A K LEO T H E
FRIDAY, SEPT. 23 to SUNDAY, SEPT. 25, 2011 VOLUME 106 ISSUE 26
Serving the students of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
V O I C E
LOWEST PRICE GUARANTEED STUDENT SPECIALS 1610 Kalakaua Ave. Honolulu, HI 96826 808-955-1550
FAST FRIENDLY SERVICE PART/SERVICE/ACCESSORIES/ HELMETS/LOCKS
3065 Kapiolani Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96826 808-735-5995
STARTING
www.mopedplus.net
@
$888
00
www.kaleo.org
An oceanic quest to find the trash-soup truth
JESSI SCHULTZ Staff Writer
Tales of the high seas often seem fantastic. But today, researchers and explorers are in search of a real monster of the deep – one of our own making. Tim Silverwood, Australian environmentalist, fi lmmaker and photographer, embarked on a Hawai‘i-to-Vancouver trip to fi nd the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. In an email interview, Silverwood explained the history he’s had with environmental degradation of the ocean. “[I] started to understand the impacts our discarded waste could have on the
wildlife in the ocean. I started to collect litter off beaches whenever I was there and become genuinely concerned about the amount of trash entering the sea. When I traveled to Indonesia and India in 2007, I witnessed that the problem was global and that so much human consumer plastic waste was entering the ocean. When I came back to Australia, I decided to organize beach cleanups in my area, which led me to collaborating with two local ladies and forming the organization Take 3–A Clean Beach Initiative.” The Take 3 program involves everyone willing to help. People participate by picking up three
1295 S. Beretania St. Honolulu, HI 96814 (808) 626-5202
UH SPECIAL Free Fries & Drink with burger purchase with coupon or UH ID.
pieces of trash or debris whenever they visit the beach. For his most recent adventure, Silverwood and a team of artists, filmmakers, environmentalists, divers, and Ph.D. students set sail from Honolulu in early July for a three-week expedition searching for the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. The research was led by Marcus Eriksen, director of research and education with Algalita Marine Research Foundation and cofounder of the 5 Gyres Institute. Oceanographer Nikolai Maximenko of the International Pacifi c Research Centre at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa developed
the
PHOTO COURTESY OF LISA LOWENBORG/ TIMSILVERWOOD.COM
pages 10-16
gridiron
Tim Silverwood, a passionate surfer and environmentalist, embarked on a voyage in July sailing across the Pacific Ocean from Honolulu to Vancouver, researching floating plastics in the North Pacific Gyre in search of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
the route using a computer model. It is a myth that there are floating islands of trash on the Pacific surface. Silverwood described the state of the piles as being more like soup, because the trash doesn’t always float. Instead, some descends into the water column, making ng g clean up more difficult. “We need to accept that we w can no longer treat the ocean an n like a dumping ground and nd not expect it to react. We have v ve abused this vast resource for too oo long, and I really think it’s time me for us to start giving a little bi bit it back,” said Silverwood. See Trashing Hawai‘i, next page
Report
FRIDAY N: W: S: E:
3 -7 f t. 1- 3+ f t. 1- 3+ f t. 1- 3+ f t.
SATURDAY S ATTU URDAY N: W: S: E:
5 - 9 f t. 3-5+ f t. 0 - 3 f t. 1- 3 f t.
SUNDAY SUNDA S UNDAY N: W: S: E:
3 -7 f t. 3 - 5 f t. 0 -1.5 f t. 1- 3 f t.