ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : We’re Well-Tanned but Trashy

Wouldn’t it be good if everyone who enjoyed the recreational benefits of the ocean gave something back, the way a group of divers in South Laguna did last weekend?

A lot of people volunteer their time for worthy causes, but it would be nice to have more follow the example of 40 divers who regularly enjoy the beauty of golden fish and kelp forests off the Orange County coast. They put their dreams of underwater explorations aside for a day to explore the junk left by careless people along the waterfront, most of it on the beaches.

Their booty of beer cans and plastic bags provided ample proof that the acronym they selected--SLOBB--was aptly chosen. It stands for, Stop Littering Our Beaches and Bays, which is good advice for all of us to follow.

The custodial feeling that people have for the waterfront ought to be encouraged, so that those who benefit from the ocean give something back. On both Pacific and Atlantic coasts in recent years, dedicated groups such as the divers in Laguna have been showing the way. As more people enjoy the water, there is more and more of a threat posed to the delicate marine environment.

And if we can’t participate in an organized cleanup, at least we can pick up after ourselves. You didn’t have to look hard to find cigarette butts, paper cups and other litter on Orange County beaches this summer.

Much is said about the larger threats to the ocean environment, especially dramatic oil spills. But the day-in, day-out pollution from littering takes a toll on the marine environment, even despite the ocean’s capacity for regeneration.

Cans, balloons and trash pose a hazard to marine animals. Birds can choke on plastic soda can rings disposed of haphazardly along the waterfront. It doesn’t take a major environmental disaster to alter the marine environment.

Those who brought out rakes and shovels and bags to clean up the environment last weekend in South Laguna have shown the way.