A Vulnerable Adult Learner surfer is consumed by pollution near popular ex-pat enclave Canggu.

Bali’s reputation as tropical idyll shattered following report by Kelly Slater detailing island’s catastrophic pollution, “It’s the first time I’ve ever had to get out of the water anywhere in the world and stop surfing because of garbage!”

"It’s unfathomable how much garbage is in the ocean.”

Ain’t no surprise that Bali, once the prettiest island on earth, has crumbled under the burden of millions of tourists, its third-world infrastructure overwhelmed by the waste of four thousand hotels and innumerable villas, homes and whatever else.

I first went to the joint as a kid in the eighties when there were still lingering vestiges of its Morning of the Earth idyll, the water out there on the Bukit so vividly green it was impossible to catch on film; and the water around Canggu, then a series of untouched rice paddies, was free from any sort of plastic drinking vessel.

Yeah, well, Bali in 2022 is a whole new thing.

The food is better than its ever been, yoga studios, wellness centres, spas have pushed out the grimy singlet and pirate perfume stores and the well-manicured sip twenty buck cocktails amid some of the most awe-inspiring architecture on earth.

But, the water? Ain’t a place like it on earth.

Kelly Slater knows.

He was there for three months earlier this year and has described his horror at the rivers of waste floating through the lineups, at one point even being unable to surf ‘cause of the garbage.

“You couldn’t surf. It’s the first time I’ve ever had to get out of the water anywhere in the world and stop surfing because of garbage… it’s unfathomable how much garbage is in the ocean.”

Last week, a video of a VAL consumed by garbage while learning to surf near Canggu was a huge hit on socials, the wretched woman appearing to scream as she flees the filth.

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J H
J H
3 years ago

Did the government tell you that?

The NYT?

Steven Colbert?

Which clown show was it?

J H
J H
3 years ago

Clearly more than you because I know the whole “vaccine” program is a complete scam.

And a deadly scam, at that.

Mr. Potz’s Opus
Mr. Potz’s Opus
3 years ago

another reason to buy American made goods. The only real “fair trade” in thw world, no slaves, proper environmental restrictions and a proper price point so you just don’t throw it all away…….

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
3 years ago

I remember when wed just throw trash out of the car window.
Happy days.

JSC
JSC
3 years ago

Just beginning the northwest monsoon season in Indonesia, which in many situations like the southern coast 0f Bali, the wind will blow massive rafts of trash onto the beaches.

Massive floating rafts of trash produced by ignorant locals, as they leave their rubbish in rivers and streams all over Bali and the rest of Indonesia, which is flushed into the ocean during the rainy season.

It’s not international tourists, randomly throwing their rubbish everywhere – 99% of the problem of rubbish in the ocean in Indonesia is the traditional practice of the locals.

neckofthewoods
neckofthewoods
3 years ago

Surely Ke11y would’ve seen the business upside to this: more high-end Routerknown garments from “recycled” green-washed garbage. Win-win

Board Barnacle
Board Barnacle
3 years ago
Reply to  neckofthewoods

Don’t forget about Kelly’s recycled floating fins.

janeausten
janeausten
3 years ago

Can you blame the Chinese – as I recall from yearly short visits up until covid, the Japanese have a fetish for wrapping every fucking thing in neat little plastic bags/ boxes etc

🍓Sonia sex toy🔞
🍓Sonia sex toy🔞
3 years ago

Hehe. I don’t like it

Michael Flatlately
Michael Flatlately
3 years ago

I remember a school group turning up at Lakey in a big dump truck. They spent the day there and left behind mountains of rubbish, despite their transport essentially being a rubbish truck. A group of us picked it all up and took it back to the place we were staying. Later saw the manager throw it all over a fence into the vacant property next door.

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
3 years ago

Musta been a white person involved somehow.

tim_nelsen
tim_nelsen
3 years ago

I proposed ealier that Santa Cruz, Cali…could be deposed to Alaska and form a surf team separate from the mainland USA…Hawaii tried…But if this story doesn’t drive some of their fishermen nutso to protest, nothing will…

buy tickets via Alaskan Air or power up the engines and head to Siska!

Snow crab season in Alaska canceled

The snow crab population is starting to plummet in Alaska, resulting

in crabbing season being put on hold for the first time in history.

Hundreds of Alaskan crabbers will be sidelined for at least a year

and a half while agencies investigate what is behind the decline, Fox Weather reports. The crabbing season was supposed to start in a few days.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries is

reported to have found a lack of adult crabs available for harvest.

“We use those numbers in an assessment model that get plugged into

harvest strategy that annually determines the amount of crowd that can

get harvested,” explained Miranda Westphal, a biologist with Alaska’s

Department of Fish and Game.

