By — CJS
The condition of the beach was disgusting and shocking. A low tide and three days of rain revealed just how big of pigs we are. Hundreds of thousands of pieces of garbage stretched as far as the eye could see — Styrofoam cups, motor oil bottles, diapers, pieces of plastic and countless other remnants that expose what kind of people we have living in Los Angeles.
As stewards of our environment, we should be ashamed of ourselves that we find this acceptable. The prevailing attitude that rain brings trash to the beach is an outright assault on our most precious resource — the Santa Monica Bay and all of its living creatures.
Not only does the pollution hurt our environment — it doesn’t do much for our economy, our recreational opportunities, our health and our reputation, in this affluent “city by the sea” known for its “cutting edge” sustainable practices. None of the efforts made by City Hall for the past 10 years in its quest to be regarded as a “sustainable city” matter when we have to sit by and watch rubbish travel to our shoreline.
It’s frustrating that City Hall spends tens of millions of dollars to clean up stormwater runoff with the newest technologies, only to have human beings toss aside any regard for where their trash lands. City Hall’s vigilance is in addition to untold millions given by the state and federal governments to clean up urban runoff. And now with LA voters approving Proposition O last fall, another $500 million will be thrown at the problem. But we can expect little effect unless we take responsibility for our own actions and stop littering.
We need more local businesses like the Beach Club, located on the PCH, just south of Santa Monica Canyon. Two workers from there on Sunday took on the daunting task of collecting trash at the water’s edge in the section directly in front of the beach club. We wish more people took responsibility like that.
LA County in recent years has embarked on ambitious public awareness campaigns, attempting to remind people just how detrimental the smallest piece of litter can be to the ocean. Apparently, it’s not enough.
We applaud the decision last week by LA Mayor Jim Hahn in the appointment of two Santa Monicans who will help oversee how Prop. O money is spent. We are confident that both Mark Gold, the executive director of Heal the Bay, a local nonprofit that is dedicated to protecting the Santa Monica Bay, and Craig Perkins, City Hall’s director of the environmental and public works department, will be responsible stewards of how our money is spent. The two of them see firsthand how bad the problem really is and have shown their dedication in cleaning up the bay over the past several years.
Now we need to see the same from our residents, visitors and our neighbors in LA. In the meantime, we hope it stops raining so we can go back to living in our own filth instead of forcing it upon the aquatic organisms that don’t deserve what we have literally shoved down their throats.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 21, 2005. Read the original PDF.