Last month I traveled to the Oregon Coast for a vacation with my family. We stayed in a rental house right on the beach, at the mouth of the Netarts Bay. Each day, we soaked in views of the the Pacific Ocean, glimpses of Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge, and the steady Oregon rainfall. Whether looking out from the giant windows of the house, or strolling along the beach, it felt relaxing and comforting to be in such a spectacular setting.
One afternoon, I headed north along the coast with my camera to capture Mother Nature at her finest. The tide was going out, so gulls were pecking through the bright green seaweed along the sandy shore. The seals had hauled out onto the sand bar that was slowly becoming exposed across the bay. And, the waves were crashing out in the distance and along the coast to the north. It was a peaceful scene and a seemingly beautiful afternoon.
On my trip back to the house, I decided to move off the sand and up onto the rocks above the high tide line. As I did, I was greeted by colorful shards of plastic and scattered garbage left behind by other vacationers or washed ashore. Mother Nature was suddenly delivering me a dose of reality and reminding me of the many environmental disasters that are a result of our petroleum-based society. I found a plastic grocery bag snagged on one rock and quickly filled it with with water bottles, bottle caps, Styrofoam, and unidentifiable pieces of plastic. But there was enough trash to fill that bag countless times.
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I was quietly reminded that, even though I was enjoying time away from work, there was still much work to be done. There was oil spewing into the Gulf and an island of garbage larger than the state of Texas floating somewhere over the horizon – most of which was composed of these tiny shards of plastic I was finding. Combing through the rocks, I feared that the seagulls might just drop a little revenge on me as they flew by to feast on whatever else we humans had left behind.
It is easy to distance ourselves from the environmental degradation that is occurring all around us – I did it walking along a beach just a stones throw from where it was taking place – and it can be overwhelming to consider what we could possibly to do to end it. But as daunting as it may seem, individual actions do make a difference. Next time you pick up a bottle of water, get your groceries in a plastic bag, or even buy a bottle of shampoo, take some time to think about where that plastic came from and where it might end up when you are finished using it. Consider that decision not about a product but about what you want for the future of our planet. After all, personal decisions are what created this plastic coast, and it will take personal decisions to make it go away.
- Jeff
