Interviewer: Fionn Gilliland
Interviewee: Monica Figueroa, President of Heal L.A.
1. What does the growing amount of pollution in the ocean mean to you?
Response: The growing amount of pollution in the ocean breaks my heart. Not only does it directly affect me today, but it also affects all marine life as well as all future generations. Everything is interconnected on this planet, the fact that this is a growing problem and only a few people are trying to fix it is truly depressing.
2. In what ways are you involved with this growing problem?
Response: I have actually started a club on campus (Heal L.A.), we spend every other saturday morning of each month cleaning the beach. In the past 18 months we have picked up over 8000 pieces of trash.
3. What first hand experience do you have with the problem?
Response: As a California resident I love spending my summer at the beach, but over the years I have noticed that the amount of trash on the beach has increased. Frankly, swimming with trash is not very fun.
4. How long have you felt this was a problem?
Response: I've felt that this has been a problem for about three years now.
5. How long have you been working on fixing this problem?
Response: I founded Heal L.A. about 18 months ago, so 18 months.
6. Do you think this is a serious problem or is it something that we can wait until later to deal with?
Response: This is definitely something that can't wait. The problem has gone untouched for so long that if we want to make a change, we need to work fast, before it's too late. The pollution in the ocean is associated with other ecosystems as well. Especially with trash that isn't biodegradable.
7. What are your thoughts on how to improve this problem?
Response: Well i think that people should be a little more responsible with their waste. Trying to reduce their waste production, or simply buying "green" could really make a difference. If every person on this planet, picked up one piece of random trash a day, we would be living in a much more sanitary world.
8. What are your thoughts on why people think this is not a serious problem?
Response: Most people don't think that pollution in the ocean doesn't affect them. The ugly truth is, that it affects everyone. All of that trash has to go somewhere, all of those chemical compounds have to end up somewhere else. Whether its trash washing up on the shore or an increase in the sanitary conditions of this planet, pollution affects everyone. People need to start looking at the bigger picture, not just with themselves in it but with future generations of both animals and humans. This world doesn't belong to one given species, we have to respect that.
