Wednesday, June 30, 2010

THE DAILY OCEAN ON SUMMER VACATION

THANK YOU FOR VISITING THE DAILY OCEAN.

I WILL BE ON VACATION FROM TODAY THE 30TH OF JUNE TO JULY 15TH.
PLEASE CHECK BACK AFTER THE 15TH FOR NEW POSTS ABOUT UPCOMING SUMMER BEACH CLEANUPS.

I HAVE A "RULE" FOR THE DAILY OCEAN THAT MY GOAL IS 365 NON-CONSECUTIVE DAYS FOR A FEW REASONS AND ONE IS THAT EVERYONE NEEDS A VACATION SOMETIMES! :D

ENJOY YOUR SUMMER AND BE BACK SOON!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Oceans 4ever Lake- to-Ocean Cleanup

Community Count Collection: Day 36
1.6 pounds
307.5 pounds total

The dynamic duo team of Alexa (daughter) and Cindy (mother) behind the tremendous
"Oceans 4ever" blog set up a joint cleanup with me.

Here's what we did. Last Sunday we went to our prospective bodies of water - me, Santa Monica beach, and them - their local lake in Indiana.

We then spent 20 minutes at sunset collecting trash off the shoreline. Here is what they have to say about their experience:

They found: 1.6 pounds in 20 minutes and only made it roughly 50 feet!

-one McD's coffee cup
-one Styrofoam cup
-countless cigarette butts
-two aluminum cans
-"TONS" of chip bags, small wrappers like Starburst and My Little Pony toy plastic wrappers, maybe from a Happy Meal?
-one paper McD's bag
-two shredded single use plastic bags
All of the items we found were very small in size, so we thought we'd have a paltry amount after 20.

We traveled a *very* short distance for the concentration of the clean-up! We dug things out of the shorleline, out of grasses, and bent down often as the shore drops off, so that might have taken a bit more time.

But it needs to be done and we want to do it much more often! We will be doing it every week. We met a man who camps in the adjacent campgrounds who says he does it often, too.

We've decided to do a monthly co-cleanup to highlight the fact that we are trashing more than just our coasts and oceans with single use plastics and disposable packaging. Thank you for the effort and support!! I look forward to more of these posts in the future!

They made a video of their experience too. Check it out below.


Monday, June 28, 2010

Day 129 - June 27, 2010

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA
trash collected for 20 minutes
3.8 pounds
510 pounds total

TODAY I PARTNERED WITH OCEANS 4EVER - THE (MOM) CINDY & (DAUGHTER) ALEXA TEAM - WHO WENT OUT TO THEIR LOCAL LAKE IN INDIANA FOR A 20 MINUTE CLEANUP. THEIR FINDINGS TO FOLLOW.

THEY WERE ALSO A PART OF THE OCEAN HERO AWARDS FROM OCEANA.

This is recyclable. If you define recycling as a closed loop, meaning that the material that you start with is recycled into the material that you end up with.
An aluminium can can become a can again.
A glass bottle can become a recycled glass bottle.
Paper can become recycled paper.

BUT THERE IS A MYTH ABOUT PLASTIC RECYCLING. PLASTIC GETS DOWN-CYCLED -
meaning that the plastic bottle or bag you start with at the beginning of the recycling loop takes chemicals and a lot of energy to make the plastic pliable enough to mold into a new plastic item.
This usually means an inferior plastic product, like single use plastic siding for houses which when it reaches the end of its life, is simply thrown away. But there is no away....
Annie Leonard who did, "The Story of Stuff," has now done the "Story of Bottled Water."
I think that I have mentioned this before. In this short documentary she goes to India to visit the mountain of plastic bottles that are just sitting there in landfills that have been shipped from the USA. Astounding and disturbing, please watch.
What does a water bottle have to do with the BP Oil Disaster? (I read in a comment on Beth Terry's site Fake Plastic Fish yesterday that a reader of hers refuses to call it a "spill". She's right, it is not a spill it is a "geyser" an environmental disaster of proportions never before seen on earth. Period. That was a horrible sentence to write.)

Anyway - plastic bottles are made from petroleum based plastics. Drink soda or water out of plastic bottles? Increase our dependence on oil. Allow more companies like BP to say they are just fulfilling the demand of the consumer......Sounds harsh? It isn't. The Cove director said (paraphrasing here) "Want to do something to help the Gulf? Don't ever drink out of a plastic water bottle again!"


Please read Beth Terry's informative post on WHY YOU CAN'T CLEAN UP THE PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH. This is something I'll cover more about in future posts. She does it so well on her blog that I urge you to go there and inform yourself.
THANK YOU BETH!!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Day 128 - June 24

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA
trash collected for 20 minutes by 2 people
4 pounds - Sara
506.2 total

4.6 pounds - Garen
305.9 total
This was a child's life preserver that Garen found.

