The chapter’s guest speaker for the March member’s meeting was Patricia King-Alvis. She is a staff officer with the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 58 in Portsmouth. She is their Marine Safety and Environmental Protection Officer.
Patricia’s presentation consisted of a slide show followed by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) video, titled ” Trash Talk “. The video focused on Marine Debris, it’s sources and effect on the marine environment. The material she presented included a discussion on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the differences between point and non-point source pollution, methods to contain or reduce pollution and the various effects of marine debris in particular.
The portion of the presentation on the effects of marine debris included entanglement of marine species, ingestion by marine species , habitat degradation as well as the costs involved in cleanup attempts. Plastics were identified as the largest contributor to marine debris with an estimated 8 million metric tons per year introduced into our oceans.
She ended her presentation with a list of things we can do as an organization and as individuals to minimize marine debris such as maximizing our recycling, participating in community cleanups as well as our adopt-a-road and adopt-a-stream programs. Just being aware of what we do with our trash can help. She explained how every day trash introduced into storm drains can make its way into streams and rivers and ultimately into the ocean. You don’t have to be at the beach or on a boat to contribute to marine debris. Because of the excessive costs and the difficulty in removing marine debris from the oceans, the best solution is prevention.
