Barack Obama landed on the remote Pacific island of midway less than a week after the President of the United States created the world's largest protected marine reserve in the vicinity of the tiny Atoll. Obama seeks to leave an environmental legacy before he leaves his post.

Obama tried to portray himself as the chief eco-warrior for the last 8 years. He pushed the world to act on climate change - which he calls the largest threat to future generations - and he uses his powers as President to include areas of risk, such as the water around midway, in national monuments.

Midway is a tiny ring of coral reefs in the middle of the North Pacific ocean, over 1,300 miles and three hours by plane from Honolulu, where Obama was born. It is part of the Hawaiian archipelago, but it is the only island which is not technically part of Hawaii.

If the name "midway" sounds familiar, it's because on this island the United States won his most famous naval victory, defeating Japan in the battle of midway in 1942. But today, the midway is on the front lines of another conflict - the struggle to save the world's oceans.

Only 50 people live on midway, and this means that the population of the island increased three times, when Obama and his 100 man entourage of staff and journalists.

Plastic bags, coffee cups and toothbrushes that we use every day doesn't magically disappear when we throw away. Some plastic could be recycled, but much of this is 8 million tons per year - is in the oceans.
sections: Society, World News