Saving The Kemps

I don't remember how old I was when I first saw this memorable news piece about the growing concern of our planetary health on the Music Television channel. This was a time where MTV primarily only played music videos. MTV news brought the major international and domestic headlines to a young audience. It was a genius way to get the youth thinking. I remember Kurt Loder, in between videos, giving the breaking news from across the globe. The fall of the Berlin Wall, growing poverty in America, and this piece on our planet's health. This all dates me, but that fifteen-to-thirty-minute mini-documentary is still stuck in my head. It must have been Earth Day or the response to some major oil spill in our waters; I remember the Exxon Valdez oil spill vividly. The images that are still imprinted in my head were a series of shots of dense pollution from different parts of the globe. A shot of children playing in garbage piled waters in India, a bulldozer shoving massive piles of trash in a land fill in somewhere, USA; a quick shot of wildlife entangled in trash. I remember going to school the next day or perhaps maybe a few days after, and we, as a school, planted trees that would one day provide great shade for future generations. It was a celebration, the local news came out and took pictures, some of our names got in the local paper and the very lucky few got interviewed. To a kid, that moment where you find your name in the black and white print, or maybe see yourself on the local news; it was our miniscule fifteen minutes of fame. We didn't have the social media outlets like we do today. The reporters took their pictures and asked their questions. We talked about what the importance of doing our part to "save the planet," meant to us youngsters. It felt good. Couple that with watching a couple of episodes of Captain Planet in a school time pizza party, we felt like heroes. Our hands literally planted something that the future population would appreciate. They were even talking about putting a plaque on the school grounds to commemorate this single event. A plaque that read something to the effect of, planted by the whatever class of whatever year, and have all our names on it. Immortalized. The day belonged to us, we were environmentalists for one day. Then the following day came. I had the same emotional high as before, but I felt like I was the only one. I remember going out of my way to pick up litter. A piece of paper here and a soda can there. I truly felt like I was the only one who still cared after a day of such importance. Overnight, the mood of the adults went back to; normal. No fan fair of recycling, no pizza parties for planting trees or picking up trash. I, however, felt like I needed to keep this feeling going. I was not perfect nor am I perfect right now when it comes to keeping an always mindful headspace focused on our environment. It felt like I was doing my part then, and I feel like I'm still trying to make a difference now. Why? Because every so often I can visually see the fruits of my small labor.

This is one of those rare times that I feel like I'm at an advantage when discussing a specific topic. I dabble enough in multiple things where I think I know barely enough to make it through a light conversation about random topics. Random conversation about our solar system? I know that our solar system is not stationary circulating around the sun. Our whole solar system orbits around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. So, while we move around the sun, the sun moves round the Milky Way; and it takes around two-hundred and thirty million years to complete one rotation. That's insane to fathom right? Random conversation about plants? Did you know that tomatoes are fruits? I didn't believe it when I first read about it about fifteen years ago, but they are indeed fruits. So, what about the topic of our oceans? This is where I think I shine just a little bit. Not only because I watched hours of nature documentaries or read about ocean exploration when I did research for a story; I directly work in the realm of ocean and species conservation. My current occupational scope? I am a simple paper pusher, but I push paper for the National Park Service. Specifically, the Sea Turtle Science and Recovery Lab. Before this? I pushed paper for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. My position is not as glamorous as the field biologists, law enforcement, special agents, and scientists; but my job is still important. Although I mainly deal with the administrative side of the house, they take me out in the field occasionally, to get a first eye view of what we do under the umbrella of the Department of the Interior. Part of my job involves educating the public. You would be amazed at how many people don't realize that those balloons you release at or near the beach for parties or gatherings have a high chance of falling into the ocean. Now I know what some of you are thinking, it's only a couple of balloons, what harm could those do in the vastness of our oceans. Well, it could be deadly. Let's take the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle. This particular species of sea turtle has a special place here at my current park. Do yourself a favor and just look up Padre Island National Seashore and the history of this species of turtle (https://www.nps.gov/pais/learn/nature/kempsridleystory.htm) It is truly amazing the work that has been done since the 1980s to save this dying species. All of which could be pointed by the efforts of just a handful of people. Remarkable and inspiring are words that come to mind. What is even more amazing is that one of those persons still works to save the species and I call her my boss. Back to my balloon example. Part of the Kemp's Ridley diet are jelly fish. A turtle looking up from the water's depth can't distinguish a balloon from a jelly fish. To them, it looks the same. The turtle consumes the balloon, the balloon lodges itself in the intestines, not allowing any food to pass. You can imagine what would happen next. So, what if that turtle was a breeding female? The Kemp's Ridley is the most endangered species of sea turtle and by it eating one balloon, the potential for species revival now decreases by a nest size of an average of approximately one-hundred eggs. All from the carelessness of us, humans. Our consumption and waste as humans can be seen from space. When you read that, it doesn't make sense at first does it? When you think about where trash goes, it is nearly out of sight out of mind right? Does the average person think about the trash they throw away? It's just trash, it eventually goes somewhere and away from our lives. It isn't being piled up in front of our homes, but it is being piled up somewhere. We as humans even managed to create space debris. It is a literal floating puzzle of debris that orbits our Earth. We currently have no idea how to manage or fix any of this. At our park, one of our challenges is maneuvering around ocean debris, this is trash or destroyed pieces of once something whole that washes onto our shores. It could come from neighboring states, especially after a hurricane, or from another country; things being carried by our ocean's currents, following the natural path of winds; falling sadly on our laps. There is no end in sight. Technology has come a long way since the invention of plastics. Biodegradables are great, but not everyone is on board. So, what can we do? Start small. Start really small. Plastic straw small.

