Sky Lantern Festivals Look Beautiful but Still Raise Litter and Wildlife Concerns

Wed, 26 Feb 2020 13:08:29 +0000

Lanterns, like balloons, float and then eventually come down. After Valentine’s Day, a man collected over 30 love themed balloons in only a few hours off the coast of Laguna Beach. I believe there is already a lot of awareness to the problem with balloon releases and am shocked that they still allowed anywhere. They are awful for the environment and both marine and terrestrial wildlife. So, why would lanterns be different.

There is an organization called Night Lights that schedules sky lantern festivals. According to their website the events, “you’ll see people cry, pose, pop the question, and celebrate under the lantern-lit skies. You’ll hear joyous laughter and squeals of glee as lanterns are carried together in epic waves of love and light.”

It sounds inspirational and the videos and photos are breathtaking, but what impact do these events have on the environment? I contacted their support to find out the environmental impact of their events.

“We understand your concerns and appreciate that you care as much as we do. Every event is equipped with a full cleaning crew and lantern chasers who literally chase lanterns from the moment they are lit, following their trajectory, for a quick pick up. This efficient crew continues a widespread search for lanterns before we leave our event location, sweeping the area during the lantern launch and directly after.”

“Not only do we pick up the lanterns, but we pick up all the trash we can find along the way. This meticulous process can take up to a full 48 hours and three separate trips, during which the area is surveyed with extensive care.”

“The lanterns that we use are also biodegradable and made from renewable resources like rice paper, bamboo, and natural fiber. They don’t pose any threats to the environment or any animals who may come across one.”

Sounds impressive. What about the fuel cell? They did not answer my question, but their website states it will “fully burn out before returning to the earth’s surface.”

I also asked if people could bring in their own lanterns and didn’t get an answer to that either. According to the website they do not allow outside lanterns, but I would imagine with large groups of people coming into these events with wagons, chairs, blankets and umbrellas that finding restricted lanterns may be rather difficult.

What do you think of Night Lights Events?

Japanese Tsunami Debris Still Polluting Alaska’s Remote Coastlines

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:23:39 +0000

Refrigerators, foam buoys and even ketchup bottles are piling up on Alaska’s beaches. Almost two years after the devastating Japanese tsunami, its debris and rubbish are fouling the coastlines of many states — especially in Alaska.

At the state’s Montague Island beach, the nearly 80 miles of rugged wilderness looks pristine from a helicopter a few thousand feet up. But when you descend, globs of foam come into view.
Marine debris isn’t a new issue for the state, but the job got a whole lot harder when the tsunami wreckage began arriving last spring.

One area is scattered with foam bits smaller than packing peanuts. This Styrofoam is just going to get all ground up, and turn into billions and trillions of little bits of Styrofoam scattered all over everything.

Environmental Concerns
The trash isn’t just an eyesore. Birds, rodents and even bears are eating the pieces of foam. Chemicals are also a worry. Among the debris, there are containers that held kerosene, gas and other petroleum products.
Last summer, the state paid for an aerial survey to inspect 2,500 miles of Alaska’s coastline and found tsunami debris on every beach photographed.
Over 8,000 pictures were taken and the debris was more widespread and in greater quantities than anyone expected.
But, officially, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration recorded just five tsunami debris items in Alaska. The agency will only confirm an object if it has a unique identifier that can be traced back to Japan.

beach cleanup – Aquarius-Systems

Sky Lantern Festivals Look Beautiful but Still Raise Litter and Wildlife Concerns

Japanese Tsunami Debris Still Polluting Alaska’s Remote Coastlines