I want to make a shout out to the Shark Finatics at the Green Chimney School who were a part of the recent Ocean Hero contest from Oceana and whose teacher Robin Culler, I had the privilege to meet while she was in LA to accept her Ocean Hero Award on behalf of her and her students. They have adopted over 12 sharks, and pledge to educate people all over the world to protect what is becoming an increasingly risky future for the poor old shark.

Don't know what shark fining is?
Watch this.



But a warning that it is a gruesome practice of cutting off the sharks fins while still alive, and then chucking them overboard so that they drop to the bottom and drown. Hard to believe a practice like this exists, but it does...mostly to add the fins, which are high in mercury, to soup. Oh yeah, and the fins are tasteless......

Ahhhhh Nestle...maker of many things plastic. Mainly water bottles and other plastic packaging that ends up in...our oceans.
A snorkeling mask that I am sure is missed.
Want to show solidarity against offshore oil drilling?

Check out their website, find a Hands Across the Sand meeting place near you and join up against oil drilling. Wouldn't it be amazing if we make the goal of a continuous chain along the entire US coastline?? Could happen, come along.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

June 20, 2010 International Surfing Day


INTERNATIONAL SURFING DAY, JUNE 20, 2010 W/ SURFRIDER

COMMUNITY COLLECTION DAY 34
life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA
trash collected for 20 minutes by approx. 40 people
71.7 pounds
301.3 pounds total

Want to learn more about the Community Collection, and how you can participate? Go here.
It was appropriate that Surfrider picked tower 26 in Santa Monica to hold their International Surf Day festivities. I count 12 surfers in just this photograph, but they stretched far on either side as well.
TEAM MARINE of Santa Monica High showed up in force. Kou, all the way to the left in this picture, not only won a prize for collecting the most trash, but also for the most unusual piece of trash collected. A picture of the prize worthy object is included further down in this post.

BEN KAY - Marine Biologist, teacher and T.M. coach is holding up one of thousands of sand toys that will be stranded at the beach this summer. For more about this award winning eco-action group, go here!!
Kou's prize winning piece of trash - a black wax candle in the shape of a naked woman......yikes.
Some other contenders were:
a tent stake
guitar pick
barrette
roller skate wheel
blue plastic soccer marker

Here is the winner for largest piece of trash - folded foam insulation....
How did it get to the beach?
Most of the many wonderful Surfrider volunteers with a representative from Channel Islands Surfboards. Next to me, (I'm on the end at the right) was Mike Takahashi who organized the whole damn thing, good job Mike!
Aqua Surf School contacted Surfrider when they heard we were throwing this event and offered free boards, lessons and wet suits to the volunteers. How cool is that!?!
Here is their tent - find them online here.
A Koa Surfboard from Arbor. Arbor is all about sustainable and environmentally sound materials to make kick ass surfboards, snowboards and skateboards. They have a great shop in Venice. Check them out.
I wish I had gotten a better picture of the setup behind Arbor. They are a street ware company called ENDEMIC that started up last November and is partnering with Surfrider on a number of events this summer. Check them out!

All in all it was a great day to be out there on the beach. It doesn't matter how many pounds, or ounces, you collected off the beach. Added all together we got over 70 pounds off the sand, which is tremendous. We do what we can in the day that we're in. Thanks for being a part of I.S.D. this year.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Day 127, June 16 2010

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA
trash collected for 20 minutes
5.5 pounds
502.2 pounds total
When I walked onto the beach I saw the remnants of what must have been many Subway lunch boxes strewn across the sand. This was disturbing for many reasons.
1. There was so much trash!
2. The gulls were getting it out of our trash cans because they have no lids!
3. Why couldn't the people who had enjoyed their lunch deposited it in a can that wasn't full by walking oh say......50 feet or so up or down the beach?
Why we need to have lids on trash cans at the beach. Can't change a tiger's stripes. Gulls are scavengers.....
This cup got me thinking again about corporate responsibility in regards to their products end of life, or what lawmakers call - Extended Producer Responsibility.
Basically, the cost of disposing, or reclaiming their product sustainably is incorporated into the cost of making the product.
What a good idea!
Germany is ahead of the curve by years in implementing this practice.
Where is the USA?
BEHIND.
The people are back, and so is the trash. I enjoy seeing families have a day out at the beach. You can see the palpable difference in their faces and demeanor as the sun, waves and sand wash away their stressful life that waits for them maybe even as soon as they get to their cars. But my feelings are mixed about summertime and more people because plainly, there is a lot of trash left behind from their day in the sun.

