Blue Planet Journey

Should sunscreens containing the active ingredient oxybenzone should be banned ?  There are some who argue that, because of concerns that oxybenzone may have a negative effect on corals, sunscreens containing this (along with a few other chemicals) should be banned from places where it can enter the ocean.  In Hawaii, there is a bill being considered ( HB 2723 ) that would make it "...unlawful to sell, offer for sale, or distribute for sale any SPF sunscreen product that contains oxybenzone or octinoxate , unless the product is sold or distributed to fulfill a prescription."   Why?  "The legislature finds that the chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate, which are found in some sunscreens, enter the ocean by washing off swimmers, surfers, paddlers, spearfishers, divers, and other ocean users. Although these chemicals are also present in other products, sunscreen products are by far the largest source of oxybenzone and octinoxate present in the ocean...

"Do Not Feed Feral Cats."  Well, this sign doesn't appear to be too effective.  I would suspect that the owner of this van tends to put out some food after parking or before leaving, and the cats know it.  There are 4 cats in this photo, and another 4 on the other side.  I'm not sure they are feral, since they didn't appear to be that skittish.

Requiring a demonstration of proficiency with firearms seems to be a no-brainer. Unless you've been living secluded in a one-room cabin in Lincoln,  Montana, you've heard about the most recent school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. What a terrible event, and what a terrible thing to even write, "the most recent school shooting."  I can't fathom how I would think or react if a shooting happened at Noelani Elementary School, or Logan High School, or other schools where my children attended.  Students, parents, teachers, and school administrators are clamoring for something to be done.  Gun enthusiasts are pushing back... "Guns don't kill people.  People kill people." I'm no expert in policing, community safety, school administration, or constitutional law. My frame of reference is shaped by avoiding the likes of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh as if they were carriers of the plague (with apologies ...

Here's a taste of the run that Caroline and I do about 3 times a week.  We have a 5, a 6, a 7, and an 8 mile version.  This is the 8 mile run, annotated.  You see what we see, without the huffing and puffing!  Oh, and no cats. Mile 1.  We've been slowly climbing, then at mile 1 we have these stairs. Waikiki is on the horizon.  Mile 2.  This is close to the top of upper Manoa.  It's a 1 mile climb.  We are near the trailhead for the Puu Pia Trail.  There are no sidewalks in these neighborhoods, but drivers are pretty good at watching out for pedestrians. Mile 3.  We've dropped back into middle Manoa, mauka of the Chinese Cemetery. This is a bridge over Manoa Stream. Mile 4.  It just came out that mile 4 occurred at the trailhead for the Manoa Falls Trail .  The turn to the left goes to the UH Lyon Arboretum. Mile 5.  We are about 100 yards from the falls, but the trail is poorly maint...

Sign in lavatory of ultra-economy Jetstar flight to Sydney. The main purpose of signs is to communicate, to send a message.  Here's a brief collection of some of the iconic or interesting signs I've photographed since December. These eels are in the ponds of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. I'm guessing they were the inspiration for the " shrieking eels " in the movie, The Princess Bride. Legal drinking age in Australia. Where is it natural to show your love for the lawn?  Why, on the top deck of an ocean cruise liner, in this case, the Celebrity Solstice .  Nothing like laying on the lawn with no land in sight! In Australia, they even ride their bikes on the wrong side of the bike paths! In a Sydney bookstore.  Now you know why Australians are so laid back. Left with the trash in Sydney.  I hope somebody snatched it and gave it a good home.  I love Ansel Adams' work. Visitors sometimes complain that the ...

Caroline about half way up the Kolowalu Trail in Manoa. I admit that I'm a creature of habit.  While Caroline has walked or run on every street in upper Manoa , I have my 1-3 routes, usually ending up on the Manoa Falls Trail , one of the most popular and accessible trails on Oahu.  When running to the falls (about a 7 mile run), we like to leave about 8 AM so that we don't have to dodge around many hikers. Running down the Manoa Falls Trail is easier than running up! Yesterday, we were considering an early evening run, so Caroline suggested that we take a hike on a couple of trails that we always pass and had never hiked, the Kolowalu Trail and the Puu Pia Trail .  Both of these trails are "short" (between 1-1.5 miles to the end) but they are STEEP!  With an eye on the weather (we anticipated rain), we took our hydration packs, snacks, and walking sticks and started up the Kolowalu Trail first, supposedly the steepest of the 2 trails (1100 feet elevat...

A 7-11 coffee cup tossed aside. Why don't you pick up trash?   You are walking down the sidewalk, and there is a used 7-11 coffee cup on the ground, finished with its life as a one-time use receptacle.  It seems to have been stepped on, or driven over, and it has been there for awhile. Or you see a yellow sandwich wrapper in the gutter as you cross the street, sans sandwich or with a bit of that sandwich still inside.  It's been crumbled into a ball, the color striking against the gray of the concrete. Perhaps you notice the  ubiquitous soda bottle on the grass, either forgotten, lost, or intentionally deposited for somebody else to deal with, ants scavenging for the remaining sugar molecules and oblivious to the PETE-1 recycling impression on the bottle. Or you look down, and there is just a mix of something... undefinable, but it is clearly garbage. Look, trash happens.  There is "unintentional" trash, when you lose something, or when ...