I recently went to Waikiki, Hawaii. While staying there I spent a lot of time on the beaches and in the ocean. The water of the Pacific Ocean was pristine. While swimming you could easily look down and see the fish that were swimming beneath you. The beaches were crowded, but no matter where you went you didn’t see much trash just lying around. When there was trash sitting on the beach, people who noticed it would pick it up and throw it away. At one point during my stay there was a monk seal that had decided to take a nap on the beach. No one would've been concerned that it was going to die due to eating some trash that was on the beach. Even when the police showed up it was only so that they could make sure that the seal wouldn’t be disturbed during its nap. I don’t think that I could ever forget my time there even if I wanted to. 
Upon returning home I took a trip to the Atlantic Ocean and couldn’t believe what I saw. The water looked brown compared to that of the Pacific, and there was trash scattered all across the beaches and being blown into the ocean. I caught the ones that were being blown close to me but nobody else was. If it was blown onto them while they were tanning, they would just brush it off and go right back to tanning. If you were to actually look around then you would most likely be able to find a few animals dying or already dead because of the trash on the beach. If a sea animal had become beached, most likely the authorities would be extremely concerned for its health due to the amount of trash on the beach.
The saddest part about this situation is the differences in how the locals and tourists care for the areas ecosystem. Compared to the almost heavenly looking Hawaiian beaches, the beaches of New Jersey are a hell hole. Its almost criminal how much of a difference there is if you were to put the two beaches next to each other.
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