I’ll Take the Bucket

Four years ago my home was thriving with tourists from all over the United States and abroad.  A bustling fishing community made well on revenue while multimillion dollar casinos played host to tourists and locals alike.  Then along came Katrina.  The name affectionately given to the country’s worst natural disaster in history.  Here along the coast Katrina is now referred to as “The Storm”.  An obvious benchmark for future generations to look upon in any subsequent hurricane season to follow.  She is why the building codes have changed, why more residents have moved inland, why many have left to never return to the coast, and why vacant lots and ghostly slabs, pilings and debris still remain as the “scenery” on the north side of Hwy. 90 which runs along the coast.  She is also named responsible for the enormous amount of rubbage that sits at the bottom of the Mississippi sound.  When boats get stuck on rooftops rather than sandbars and props become entangled with garden hoses instead of seaweed Katrina is at fault.  So why almost four years later is there still such a large amount of debris still in our coastal waters?  Why haven’t we cleaned it up?  Is it really Nature’s fault?

It has long been a running joke that the department of environmental quality in Mississippi is nothing more than a man with a bucket and a butterfly net.  This could be closer to the truth than one would think.  The only time you’ll see someone picking up trash will be along the main roads by prison inmates wearing striped pants.  Never do you see community servants or anyone else along the beach where a clean environment echoes with a healthy ecosystem.  Clean-up efforts have taken place through various non profit organizations whose names are too small too even mention, but their efforts are limited to their volunteer base which is lower than the ocean floor itself. The low tides give a faint glimpse at the amount of trash in our coastal waters.  Mattress box-springs, lawn mowers, and refrigerators along with all their inclusive parts are strewn along the shallow sea floor to be seen in certain areas when the tides are at their lowest intervals.  However, nothing substantial has been proposed to clean up the mess even with the visual reminder.  Most coastal residents pay little or no attention to the problem unless their own personal interests are at stake.  The fishermen mostly have grievance along with many boat owners about the problem, but nothing in the way of a real time solution has been proposed.