Your first view of Kamilo Beach on Hawaii's Big Island is of
majestic rock, postcard-worthy waves and miles of uninhabited
beach. But look closer at the sand and you see specks of blue,
yellow and white plastic. A piece of a bottle cap. A corner of a
milk crate. Half a toothbrush. Kamilo Beach is part of the
devastating legacy of the March 2011 Japan tsunami. "It's
disheartening to come out here and see all this marine debris in
an area that's otherwise so remote, debris that's washing up
from other countries," said Megan Lamson, debris project
coordinator for the Hawaii Wildlife Fund. Hawaii is in a unique
geographical spot, the center of the Pacific Ocean, to witness
the impact of the Japan tsunami. Debris swirls from Asia to the
continental United States through Hawaii. The islands are, in
effect, a comb of the Pacific. The nonprofit Hawaii Wildlife
Fund said marine debris has been a problem for years for the
island state and tsunami debris has made things worse. According
to Japan, 1.5 million tons of tsu