Midway Atoll is actually composed of two small islands, Sand Island -which is the largest and the only one inhabited- and Eastern Island, slightly over one mile long, and separated from Sand Island by a narrow channel that provides access to the interior of the lagoon.
Matt Brown, Manager of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, took us on a tour of Eastern Island as he and two volunteers inspected three fresh water ponds occupied by extremely rare and endangered Laysan Ducks. Eastern Island is entirely crisscrossed by abandoned runways dating back to World War II, today almost unrecognizable under a layer of vegetation that grows through cracks in the pavement. While nature slowly triumphs over dilapidated asphalt, iron and cement, Eastern Island has not escaped the onslaught of plastic pollution, which is present everywhere.
Video by Bill Weaver. Cinematography by Jan Vozenilek. Voiceover by Chris Jordan. Interviewee: Matt Brown. Music by Vanessa LeBourdais.
3 Comments
Dear Chris,
I was part of the PAA group that went to Midway in June (with Ron Hirschi) of this year. It is both pleasurable and painful to watch what you are doing on the island. I smile when I remember the places I see in your photos and video but I also catch the sad melancholy of the plastic tide that is poisoning the island and its creatures. Thank you for sharing your feelings about what you are seeing and experiencing. I feel like I’m part of a support group for those who have seen the deluge and can’t quite shake the crush it puts on my heart.
I teach Marine Science in a High School in Gilroy, California and I am working to give my students an appreciation for what I saw on Midway without freaking them out. I don’t want them to think it is hopeless. I want them to believe we can reverse this trend and change course. I hope I can find something in what you have done to help me do this. I am already planning to show them the Wave from your website to give them some perspective of the problem. Thanks,
Jeff Manker
Your story and videos are absolutely stunning…both in a wonderful and disturbing way. Thank you for sharing the experience with us. Algalita knows full well the story of the albatross and the effect that plastic is having on our world. Our most recent voyage indicates that we have a long, long way to go in reducing the amount of plastic that is entering our ocean.
What’s interesting (or sad) is that while nature is reclaiming thousands of tons of steel and concrete left on the island, plastic — which was expressly intended NOT to have a lasting purpose in the first place — is forever.