Glass Beach -Where trash turned into sparkling stones

Glass Beach -Where trash turned into sparkling stones

Introduction

United States of America is well known for its beaches and particularly California is famous for its many tourist attractions and beautiful climate. One of the eminent Californian tourist attractions is Glass Beach. Located in the Mackerricher State Park near Fort Bragg (a sunny and tropical town with a population not more than 40 thousand), this Californian beach is a very popular attraction on the outskirts of Fort Bragg. The reason which makes the Glass Beach so amazing is smooth colorful glass pieces that are mixed into the pebbly beach that covers the sand and extends for miles.

History

Dating back to 1906, today’s Glass Beach was used to dump discarded glass, appliances, and automotive parts with two other sites, nearby. Until 1967, this process was in full swing. It was after 1967, that various cleaning and sanitation processes were launched and the discarded appliances and automotive parts that then turned into scrap were sold. That was certainly the darkest moment of American history, but something extraordinary did come out of the mess. The generosity of the mother earth can be seen by turning the dumped waste of glass into the sparkling glass stones. The strong waves of the ocean broke the glass into pieces and carved them into beautiful and sparkling glass pebbles. Those glass pebbles began to resurface due to the current of waves which ultimately covered the beach, creating a bed of smooth coloured stones.

Climate

The climate of Glass Beach remains hot through the year except in winters when temperature drops a bit, but overall the climate remains comparatively warm even in winters.

Plants & Animals

Ferns and succulents can be found in bulk on Glass Beach, especially the ice and wild radish plants on the shores of the beach. The ice plants changes colour with the passage of time.

Since, the dumping of glass and other metallic materials by local residents deteriorated the presence of wildlife but there are some sea creatures which can be found on the Glass Beach shore. The visitors can catch glimpses of common sea creatures such as seals, whales, and fish.

The Sea Glass Museum & Glass Festival

It is illegal to take sea glass stones within the boundaries of MacKerricher State Park, also oceanic activity has reduced the quantity of glass pebbles over a period of time. This resulted in diminishing of fame of Glass Beach which needed to be protected. Keeping in view this eminent threat, Captain Forrington, founded the Sea Glass Museum for research purposes to the south of Fort Bragg. The museum offers hundreds of thousands of visitors every year to see wide range of collection of sea glass with the history and scientific explanation for free.

To enjoy the visitors and travelers, the local residents also devoted an entire festival on Memorial Day Weekend towards the admiration of Glass Beach.

Precaution
Note of Appreciation for Mother Earth

Although safe but there is one precaution that need to be taken while visiting Glass Beach. As the pounding waves of the ocean have carved the glass into jewels and scattered them all over the place, there is possibility of some stones being sharp resulting in injury which ultimately turn into disease. Hence, making the beach unfit for playing.

The Earth, the mother, cares for everyone. It is a well known fact that a mother always gives to her child without expecting to get something in-return. Since the dawn of life, the mother earth kept nourishing and protecting the mankind in every second, in the form of air, water, food, etc. Now, what was expected from us to care for mother earth, but we ruined her for our selfishness, greed and hunger for money. Glass Beach is a live example where mankind with stone heart dumped its garbage in the heart of kind hearted mother earth but she returned jewels out of the garbage to her child.

Global warming and environment and wildlife protection is a big concern today. Global warming results in many grave alterations to the environment, which can ultimately impact human health. It also results in rise of sea level which leads to the loss of coastal land, a change in precipitation patterns, increased risks of droughts and floods, and threats to biodiversity. While as, the biggest threats to wildlife include illegal wildlife trade, habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, etc. The illegal wildlife trade is the fourth largest criminal industry in the world, after drugs, arms, and human trafficking.

Mother earth has always given us alarming signals from time to time in the form of disasters which are occurring frequently now-a-days. But we didn’t listen to her. Like, the year 2015 became the hottest year on record. In October, Hurricane Patricia became the strongest hurricane ever recorded by meteorologists, generated winds that reached 200 miles per hour. Average temperatures in the Arctic region have been increasing twice much as temperatures on the rest of the planet. This resulted the melting of the ice-covered polar surface, shrinked by 9 percent every 10 years. Scientists expect polar thawing to raise sea levels to a point that will force the population of many highly urbanized coastal areas to move to higher ground. More relevant for Americans is the fact that the Totten Glacier in East Antarctica is melting as warm ocean water erodes it from underneath. This could elevate sea levels by at least 11 feet in the Northern Hemisphere, in the United States, sea levels could rise by 25 percent more than the global average. A recent study suggested that by the end of the century, some urban centers in the Persian Gulf will occasionally be badly affected with temperature and humidity levels that are tolerable to humans—a threat Southeast Asia also faces.

This is the time that we sit and think what we did to her and how can we improve her condition. If we didn’t cease our destructive activities that harm her, then we should be ready for severe consequences that are on their way.

The best way to avoid the destruction is to raise awareness about our environment and mother earth. We can create a balance in our lives and adopt eco-friendly habits, so as to make this planet a much better place to live in.