According to Westphal, one reason for the decline of the snow crab population is possible starvation.

“Their metabolic demands were increased because they were in warmer

water, and many likely starved to death. They were also likely impacted

by predators and disease,” Westphal explained.

Fox News reports that the crabbing industry believes members of the

Alaskan fleet will face bankruptcy and face a total of $1 billion in

overall losses.

Greebnurt Hurkurmurgurt
Greebnurt Hurkurmurgurt
3 years ago
Reply to  tim_nelsen

This is major news. Big implications to the crabbing communities and industry up there. Good you provided some real journalism and current events that matter.

tim_nelsen
tim_nelsen
3 years ago

PR shot of the Positive Wall of Kelp Growing Foundation…

or-

Help Save Our Kelp Kelly

contribute here and/or here.

(photos by Otto’s)

notsurfingtoday
notsurfingtoday
3 years ago

Wonder if old man-goat wasn’t taken out of context and was actually referring to human garbage, floating about.

John Non John
John Non John
3 years ago

NonJohn likes to burn his trash. Smells good too.

FL Skunk Ape
FL Skunk Ape
3 years ago

100% – Cheap labor is EXACTLY where we place value. Capitalism 101

J H
J H
3 years ago
Reply to  FL Skunk Ape

Steve Jobs and now Tim Cooke are Lefties.

Phil Knight used to be a Leftie but now he’s seeing the light and donating to Oregon Republicans.

Bezos…Lefty.

Gates…Eugenical Lefty.

Anyone else I missed?

Sean Connery
Sean Connery
3 years ago
Reply to  J H

DT loves the cheap keep America great swag he gets from the red dragon.

J H
J H
3 years ago
Reply to  Sean Connery

Like what?

The LA company that makes his hats say they are made in the US.

Sean Connery
Sean Connery
3 years ago
Reply to  J H

That is just where they remove tags.

FL Skunk Ape
FL Skunk Ape
3 years ago
Reply to  J H

Not sure what this is supposed to mean. This is about capitalism. We get it, only the right is right in JH world. Can you move on please?

J H
J H
3 years ago
Reply to  FL Skunk Ape

You’re taking an ideological beating this weekend.

Next you’re going to tell me that inflation is transitory, two quarters of negative GDP is not a recession and that higher gas prices ain’t Joe’s fault.

Like I said…STOP digging.

FL Skunk Ape
FL Skunk Ape
3 years ago
Reply to  J H

Ha ha. Okay Skippy. Time for you to move on. You have yet to realize you are one of the crazies…

J H
J H
3 years ago
Reply to  FL Skunk Ape

How many useless boosters have you had?

pilikia
pilikia
3 years ago
Reply to  J H

Bali garbage caused by a dead Leftie Steve Jobs? The problem is not lefties or righties, it’s humans are idiots. I’m sure JH aka Covidiots Rule buys everything at Walmart and closest is full of red made in China hats

Eesha Williams
Eesha Williams
3 years ago
Reply to  pilikia

also too many people on the planet — use birth control

toaster redux
toaster redux
3 years ago
Reply to  Eesha Williams

This

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
3 years ago
Reply to  Eesha Williams

And or covid vaxx

J H
J H
3 years ago
Reply to  pilikia

I’m arguing with myself?

Are you sure?

Derek Hynd's Missing Fins
Derek Hynd's Missing Fins
3 years ago
Reply to  J H

Arguing implies your repackaged right wing propaganda points are worth the effort to engage with. Maybe turn off Fox and paddle out?

J H
J H
3 years ago

The Covid narrative has completely collapsed on its own.

Only retards believe anything else.

Derek Hynd's Missing Fins
Derek Hynd's Missing Fins
3 years ago
Reply to  J H

Consider yourself luck you’ve not had family members get it and die from it, asshole.

J H
J H
3 years ago

Whether or not I’m an asshole is irrelevant.

The fact is that the long term damage of failed Covid policies will be far worse than the pandemic itself.

And yes, that includes loss of life.

Derek Hynd's Missing Fins
Derek Hynd's Missing Fins
3 years ago
Reply to  J H

Nah, it is; and you proved it again.

J H
J H
3 years ago

Almost everything you were told by your government and media deities was wrong.

And the fact that you can’t admit it makes you the bigger asshole.

Manuka
Manuka
3 years ago
Reply to  J H

Left is the new right…or something like that.

J H
J H
3 years ago
Reply to  Manuka

Right! Or is it Left?