A video emerged around 2015 of an individual and a hurt sea turtle. I believe this was the first video evidence of the dislodging of a plastic straw from a sea turtle's nostrils. Oceanic pollution research indicates that plastics in general break down over time into microplastics and according to a study and interview by the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions, there is an estimated one-hundred and fifty million metric tons of plastics in the ocean right now. Eight million tons are added each year. (https://earth.stanford.edu) The big picture is just that, very big. Concentrating on the micro presents the issue in smaller bites, such as banning plastic straws. The sea turtle video brought the concern to the limelight because it was, I believe, the first time a video demonstrating our direct connection with small plastic items such as straws in our oceans and a dying oceanic wildlife species. When you move from the micro of plastic straws to the much larger concept of all plastics in our oceans, you come across articles about a young whale with eighty-eight pounds of plastic in its stomach. (https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/2019/03/young-whale-died-88-pounds-plastic-its-stomach) With that in mind, how much plastic do you think you consume just by living your day-to-day life? Do you think the microplastics found in your water make a difference? Environmental Science and Technology published an article in 2019 (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b01517) indicating that we may be consuming 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles annually. I would assume that once the plastics leave our possession, we think it no longer affects us, but it indeed does. We are harming ourselves and the concept of getting rid of a small convenience item such as a straw, is still too much of a bother and we as humans are now paying the price.

So, what have I done to not add to the problem? It is easy as making a conscience effort not to get anything with a plastic straw. My wife and I have purchased metal replacements that we use in lieu of the plastic ones. Is it perfect? Of course not, but it is a start. What is remarkable is the backlash from some people I talk to on a regular basis in the scope of my everyday interaction with the public. I am not going to go into the dark rabbit hole of consumerism and capitalism from the angle of waste and pollution, that is for another day and possibly a formal essay; but it makes you think, and what you do afterwards is the key.

Everything funnels down to what you do daily. Thinking in the micro, the small efforts, will help chip away at the macro, the global problem. Thinking in the micro places things in perspective that you can visually touch. Plastic bags, we try to limit ourselves and only use canvas or heavy woven cloth when possible. Plastic cups and plates, we try and use reusable and long-lasting products to minimize waste. We try to repurpose what we have. Does this remind you of anything? Reduce, Reuse, Recycle? This slogan came from 1976, when Congress passed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. For over forty years we have been trying to battle this ongoing issue that has been ignored for far too long.

There is a very widespread used photo that circulates around here during Kemp's Ridley nesting season. It is a photo taken in 1947 of a Kemp's Ridley arribada. An arribada is a sea turtle phenomenon when a large number of nesting females emerge from the ocean to lay their eggs in the sandy beaches at the same time. This photo shows an estimated 40,000 turtles nesting in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Fast forward forty years. and only 702 nests were counted. A 98% fall. In the span of one person's life, this species could have been wiped out. What caused this massive decline in species numbers? Primarily human activities. Direct harvest of adults and eggs, incidental or intentional capture in fishing operations, habitat destruction or obstruction caused the steep decline. We can now add oceanic pollution to the mix of reasons why these turtles are not jumping back in numbers we had hoped in the early 1980s. Is there an upscale trend in nests since the implementation of conservation efforts by both Mexico and the United States? Yes, we are seeing the slow positive impact of decades of important research and work. We refer to a photo taken in 2011, at the same location in Mexico, and the numbers brought proof that what we were doing was working. We are nowhere near the goals of taking the species off the endangered list, but that is what we try to do. When I worked in the US Fish and Wildlife Service, we dedicated our time and efforts to save over 100 different species of plants and animals on both a state and federal level. We combined our efforts with local agencies, non-profit organizations, federal partnerships, universities, volunteers, and the random enthusiast to conserve and protect these sometimes rapidly declining species. An office of only ten biologists, trying to make a difference. My old boss once told me, we are in the business of working ourselves out of business. Our mission was to work ourselves out of a job. Today I hear the calls of one, perhaps two nesting turtles on our beaches here at the Padre Island National Seashore. The excitement around the office is both stressful and joyful. Our work and efforts under the National Park Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, under the umbrella of the Department of the Interior are seen and it is truly a remarkable thing to be a part of.

So, the next time you see that plastic straw, that plastic bag, that piece of trash on the beach; help us. Help our efforts. Not only to decrease the staggering amount of pollution in our oceans, but to save a species. Start small, think in the micro, and educate those around you. It won't be easy at first. Taking a personal straw to restaurants or your own reusable bags for groceries is inconvenient but it slowly curves the numbers. My family sometimes forget, but we try. We all call this planet home, and it's time to care.