Ocean Pollution and Its Issues

Surveying experts on the topic of ocean pollution affecting daily life and in the environment

By: Darin Wong

Picture Credits: DALL-E

Living in Hawaii, pollution is a well-known issue that remains a major problem for the way of living. Especially in our waters at our beaches, there needs to be action taken to clean up the community and popular tourist spots located around Hawaii. The issue impacts people of all communities, including locals, tourists, marine life, and catching food to eat. Ocean pollution has been an issue for many decades, but more needs to be done to lower it to an amount that is more acceptable and would make a big enough difference in people’s lives. It is an important issue because it puts the health of people and the animals found in the marine at risk, and affects tourism and the economy in a negative way. 

About 15 to 20 tons of marine trash are found on the shores of Hawaii yearly, with plastics counting for over 95% of the amount. While there remains a long way until the issue is resolved, there is good news on the topic and how it may be improving. Ke Ali’i took the time to interview Kirsten Oleson, Professor of Ecological Economics and the Department of Natural resources and Environmental Management at University of Hawaii at Manoa. Ke Ali’i also interviewed Lauren Blickley, Hawaii Regional Manager of the Surfrider Foundation. The perspectives of the interviewees range from their top views of education on the topic, banning plastics, and bacteria from the wastewaters that make people sick. So while the future surrounding the issue of ocean pollution may seem daunting, there is hope for the future and ways that the people can make the community the way that they want it to be.

Some of the main consequences of ocean pollution include ingesting food with plastic in it that causes serious injuries and risk of death, and oceans that contain lower levels of oxygen which contribute to death of ocean species like whales and sharks. The animals in the ocean also have to go through times where they face starvation and health problems whenever their stomachs are filled up with mostly plastics.

Locals all over Hawaii know that ocean pollution is a problem that won’t be solved on its own. As a result, Ke Ali’i went to interview two professionals with experience in managing the field of natural resources and taking care of the environment. As expected, the responses were in favor of finding solutions towards supporting the cause and addressing the matter in an honest way. As a firm believer in finding solutions towards solving the issue, Oleson believes that the main ways towards preventing ocean pollution is through “education, regulation, incentives, and restructuring the throw away economy”. According to Oleson, a motivation to do so is to stop the pollution from taking over lives through means of sickness, and threatening the health of the ecosystems. 

Another major component that Oleson finds to be the problem is “cheap consumer goods that do not factor in the real costs of their production and disposal, and lack of community perspective” where people care about nothing but themselves. Studies show that there are beach cleanup groups located over the state, with ones like 808 Cleanups containing over 40,000 volunteers and a general total of 320,000 pounds of trash removed yearly, yet the issue remains larger than ever. On the other side, Blickley argues that the oil industry has the power to fight policies and find ways to reduce the dependence on plastics. After all, practicing Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is a preferred method to becoming a healthier community. On the topic of aspects in daily life that are affected the most, Blickley's response was  “enjoying the beach with our families and harvesting food from the ocean”. While the two interviewees had notable differences in their responses, there were also commonalities in their responses. It was agreed upon that public education, awareness among younger generations, and doing beach cleanups play a very important role in what happens next.

Overall, Hawaii’s ocean pollution issue comes with many consequences on human and marine life. As pointed out by Oleson and Blickley, society as an entire group needs to gather together and work while being on the same page with each other. Without a combined effort, the problem will be too large to solve, with people working individually and not coming to an agreement on the leading cause. Everyone is affected by ocean pollution to a certain extent, and is not able to escape it considering that society depends on our oceans. Ultimately, ocean pollution is a top issue in Hawaii that not only puts the lives of humans in harm's way, but also alters the way in which life is lived. The people in every community must begin looking for solutions and search for ways in turning the problem into something that can be appreciated.