Welcome to the De-Plastic Chronicles
Welina mai ia kakou! Welcome to the De-Plastic Chronicles. In the midst of our mounting problems, my hope is that my writings can offer you the kind of hope that provokes you to examine your actions and assess your footprint and impact on this world. You think that your impact here is insignificant, small, or invisible, but let me assure you that it’s not. Just simply multiply your impact by 10, then 1,000, and then 1,000,000 and you’ll begin to see that your collective impact is significant and huge.
Allow me to begin this chronicle by taking you back in time to June 2010. I had the privilege and honor of visiting, Papahanaumokuakea, Marine National Monument. These islands and atolls stretch over a thousand miles northwest of Kauaʻi and today you can only access the monument with a justified purpose and a government issued permit.
In June 2010, as part of the Ahahui Alakaʻi Program, I found my feet curiously planted amongst the webbed feet of the moli (Laysan Albatross), a seabird I have never seen before. Unsure how to navigate my way through the network of chicks, that wait months from the time of their birth to take their first flight out to sea, I found myself falling in love with nature all over again. This is the kind of place that can make that happen.
And in their omnipresence, I drifted in and out of seeing the world through their eyes, through their perspective and then from my own. The irony of endangered birds juxtaposed against the scars of war or trash that arrives from shores far and away, I felt bad for us and I felt bad for my own contributions to these problems.
I’m sure many of you have seen images of seabird necropsies that reveal the plasticized insides of these birds, but my experience of seeing it first hand changed me and I found it so compelling that I want you to know that together I know we can impact the world differently.
So, armed with my naivety, idealism, and the De-Plastic Chronicles you can follow my friends and I as we attempt to inspire you to trample lightly and slowly de-plastic your mind and your life. We live in a world that really doesn’t have a place for a single-use plastic life. I hope that these chronicles will inspire you to make a conscious effort to reduce what you consume and find alternative ways towards a plastic-free life. Make a choice, because you can.
The De-Plastic Chronicles will be following events throughout the Spring 2012 semester. We hope to see you at the UHM Semester of Sustainability & Rise Above Plastics (RAP) kickoff @ the Campus Center Ballroom this Tuesday, January 17th from 11:30-2:00pm.
