The problem with most pristine natural habitats is people.

They show up, toss a few beer cans and hamburger wrappers and then leave.

Cancun, with its turquoise waters and white crystalline sand, had the same water. When you have a beautiful resource, man’s first instinct is to build a hotel and then start running sewage pipes a few miles out into some sort of current — hey, it’ll carry that stuff away and everyone knows, the solution to pollution is dilution.

But after a few years something happens. The water takes on a brownish hue, the beautiful sand looks more like a used ashtray than a place you want to spread out a blanket and soak up some sun.

However, this time, people have become part of the solution instead of just problem. The Mexican government has recently completed a $71 million beach restoration of its beaches. In fact, the project, which brought in more than 1.3 billion gallons of sand helped rebuild 6.5 miles of beach along Cancun’s Hotel Zone, creating a 131 foot wide beach along most of the Caribbean.

Even Mexican President Felipe Calderon showed up, took off his shoes and provided presidential approval of sand running through his toes.

Tags: beaches, Cancun, hipster, Mexico, travel