Day 268 - March 15 - 2012

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

3 pounds

982.2 pounds total 

Sara - 

cigarette butt count #4 - 17 in 20 min. 

total - 57 cigarette butts collected in 4 beach cleanups

Danielle - 

cigarette butt count #2 - 113 in 20 min. 

total - 571 cigarette butts collected in 2 beach cleanups

A pro-surfer from Wrightsville, N.C. who lives in Oceanside, CA

cigarette butt count #1 - 42 in 20 min. 

he'll do another cleanup from Mexico next! 

Aluminum cans have a lining. This lining contains a toxic chemical, BPA or Bisphenol A.

BPA has been present in hard plastics, beverage cans and other food packaging since the 1960's. 

The FDA says it has, "...concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, 

and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children." 

Next time you're grabbing a beverage at the STOP-N'-GO 

maybe you want to reach for a glass container?

When I see the Coke Polar Bear Campaign advertising, my internal voice screams, "Green-washing!" To be fair, I haven't actually looked it up, and so here I go...back in a moment...(insert Jeopardy music here) 


OK, I'm back. I couldn't find the SAVE THE POLAR BEAR campaign on their website. Frankly, I found it difficult to look for long. As soon as I clicked, "sustainability" I was berated with how wonderful they are at reducing their plastic use, how they have this new bottle that's part plant based (and therefor can't be mixed into recycling batches with the rest of the plastic bottles not containing plant-based petroleum), and so on. 


I gave up my open-minded search, returning to my original notion now confirmed. 

Day 267 - March 13, 2012

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min. 

2 pounds 

979.2 pounds total 

For my last 100 20 min. cleanups, I'm counting the number of cigarette butts I find to help my friend Danielle who writes, It Starts With Me collect comparative data from a beach that bans smoking, Santa Monica, and the local beaches that allow smoking in her Wrightsville Beach, N.C. community. 

cleanup #3 - 17 cigarette butts

total number - 40

Danielle collected over 400 in one 20 min. cleanup the other day. The numbers speak for themselves. 

Los Angeles Bag Ban update - 

From Environement CA - "Next week, a committee is convening to decide whether to move forward on the proposed bag ban that would cover all of L.A. This would be huge. If they make the right decision next week, we could see a bag ban pass through the City Council before the end of the month.

As you can imagine, with the stakes this high, the American Chemistry Council and out-of-state oil and chemical 

companies like Exxon and Dupont are spending big bucks to try to block what could be a historic win for our ocean.

The opposition is ruthless, and well-funded. But we’re right — and thanks to you, we’re hundreds of thousands of people strong.
 


With your help, we can win the biggest victory yet for our ocean." 

It's been a year since the devastating tsunami in Japan. 

This short, thoughtful post from BEACHEDART  in Germany made me take another moment to think of all the people and animals that have been affected by the tragedy. 

The image of Anke's art that she pairs with her words touched me. 

There's a new documentry coming out called, "PLASTIC OCEANS." Here's the trailer on Vimeo. I don't agree with a few of their points of view. Let me know what you think. 

Day 266 - March 11, 2012

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min. 

3 pounds

977.2 pounds total 

13 cigarette butts 

23 cigarette butts in 2 cleanups

I mentioned in Day 265 that my friend Danielle who writes, It Starts With Me, and I are teaming up. She has already added a hefty 240 pounds of liter by weight to the Daily Ocean's Community Count. Her focus amongst all the liter she collects from her Wrightsville Beach Community in N.C. is cigarette butts. The local government shot down an ordinance to ban smoking from the beaches last Thurs. even though Danielle has collected over 40,000 butts from their sand! 

SO we're doing a little compare and contrast test. For my last 100 Daily Ocean cleanups, I will keep a tally of how many cigarette butts I find from a beach where smoking is banned. 

Cleanup number two and already the evidence is overwhelming. 

13 cigarette butts in 20 min. 

23 butts in 2 cleanups.

Danielle's gone out once since we made this pact and she collected over 400! 

Her average is 17 a minute! 

The numbers speak for themselves.

ONE WORLD ONE OCEAN - "INSPIRING PEOPLE TO PROTECT THE OCEAN" 

This organization suggests three concrete ways to help the ocean right on their website, 

1. EAT SEAFOOD SUSTAINABLY

2. REDUCE PLASTIC POLLUTION

3. INCREASE OCEAN PROTECTED AREAS (MARINE PROTECTED AREAS)

I can do all of their suggestions, even number three. Heal the Bay, a local non-profit, works tirelessly to enact, and support California's Marine Protected Areas. I support Heal the Bay, I support these sanctuaries that allow the marine life to rebound. If I do all three with real persistence, I feel better about the state of affairs in our marine world. Join me?

Art Wolfe - wildlife photographer

G2 Gallery in Venice had a show including his work. 

I grabbed a postcard and looked him up online. 

If you like photography, the outdoors, animals, 

and the natural world please check this man out. His work is astounding.