Today was the first day I was up and out on the beach at 6:00 a.m. Gerry is often up in the wee hours, walking off a migraine hangover, or getting away from a claustrophobic attack. He has told me that there is a lot of garbage on the beach, washed in from the tide, and that they are out cleaning it up by 6:00 a.m., every morning. I heard him say it, but it didn't register the same way as it did when I finally saw it for myself.
I took quite a few pictures, too many to upload into the blog, but you can see them on my facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151390203187464.534035.587442463&type=3
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We walked this section of the beach. At first glance it just looks like seaweed washed in with the tide...but with each step, there was garbage. Kudos for the guys who rake this by hand every single day.
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I did a bit of googling looking for more information about Cruise Ships and their dumping of waste. Here are several articles to check out if you are interested.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Caribbean-cruise-ships-dump-garbage-at-sea-3169729.php
http://oceana.org/sites/default/files/o/fileadmin/oceana/uploads/europe/reports/cruise_ships_eng.pdf
http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4941
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruise_ship_pollution_in_the_United_States
http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2012/08/articles/pollution-1/cruise-ship-dumping-of-trash-feces-conflicts-with-industrys-image-as-steward-of-the-seas/
http://www.invw.org/green_cruising
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g291959-i1455-k5927194-Cruise_Ships_Dumping_Garbage-Belize.html
Yes the garbage is terrible. I have spent many days/months on the entire coast from Puerto Morelos all the way to Xcalak over the last 10 years. I could never figure out why I found so many flip flops in the garbage. Do that many people throw them overboard?
ReplyDeleteI think you have to be careful about blaming the Cruise ships. They have certainly cleaned up their acts and do not need bad publicity. I have walked the beaches throughout all of the Carribean and have seen the trash every where. Every wondered about people going to the beach and leaving their flip flops to pick them up on the way back. The tide comes in and their flip flops go on their own voyage.
ReplyDeleteYes, I don't think it is only the cruise ships. I also think a lot of the flip flops come from people who simply forget them where they were on the beach, the tide takes it out, then the tide brings it back again.
ReplyDeleteI am sure they don't need the bad publicity....no one does! That is why I posted lots of links, showing both sides of the argument.