5 Gyres - Understanding Plastic Pollution Through Exploration, Education, and Action

(photo: Chris Jordan - www.chrisjordan.com)
When we see this we can either point a finger to a problem and/or imagine a better way of doing things.  Students at Santa Monica High School have done both. Working with 5 Gyre's Marcus Eriksen, they asked John Klavitter, ecologist working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who manages Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, for 2,000 disposable lighters found in the bodies of Laysan Albatross.  Within a couple of months, two boxes arrived.  A month later, those lighters, along with 5 broken surfboards, became the "Lighter Glider".
 
The alternative to a plastic throwaway cigarette lighter is simple, use a match.  Paper or wooden matches are the easiest alternative, require less energy to produce, and the afterlife of a used match is a biodegradable material.  The benefit outweighs the cost.  Plastic has an afterlife that makes the cost far outweigh the benefit of short-term convenience.  This board will continue to carry this message, as it makes a fully functional paddleboard!