Excerpt from Midway The Journey
“Midway Atoll, one of the remotest islands on earth, is a kaleidoscope of geography, culture, human history, and natural wonder. It also serves as a lens into one of the most profound and symbolic environmental tragedies of our time: the deaths by starvation of thousands of albatrosses who mistake floating plastic trash for food.
Five media artists, led by photographer Chris Jordan, traveled to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge to witness the catastrophic effect of our disposable culture on some of the world’s most beautiful and symbolic creatures. But even more, they embarked on an introspective journey to confront a vitally relevant question: In this time of unprecedented global crisis, how can we move through grief, denial, despair and immobility into new territories of acceptance, possibility, and wise action?”
MIDWAY JOURNEY II – Harbor Trap
Filmed and edited by Jan Vozenilek, Narrated by Chris Jordan, Written by Victoria Sloan Jordan, Music by Christen Lien
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQZwvRNEwGg&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Young albatrosses making their first foray out to sea can become waterlogged and exhausted, drifting back to the beach to rest and dry out. This disturbing video shows the plight of those unlucky enough to become trapped by the high metal retaining walls in Midway’s harbor. The doomed birds drown in an entanglement of dead birds and plastic marine trash.
MIDWAY JOURNEY – Plastic Water
Filmed By Jan Vozenilek, Narrated by Victoria Sloan Jordan, Music by Christen Lien
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ur6duw5kIs&NR=1[/youtube]
Scientists say that plastic now outweighs plankton 6 to 1 in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The lagoon of Midway Atoll is the perfect laboratory to witness all sizes of plastic slowly breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces. A variety of plastic washes up on the beaches daily, but not before some local fish make a meal of it.
Featured Image: B.Mayer
Midway Atoll, Photographic Work By Chris Jordan, in Coastal Care
