This beach is one of the starkest reminders of the extent of human impact on oceans.

Kamilo Beach is not the only junk beach in the world. Similar trashed beaches exist in the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean and Baja California. The litter on these shores and in the seas is so excessive that it is even visible to the people on land. Out towards the open seas, huge garbage patches fill the middle of the ocean, like wide loops of rotating currents, also known as gyres (www.marinedebris.noaa.gov).

Gyres

Gyres are major surface currents that circle the oceans. They are driven by persistent winds and the Coriolis Effect which is caused by the Earth’s rotation. The human impact on oceans is displayed by the gyres. They gather trash released into seas from countries around the oceans and through rivers they carry the floating objects and trash spewed from fallen shipping containers.

This was dramatically demonstrated when a cargo of sports shoes were lost in the sea in 1990. The shoes floated and drifted with the currents. Eventually thousands of them washed up on shores from Alaska to California. The manufacturer provided the serial numbers of the lost shoes. Beachcombers responded to calls by researchers regarding the time and location that they found the beached shoes. When all the data points were combined, the gyre’s circulation period over 3 years was obtained. Tracking a spill of bathtub toys provided similar results.

Outsourcing of manufacturing overseas and worldwide supply chains are made possibly by networks of container shipping lines. For reasons of economies of scale, the containers are stacked precariously high on the decks. At rough seas in the open ocean, some of these containers are washed overboard. There are about 10 million 40-foot cargo containers in use in the world. Every year a few thousand of them are washed off the decks of ships in heavy seas. The lost cargo rarely becomes news; it often stays confidential among the ship owner, the importer, the exporter and the insurer. Many of the lost containers sink to the bottom of the ocean. However some of them float and release their contents. This is the source of the flotillas of running shoes, or the toys that get carried away by the currents and winds.

The great garbage patch in North Pacific Ocean covers an area double the size of Texas. Like a conveyor belt, North Pacific Subtropical Gyre rotates clockwise, carrying with it the natural or man-made floating objects. The life span of a gyre is about three years. The floating objects may end washed up at beaches or they may be drifted to the center of the gyre where the currents are weakest. This is where the garbage patch forms—from millions of tons of plastic and other debris covering millions of square miles (www.dels.nas.edu).

Plastics

Plastic nurdles are a significant part of the pollution. These tiny beads are used as raw material in manufacturing. They are carried in container loads across the oceans and are occasionally spilled in large amounts and dispersed at sea.

Compared to organic matter that rots, decays, and gets recycled back into biomass by organisms, plastic is durable. A single plastic water bottle can last for hundreds of years. Suspended in sea water, these plastic particles absorb toxic chemicals. When marine animals consume the floating plastic, disproportionately high levels of these toxic materials are accumulated in their bodies. Some of these animals end up as food on our dinner table. Yes, that plastic tossed into the sea returns back as poisonous seasoning in our diet!

Plastics are contaminating the food chain at different levels. The animals at sea mistake trash for food. The microscopic particles get absorbed by animals filtering sea water for food. Easily mistaken for jellyfish in water, plastic bags suffocate sea animals that ingest them for food. Larger items threaten sea birds and mammals. Seabirds die when their guts get clogged with swallowed plastic items, and other animals starve because their stomachs are full of debris (www.commerce.senate.gov/pdf/marinedebris).

Fishing

A serious source of marine debris is the fishing industry. Numerous fishing nets and floats get lost and are abandoned at sea. These nets, which may extend a distance of many miles, strangle turtles and other sea mammals. Fishing industries should be inspected to keep track of their gear. There are organizations like the Monterey Bay Aquarium (www.montereybayaquarium.org) that distribute information about environmentally friendly fishing. In a free market economy where people vote with their money, consumers should inquire about the sources of seafood and support fishermen that do not leave their nets behind.

Enforcement in open seas requires international cooperation. Vessels should be inspected at their ports of call. Volunteers spotting container ships may record differences in cargo and alert authorities for missing containers. Marine laws, fees, taxes, and insurance premiums can be updated to deter unsafe loading of container ships. In the long run, vessel designs, navigational routes, shipping schedules and weather monitoring should be improved for minimization of cargo loss. An international cooperation is essential to oversee these efforts. The balance sheet of shipping business should include the cost of loss-free transport of containers.

Human negligence

The seas appear to be vast, but we seem to have come to the limits of it by the sheer amounts of garbage dumped into the rivers and by the contamination by marine transportation. These are inescapable reminders that we have reached the limits of this resource. The sea often regurgitates whatever is dumped inside it. This is like a slap on the beach, where the ocean hits back at us with our own trash, not to praise us or show approval, but to bring before our eyes the chaos we have created.

