue must continue before we find ourselves knee deep in water. Nature will no longer allow us to ignore it. Global warming has leaked past the walls of academia and eats away at our existing shorelines.

A fisherman on Moloka’i told me how much land he has lost due to sea level rise and he has done everything to curb the process. But, he knows that nature will win. Besides warmer temperatures and sea level rise, Hawaiian cultural practices could be lost forever. With rising sea levels comes the death of the coral reefs, and the ecosystems that its supports. Our native limu remains threatened by the invasion of non-native species. Furthermore, sea level rise will destroy their habitats and possibly cause remaining limu populations to dwindle.

The bottom line, the blue line that is will cost us more than money. There are some things that money cannot buy. Take responsibility because each of us has that power.

link to Honolulu Advertiser article on the demonstration
link to Sierra Club website find photos and press release

Links to media coverage from Scott at Surfrider Oahu Chapter:

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/

http://starbulletin.com/2008/02/03/editorial/editorial01.html

http://starbulletin.com/2008/02/03/news/wild.html

http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/3783/40/

http://www.khnl.com/global/story.asp?s=7814785

Polihale public access agreement reached on Kauai:
http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/02/03/news/news01.txt

http://www.mauinews.com/news/2008/2/2/09proa0202.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beach-access-hawaii/

On KGMB:

“Hawaii’s beaches are public property. But in recent years, more private landowners have closed off paths that lead to the shoreline. In an effort to change that, some 20 grassrooots organizations rallied across the state today.”

http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/3783/40/

On KHNL:

“Protestors throughout the state hit the streets to call attention to beach access. They say more and more new developments are closing off paths to public beaches, and they want them back.”

http://www.khnl.com/global/story.asp?s=7814785

So, the day is done.

What an inspiring 24 hours! The view from the trolley was amazing, as we went from rally to rally on Oahu’s south shore and met and saw dedicated individuals–many out in the rain–waving signs, calling to cars and passers-by.

MAHAHLO PIHA!

Hawaii’s Beach Access Day (Groundhog Day!) happened because individuals and organizations islands-wide stepped up and stepped out to make a statement about the problems they face, and their hopes for a better Hawaii–one with open, free and public beach access. We tried to keep up with the list of supporting groups flying around in various emails, but at this point… we have officially lost count! We believe there were well over 20 groups and over 300 individuals out waving signs today. Awesome!

This was an incredibly, er, organic event day–something that happened because so many people put their talents and energy into this effort in different parts of the islands. Many of them have been working on access issues for years.

Closing thought: We’d like to share these words sent from Rich, at Beach Access Hawaii:

…Then I stopped and listened to “Rock Me on the Water” by Jackson Browne…

Oh people, look around you
The signs are everywhere
You’ve left it for somebody other than you
To be the one to care…

That was me. But getting involved with this cause has shown me there are people who care. One guy — Ricky Bermudez — who doesn’t even get these emails because he doesn’t own a computer, has single-handedly collected almost 300 petition signatures, and has been posting G-Day flyers in shop windows and handing them out. Two people have contributed $100 each, and others have made generous donations as well.

Their heartfelt notes though, meant more to me than the money. I wish you could read them, because you’d understand how much this means to some people.

Stay inspired, stay active, stay engaged, and stay informed! On the momentum of this islands-wide rally day, things… are beginning to happen. What happens next is in the hands of all of us. When ordinary people unite voices, when communities get organized and get together, there is no limit to what can be accomplished!

A few places to start (resources and groups working on access issues):

• Hawaii Kai Hui – www.hawaiikaihui.org
• Surfrider Oahu Chapter – www.surfider.org/oahu
• Beach Access Hawaii – www.beachaccesshawaii.org
• Common Ground Hawaii – www.commongroundhawaii.net
• Surfider Maui Chapter – www.surfrider.org/maui
• Kulana Huli Honua – www.kulana.hawaiiweb.org
• Defend Oahu Coalition – www.defendoahucoalition.org
• Keep the North Shore Country- keepthenorthshorecountry.org
• Surfrider Kauai Chapter – www.surfrider.org/kauai

Hawai’i's Statewide Beach Access Rally day began this morning with wet weather islands-wide!

The rain gently blessed our Beach Access Trolley this morning at 10:30 as it departed to raise awareness about the epidemic loss of public access routes to the beach all around the islands.

More than 40 people joined us for a rally and press conference this morning at the State Capitol that called on Hawaii’s elected leaders, beach-front property owners, and all ocean-lovers to work together to ensure our shorelines are protected, clean, and open to all.

We heard inspiring and motivating speeches from:

Rich Figel, Beach Access Hawaii

Annmarie Kirk, Living Hawaii Kai Hui

Melissa Ling-Ing, Commonground Hawaii

Suzanne Frazer, B.E.A.C.H.

Peter Cole, Surfrider Foundation

Sen. Gary Hooser, D-Kauai

Capitol protesters then packed the decorated trolley and headed to the first stop: the Ala Wai Boat Harbor… where a new parking plan will force people to pay to go beach. Auwe!

Off to save beach access!! Ding-ding!!