Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawaii has brought Captain Charles Moore, discoverer of the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," to Honolulu this week to speak at two free, public events: a Marine Debris Forum at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Hawaii State Capitol auditorium, and at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve Theatre.

Both events are part of Marine Debris Awareness Month, in celebration of the 2008 International Year of the Reef.

MARINE DEBRIS PERMEATES THE OCEAN

Moore first discovered the Eastern Garbage Patch 10 years ago on his return voyage to California after sailing in the 1997 Trans Pacific yacht race to Hawaii. He veered from the usual sea route and found that there was nowhere he could go without seeing plastic. Ever since, he has dedicated his time and resources to researching the ocean's plastic load, as founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation.

In 1999 his research shocked the scientific world when he found six times more plastic than plankton in the central Pacific. Since then, Moore has sampled plastic fragments in over 20,000miles of the North Pacific ocean. His work has been highlighted internationally.

DEALING WITH OCEAN PLASTICS

On Wednesday at the Marine Debris Forum, Moore will present "Zero Waste? The Ocean Can't Wait!" — a talk featuring new research findings from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (Great Pacific Garbage Patch), and ideas on how to deal with ocean plastics.

Moore will be joined by Regina Woodrom Rudrud, a maritime and fisheries anthropologist at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, Donna Kahiwaokawailani Kahakui, founder of Kai Makana, and Suzanne Frazer, co-founder of Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawaii in a panel discussion with the audience on marine debris in Hawaii, the impacts on marine life and the environment, and solutions to this problem.

Hawaii State Senator Gary Hooser and Hawaii State Representative Lyla Berg will open the forum and welcome the public. The event also includes the opening of a Marine Debris Awareness Month student art project display. More than 600 studentsfrom 15 schools took part in the project. Thirty-five pieces will be displayed at the Hawaii State Capitol from Wenesday through Oct. 31.

Educational displays, refreshments and door prizes donated by Kale's Natural Foods, Ben & Jerry's, B.E.A.C.H. and the International Year of the Reef Hawaii campaign will also be part of the evening's offerings.

The Marine Debris Forum is being sponsored by the Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawaii, Hawaii International Year of the Reef campaign, Malama Hawaii, Kale's Natural Foods, Ben & Jerry's, and Starbucks. For further information about Marine Debris Awareness Month events, visit: www.b-e-a-c-h.org

EFFECTS ON OCEAN ORGANISMS

Moore's presentation on Thursday at Hanauma Bay, "Synthetic Polymers Entering the Marine Food Web" will explore the consequences of our society's plastic waste over the last half century, and how it is showing up in the ocean's food web, affecting sea life from the smallest marine animals to the largest cetaceans.

He will explain the unexpected longevity of waste in the marine environment, how it threatens the ocean's biodiversity, and give suggestions for solutions to change the tide of trash inundating the oceans and shores.