What if everyone took a bag to the beach and picked up trash that wasn't their own when they left. OR just picked up their own?

Join me this Sunday with Surfrider WLAM Chapter for International Surfing Day's Big Beach Cleanup, there will be prizes and music and lots of fun stuff. COME ALONG

Also - check out Heal the Bay's weekend long event - SAVE OUR SURF

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

KISS MY COUNTRY helps the GULF




KissMyCountry Shows Their Love for the Gulf Restoration Network
State T-Shirts of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas support Gulf Region Watchdog

KissMyCountry is proud to announce their support of the Gulf Restoration Network with the sale of t-shirts that show the wearer’s love for Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. KissMyCountry will donate 10% of proceeds from the sale of each t-shirt via their web site and an equal donation from sales to wholesale customers.

Thanks for your concern about the Gulf of Mexico and the impact of BP’s oil drilling disaster. The Gulf Restoration Network (GRN) would greatly appreciate being a recipient of your fundraising efforts.” says Briana Kerstein, Special Projects Coordinator, Gulf Restoration Network.

The Gulf Restoration Network (GRN) is a 15-year old environmental non-profit and the only environmental organization working Gulf-wide in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Florida. The GRN is committed to uniting and empowering people to protect and restore the natural resources of the Gulf Region for future generations. Campaigns focus on fishing, healthy waters, species at risk and sustainable practices to save the Gulf and wetlands. Check out their web site for information, videos, volunteer opportunities and how to donate and
KissMyCountry’s blog post on the organization.

T-shirts come in organic cotton or v-neck, are printed on-demand, and are a great way to show your love for a place you love in the Gulf Region. Each state is created in KissMyCountry’s ‘Kiss’ design. KissMyCountry‘s goal is to connect with environmental profits in all 50 states and donate a portion of each t-shirt sold to a state-based group.

In addition to the Gulf Restoration Network, KissMyCountry is showing their support to the Loggerhead Marine Life Center in Florida, EarthShare New Jersey, and The Norbeck Society in South Dakota – the first 7 states toward their 50-state goal. Check out our web site for our group of states and countries. KissMyCountry is about saving the planet and enjoying the planet and saving the places we love. Thank you for showing your love in a KissMyCountry t-shirt and helping to save our planet!

info@kissmycountry.com

www.kissmycountry.com

Here is another savy post about the BP Oil Spill from K.M.C.

Jen Schumacher - Swimmer supporting RISE ABOVE PLASTICS




The Surfrider Chapter of South Orange County has gotten distance swimming star, Jen Schumacher to join Surfrider's RISE ABOVE PLASTICS campaign. After swimming though trash for many years - most of it plastic - Schumacher reached out to Surfrider to ask for assistance in raising awareness against the plastic trash plaguing our oceans. The S.O.C. chapter responded and last Sat. she swam around the Island of Manhattan to draw attention to our joint cause.


Jen Schumacher, a 24 year-old Cal State Fullerton graduate student competed as a solo swimmer in the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, a current-assisted 28.5-mile race in New York with the goal to raise money and awareness for the “Rise Above Plastics” campaign of the Surfrider Foundation.

Last Saturday, June 12th, she started at approximately 7:25 a.m with an expected completion time between 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. depending on conditions. A minimum of 8.5 hours in the water! She finished 4th!

She started and finished at South Cove, in Battery Park on the Hudson River. Swimmers navigated around the Battery then headed north up the East River, and swam counter-clockwise around Manhattan Island. They then swam north into the Harlem River, through Spuyten Duyvil, and then south down the Hudson River to the Battery.


Schumacher is a long time NOVA swimmer, and former coach who is currently working on her Masters degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis on Sport Psychology at California State University Fullerton. Schumacher swims and trains off the beaches of Orange County, California (see http://jenschumacher.com for details and GPS map). On August 14th, 2009, Schumacher became the 165th person to swim across the Catalina Channel, a 21-mile stretch between Doctor’s Cove on Catalina Island and Palos Verdes Peninsula, in a time of 9:02:48. Because she is passionate about protecting beaches and oceans, Schumacher will give a portion of each donation to the South OC Surfrider Foundation http://www.surfrider.org/southorangecounty/ to support the “Rise Above Plastics” campaign.

R.A.P. - The program seeks to reduce the amount of plastics making their way into our beach and marine environments though education and outreach efforts.

In California our RAP campaign is focused on passing monumental legislation, AB 1998, which bans single use plastic bags from grocery, convenience, pharmacies and liquor stores in 2012. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will sign the bill into law if passed by the Senate this summer, setting the tone nationwide to rid this costly blight from our oceans and waterways.

