Posted by mariej on 10/23/2006 1:33 pm

Yesterday we arrived at Sunset Beach and greeted volunteers for the Surfrider's Foundation for another day of beach clean up. Sunset Beach is where one of the world's largest surf competitions will start at the end of this week. It was such a beautiful beach, and the waves were just amazing. We interviewed several people about their experiences with trash pollution. Rick, has been a lifeguard at Sunset beach for 25 years. He told us about the changes he's seen in that time, and the impact of overfishing and pollution. One of the volunteers I spoke with was telling me about an endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal pup that she helped guard recently, but after weeks of protection, the pup was tragically killed in an abandoned fishing net. This was justone example of the impacts trash is having on wildlife here in Hawai'i and around the world.

After the clean up, one of the local activists, Jeanne, invited us back to her house for lunch. Jeanne has been a Greenpeace supporter since the 70's, and we met her at the Patagonia event earlier this week. Lunch was such a treat, and Jeanne's house just happened to be right on the beach! So of course we took a little stroll and jumped in a few waves after lunch. I mean, once the beach is clean, someone's gotta enjoy it, right?

Today we're off to greet the Esperanza and her crew as they pull into port. More on that later...

 -Marie