The universe is granted with an internal maintenance system, recycling its own waste products, hence reflecting the absolute purity of the Divine in His creation. The responsibility of humans as “vicegerents” of the earth include using the Earth’s resources without dumping or wasting but safeguarding the environmental balance and acknowledging that every creation has its purpose in being and should be treated accordingly.

The trashed beaches and mid-ocean garbage patches are signs of the deadly and long lasting effects introduced by humans into the seas. This is totally avoidable. We should employ a zero waste approach to our consumption habits. Cost of reusing, recycling and safe disposal of products should be reflected in the price of goods. Laws and regulations should be updated and enforced to minimize the dispersion of long lasting contaminants into the environment. The shipping and fishing industries should be accountable for lost cargo and gear. The seabirds should not starve, and the turtles should not drown due to our negligence.

References

• Auman, H.J., Ludwig, J.P., Giesy, J.P., Colborn, T., (1997) “Plastic ingestion by Laysan Albatross chicks on Sand Island, Midway Atoll, in 1994 and 1995.” in Albatross Biology and Conservation, (ed by G. Robinson and R. Gales). Surrey Beatty & Sons:Chipping Norton. Pp. 239-44
• Spear, L.B., Ainley, D.G. & Ribic, C.A. (1995). “Incidence of plastic in seabirds from the tropical Pacific, 1984–91: relation with distribution of species, sex, age, season, year and body weight.” Marine Environmental Research 40: 123–146
• http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2003/feb/26/20030226-085636-3495r/
• Ebbesmeyer, Curtis; Eric Scigliano. 2009. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science. London: Collins.

She stopped in front of a vast puddle. “What do you think? Is it possible?” she asked her reflection in the murky water. “No way,” snapped back the image. “With a bunch of brothers and sisters and cousins donating their hand-me-downs every year you stand no chance.”

“Oh well! Hope springs eternal,” muttered the little girl and avenged the answer by stomping on the cruel “other.”

She hurried up to the school just around the corner. There was no one in sight. She was late again. Teachers’ voices blended from the broken windows. She entered her classroom. The teacher let her take her seat with a reproachful look that set her cheeks on fire instantly. The little girl wondered how her cheeks could burn while her feet were ice cold.

She scanned the class discreetly after she had taken her seat. All she saw was a bunch of freezing kids, a door that would not close, and windows that, like her shoes, welcomed everything in. She tried to think of something funny to lift up her spirit. Alas! Even jokes were scarce in her life. Patience was the only thing she had in abundance to help her survive till the end of the school day.

The little girl took the same path in the opposite direction toward home, lost in her thoughts. She felt very insignificant and the fact that her problem seemed irrelevant to the rest of the world increased her desperation.

* * *

At home Mom heard the little girl bark a terrible cough by the burning stove. She fixed her stare on the little shoes drying nearby, then grabbed the shoes and checked them as she had done several times before, only to confirm that in their desolate state the shoes could not stand one more nail. They were about to fall apart. Now it was Mom’s turn to worry.

“Mom, let me buy her new shoes!” Big Sister saved the day. She was volunteering to buy them from her pocket money, usually spent on stuff for her trousseau. Mom consented to Big Sister’s proposal, despite Grandma’s strong belief that it was past the time for her to get married anyway.

The little heart leapt with joy. “For real? Brand new shoes? Tomorrow?”

* * *

The next day came with a lethargic sun, as much anticipated tomorrows always do. The little girl was anxious.

“Let’s go!” The two sisters walked along the street, the big one squeezing her money, the little one squeezing her heart to keep it in place.

The shoe store struck the little girl with terror. It was unpleasantly cold. The saleswoman snailed around, making things worse. Most unfortunately, there was nothing on the metal grid shelves except for a pair of papa-sized boots and a couple of black slippers. Her little heart sank.

The saleswoman and Big Sister exchanged pleasantries. The saleswoman spoke annoyingly slowly as if chatting for the first time in a very long while. Finally the chitchat was over.

“I would like to buy a new pair of shoes for my sister,” Big Sister said, emphasizing the “new” unnecessarily. She was handling the situation so calmly you would think she was buying her daily bread.

The saleswoman stared at the little girl from head to toe and back, though all she needed to inspect were her feet. “I don’t think I have anything for her,” she said matter-of-factly, ”but let me check to be sure.” She disappeared into the unlit back. The little girl wished the saleswoman might disappear completely rather than come back empty-handed. She could take waiting a lifetime, but facing empty hands would be unbearable.

The saleswoman came back with a box. “What’s her size?” The big sister muttered the number. “A one-size-fits-all size,” translated the little heart. “This pair is one size smaller, but this is the closest I can get.” The saleswoman was obviously paying attention only to Big Sister.