Manuka
Manuka
3 years ago
Reply to  J H

Exactly!

janeausten
janeausten
3 years ago
Reply to  J H

Not to be a republicain at twenty is proof of want of heart; to be one at thirty is proof of want of head.*
* (unless you’re filthy filthy rich)

7dollarsurfboard
7dollarsurfboard
3 years ago
Reply to  J H

Tyler Wright is left

Stick man
Stick man
3 years ago

*technically my upvote is really a downvote. Sooo fucked.

dsa127
dsa127
3 years ago

I can assure you the tourists aren’t the one dumping tons of trash into the ocean

Barrelled
Barrelled
3 years ago
Reply to  dsa127

They create the trash Einstein.

J H
J H
3 years ago
Reply to  dsa127

Can absolutely, 100% confirm.

During our first trip to Bali in 2011 we had drinks with the hotel manager (The Bale in Nusa Dua which was amazing) and he explained that the hotels were teaching staff that plastic doesn’t decompose like banana leaves.

When we went back in 2017 it wasn’t much better.

It’s a local cultural issue not a tourism issue.

tim_nelsen
tim_nelsen
3 years ago
Reply to  J H

bali trash people to make us all feel betta ’bout ourselves…

https://i0.wp.com/news.bali…

notsurfingtoday
notsurfingtoday
3 years ago
Reply to  dsa127

Tons of tourists = tons of trash. And that’s a global rule of thumb, not just Bali.

NEGATRON
NEGATRON
3 years ago
Reply to  dsa127

I can assure you the trash would be reduced by 99% if the tourists weren’t there.

Stanislav Franck
Stanislav Franck
3 years ago
Reply to  NEGATRON

That’s utter nonsense mate. Dunno how much you’ve travelled/lived/worked in developing countries but it’s lack of infrastructure and education that are the biggest reasons for trash accumulation.

I lived in Samoa for 6 months in ‘99. They dumped trash everywhere. Then lived in Thailand for 18 months in 00/01, and travelled through SE Asia for 2 solid years. Some of the most backwater places that had barely ever seen a tourist were absolutely filthy. Like holy fuck filthy. Why? Coz no infrastructure, trash collection, roads, trucks, sewage systems etc.

Don’t even start on India.

Tourists have got sweet fuck all to do with the trash problems in comparison with low level infrastructure and education in poorer countries.

NEGATRON
NEGATRON
3 years ago

We’re talking about Bali in this instance. One of the biggest attractions for Tourists is that it’s dirt cheap.
Infrastructure and education costs money and in a corrupt political culture it’s far from being a priority.
Most Tourists will moan about the trash but at the same time are haggling over 5 cents for a wooden cock bottle opener.
The West and capitalism has a lot to answer for.

Derek Hynd's Missing Fins
Derek Hynd's Missing Fins
3 years ago
Reply to  NEGATRON

Not dirt cheap anymore. Was actually surprised at some of the prices.

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
3 years ago
Reply to  NEGATRON

Takes knee.
Solved!!

tim_nelsen
tim_nelsen
3 years ago

ye. mike thompson…
satryionic…
“how did you wash down the coke/”
asks Chuckie/

Stanislav Franck
Stanislav Franck
3 years ago
Reply to  NEGATRON

Exactly. Infrastructure and education costs money. Poor countries don’t have money. Thus, they’re polluted. You just said it yourself…

On another note, countries like Indo/Cambodia/Thailand etc makes mega-millions/billions from tourist dollars every year (pre-pandemic). What the fuck are they doing with all that tourist dosh? They sure as shit ain’t spending it on infrastructure and education, are they?

It ain’t the tourists throwing plastic bottles and trash in the rivers and waters…if they have the hotels, the bars, the booze, and the day spas, and they’re happy to campaign for tourists to come and spend their hard-earned, then do something about waste fucking management

german_surfer_007
german_surfer_007
3 years ago

This is spot on.

Single use plastic (bottles, bags) clearly a major problem which is not being addressed. How is a small plastic coke bottle still legal? Why not cans only? Clearly the $ from cola is more important than clean planet..

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
3 years ago

Demand demands it.
So suppliers supply it.
Millions and millions of barrells of oil consumed every day. By climate crybabies.

tim_nelsen
tim_nelsen
3 years ago
Reply to  NEGATRON

need squid?

Derek Hynd's Missing Fins
Derek Hynd's Missing Fins
3 years ago

DR, I’m 50 pages into Ghosh’s The Nutmeg’s Curse…may be worth your time.

Jimmy the Saint
Jimmy the Saint
3 years ago

He’s re-reading Lady Chatterley’s Lover!

pilikia
pilikia
3 years ago

Penthouse Letters had a story exactly like this one in Bali

ValiantScorn
ValiantScorn
3 years ago

Nice bits!

ValiantScorn
ValiantScorn
3 years ago

Chiba prefecture gets a nice Pacific cleaning, but still has pollution.

Capt Sensible
Capt Sensible
3 years ago

Well stop fucken going there Slater it’s pretty fucken simple.


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