Environmentalists support marine report on debris
By CHRISTINA YOON Special to the Daily Press
SM STATE BEACH Trash that litters California’s beaches and oceans may be more than an ecological expense — it may come out of consumers’ pockets as well.
Lt. Governor John Garamendi gave a preview on Santa Monica State Beach Friday of a report on marine debris prepared by the state’s Ocean Protection Council. The report, which was scheduled to be released on Tuesday, was delayed approximately one week due to ongoing budget negotiations. If released in time, the marine debris report could be used to assist several pieces of legislation aimed at reducing marine debris, one of which proposes a 25 cent charage on plastic shopping bags.
“When it is finally approved by the Ocean Protection Council, my goal is that it becomes the basis for state and legislative action,” Garamendi said in an interview on Tuesday.
He appeared at the press conference with representatives from nonprofit groups including Heal the Bay and Santa Monica Baykeeper to discuss the report. He was also accompanied by Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank), who authored a bill, signed in October 2007, to restrict the use of “nurdles,” tiny plastic packing pellets that often migrate to oceans and kill marine life that mistakes them for food.
“The state has been dependent on the ocean for our survival. Now it’s become obvious that the oceans depend on us for The preview of the marine debris report by Garamendi and his supporters was set amid sunbathers, rollberbladers and families soaking in the Santa Monica summer.
“Behind me is the Pacific Ocean and one of the most famous of all beaches in America if not the world,” Garamendi said. “But our beaches and our oceans are threatened. They’re threatened by a deluge of garbage.”
The report will provide an in-depth description of marine debris issues in California, give several priority recommendations for legislators and call for coordination of statewide policies to take steps to reduce garbage that often ends up in the ocean. Garamendi said that this last section of the report was included as a cautionary point.
“Right now the state laws are interfering with cities and countries,” Garamendi said in a statement released Thursday. “We must work together to move forward.”
One proposed bill that could use the help of the forthcoming report is AB 2058, authored by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys).
The bill would require large grocery stores and pharmacies to meet a 70 percent diversion requirement for the onetime plastic bags that they distribute to shoppers. Currently, a law is already in place that requires stores to take steps to encourage shoppers to bring one-time plastic bags back to the stores for recycling. Stores will be required to charge a minimum of 25 cents per bag to shoppers if the 70 percent is not met by 2011.
Environmental group Heal the Bay is one of the sponsors of AB 2058. Sarah Abramson, the group’s coastal resources director, showed her support for the report as a way to bring the legislation to the forefront of the Assembly’s attention. Heal the Bay has worked closely with the Ocean Protection Council since its inception in 2004.
“I certainly hope that the report is released as soon as possible,” she said.“The momentum on plastic bags is very strong right now on the local level.”
Garamendi first requested this report a year and a half ago as a former member of the Ocean Protection Council. He had also worked previously with environmental groups to form The Pacific Protection Initiative, which introduced several proposed bills related to banning and reducing plastics that may contain toxins.
“Lt. Gov. Garamendi was a strong leader on those issues,” Abramson said. “He has continued efforts to ensure that harmful ocean trash is prevented and reduced.”
Garamendi also spoke on Tuesday about the huge costs to city, county and state programs to dispose of garbage such as plastic bags and packaging materials. For example, the city of Los Angeles will spend $125 million over 10 years to remove garbage from its streets and CalTrans will spend $300 million over 10 years to clean Los Angeles County highways.
He said that the report and the legislation it hopes to influence would reduce the garbage that is created in the first place by encouraging businesses and consumers to use greener alternatives.
Tom Ford, the executive director for Santa Monica Baykeeper, said that the report was integral in bringing environmental issues to community members who could take steps to improve marine debris issues.
“Environmental issues become so big that people lose their place,” he said. “This, in my opinion, is not a complicated issue.”
Garamendi stressed the importance of the report as a long-term foundation, not a quick fix to California’s debris issues.
“These things are usually not done in one year,” he said. “It’s important that we put a lot of time and effort into this.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 26, 2008. Read the original PDF.