The little girl took the right shoe. She almost swooned at the smell of new leather. She squeezed her foot into the shoe. “It hurts, but don’t show it,” said her little heart. She suddenly turned into Cinderella’s stepsister, ready to cut off her toes if need be. Big Sister, not easily fooled, bent down and felt the curled toes. “No, no, you can’t walk straight with these shoes.” The little girl stepped back, defiant. “You’ll have to cut my feet off to take them off me!” her eyes challenged.

The saleswoman, sensing a storm approaching, made a move to prevent the family crisis. “Why don’t you come on Monday?” she said. “A new shipment will be available then.” The girl watched the saleswoman’s face intently for a wink at Big Sister. Deadly serious, the saleswoman did not even blink. With no other option, the little girl dragged herself out of the store.

The two sisters walked silently on the street, the big one squeezing the money, the little one clenching her fists. Too bad there was no one to punch. The little heart was ice cold, yet a flickering flame of faint hope kept burning in a far corner.

“Who am I kidding?” thought the little girl. “Even if she gets new supplies, who says she will get my size? Besides, in two days there is plenty of time for my sister to change her mind or spend the money on some you-can’t-find-it–elsewhere bedspread. By Monday there is even enough time, God forbid, for some distant relative to materialize from nowhere with a pair of very old, smelly shoes, and that would be a nightmare.”

They entered their small apartment. The little girl went straight to her room and sat on her bed, painfully hearing Big Sister explain to Mom and Grandma why they had returned empty-handed. She heard the door open slowly, but she did not turn to look, knowing that no one else but Grandma could be coming in.

Grandma sat by her side with a frown. In her story-telling voice she spoke:

“Once upon a time, there lived a young man in a very far land. He walked down the streets of his little town looking at his shabby shoes, feeling very unhappy, and wondering why he couldn’t have a new pair of shoes. At that moment he passed by a beggar leaning on an oak tree, his hand stretched out asking for alms. As he looked closely he realized that the beggar had no legs. The young man grew very sad and felt ashamed of himself. ‘Shame on me! This man doesn’t have feet and I am feeling miserable because I don’t have decent shoes.’ He reproached himself and gave thanks to God for his feet.” Smiling and caressing little girl’s hair, Grandma continued, “See, my dear, do not despair. God willing, you will get what you don’t have. Meanwhile be thankful for what you already have. Contentment of the heart is the greatest of treasures.”

The little girl, having understood very swiftly the message of the story could not help but comment, “But Grandma, I want to be grateful for my feet and a pair of new shoes.” Grandma smiled at her and whispered, as if revealing a well-kept secret, “God increases the bounties when we thank him. If you are thankful for your feet, he may grant you a pair of shoes as well. Remember, contentment of the heart is the greatest treasure.” After kissing the little girl on the forehead, she left the room as quietly as she had entered it.

The little girl tried to reason, although her brain was turned upside down. “That seems like good advice. What could I be thankful for?” she asked herself. “Well, I have a wonderful grandmother for a start,” she thought with a smile.

* * *

On Monday afternoon they went back to the store. First, the saleswoman smiled at them, and then she sluggishly disappeared into the back. “Thank goodness this time I was spared the torment of pleasantries,” the little girl thought, relieved.

With a box in her hands and the air of a savior on her face the saleswoman returned. She lifted the lid and handed the right shoe to the little girl. It fit perfectly. Ta da! Boy, would Cinderella be surprised, or should I say jealous! Stepsister or no, this time she got the shoes. Her little heart was overflowing with bliss until Big Sister stepped into the middle of the majestic celebration. Now what?

“The color…,” she said. “Dark red is not a very appropriate color. Only black and brown polishes are available. They’ll soon get muddy.”

“I did my best,” the saleswoman announced in surrender. Little eyes pleaded with Big Sister, the shoebox crushed in an unyielding embrace. With the saleswoman no longer an ally, Big Sister waved the white flag.

They left the store with the new shoes inside the box. The new shoes would look wonderful under her desk tomorrow. The whole school would marvel at them. Her little heart was beating like a crazy bird in a cage. Her prayer had been answered.

Wait a minute! The girl stopped. Remembering what her grandmother had told her, she paused and whispered, “Thank you,” to the One who had given her all bounties.

“I will never forget this day,” the little girl promised.

* * *

But the little girl did forget her promise for many years until the day she witnessed a father trying hard to convince his whining little child that plain shoes are as good as the ones with Pooh Bear printed on them. She once again longed for that sincere thank-you, craving the genuine way it came out of her lips on that memorable day of her life when she got her first ever brand-new shoes.

Mirkena Ozer had her major in Turkish language and literature. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.