Visit the program’s website, www.riseaboveplastics.org, to learn about how plastics impact our marine and coastal environments, as well as find information on how to take steps to reduce plastic “footprint.”

The Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS) is a counter-clockwise circumnavigation of the island of Manhattan, a 28.5-mile current-assisted race put on by NYC Swim. This international event attracts a large applicant pool, yet only 25 solo swimmers are accepted to race in this prestigious competition along with several 2, 4 and 6-person relay teams.

MIMS is a fundraiser specifically to help underprivileged children in the New York area get into swimming and to raise awareness about the need to clean up the waters of New York, and for the charity of each participant's choice.

MIMS is challenging in many unique ways. The majority of the swim is with the favor of the tide, however at several key points swimmers will be against the current at and must race to beat the tide. Swimmers face murky and at times smelly water and may run into random flotsam and jetsam. Because of this, swimmers are encouraged to have current tetanus and hepatitis vaccinations.

My uncle James Bayles also participated in the race. He is in his 50's and has a daughter who has suffered from Epilepsy for her entire life. He raised money for the Epilepsy Foundation of Conn. An email update from my uncle after the race said that is heart rate after he got out of the water was 100 bpm. He knows that he has had a "good race" - he has also done the Catalina swim - if when he gets out of the water, he is not out of breath. After an 8 to 9 hour swim, how many people in the world can say that? Probably most of the elite 25 who had the privilege to race last Sat.

Thank you to my uncle and to Jen Schumacher for standing up for what they believe in by competing in an extraordinary, and difficult sport.



Thursday, June 10, 2010

WORLD OCEAN'S DAY - JUNE 8, 2010

WORLD OCEANS DAY - JUNE 8TH, 2010

DAY 33 - SANTA MONICA, CA
11.2 POUNDS COLLECTED BY 11 PEOPLE IN 20 MIN.
COMMUNITY COLLECTION COUNT TOTAL 229.6


In honor of World Oceans Day, Ocean Hero winners from Green Chimneys Deborah and Robin, Julianna Stein from Oceana, Jon Frank from Oceana, Garen Baghdasarian, Dean Miya, Mark Armen from Gulpable, and myself met at the Santa Monica Pier to do a Daily Ocean style beach cleanup.
We collected from the pier to Shutters Hotel, which is about a 20 min. walk down the beach.
We all decided that today was the day of the cigarette. Our group picked up dozens.
Of course, we couldn't have a cleanup without a candy wrapper. Three most common types of trash that are found on the beach:
1. cigarette butts
2. candy wrappers
3. fast food wrappers

I would amend this list to put anything made from plastic right at the top.....


Shutters hotel that looks out on the beach, but sits right on top of the Pico-Kenter storm drain, which in the rainy season is a sludgy, polluted nightmare running straight into the pacific but today was neatly buried in sand...
Above is Deborah Bernstein of Green Chimneys who won the Junior Ocean Hero Award for their Shark Fanatics program. Deborah and Green Chimney teacher Robin were so much fun to meet and the award was well deserved. Read more about their program here.
Dean, Deborah and Robin at the Oceana World Oceans Day party sponsored by QG and Nautica at the Sunset Tower Hotel in Hollywood. Robin was beaming, as she should have been. Congratulations!!!!
The CEO of Oceana awarding the Ocean Hero Award to Robin

Unfortunately I didn't get a great picture of the representative from the IBRRC (International Bird Research and Rescue Center) that came up from Long Beach to accept on behalf of Jay Halcomb who is in the Gulf right now rescuing birds from the oil spill. It was a somber day of celebration as we all reflected on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill disaster now decimating the Gulf of Mexico.

Thank you IBRRC and Jay for all of your hard work. And a well deserved Ocean Hero Award. For more about what they do, read more here.


Please wtch Julliana Stein's message about World Oceans Day below
then go to: STOP THE DRILL to sign Oceana's petition



Community Count - Groovy News Network - Day 126

Day 32 - 5 pounds for a total of 218.4



Cayo Costa Island in SW Florida ~ Cayo Costa island became a park in 1976 when it was acquisitioned by the state of Florida. The park is 2,416 acres of undisturbed beauty boasting nine miles of beautiful beaches as well as pine forests, oak-palm hammocks, and mangrove swamps.

The only way to get to it is by boat & the part we go to is at the other end, away from the state park entrance, etc.. It is a beautiful pristine place w/ wild pigs & a wide variety of other wildlife ~ in & out of the sea. We were happy to find a sea turtle nest near where we were & a manatee swam past our boat. The shelling & snorkeling is amazing & the island needs to be nurtured & protected. Every time we go, we always do a beach clean up.
I am so happy to report that we found very little trash. A portion of the trash consisted of cigarette butts, which was an excellent example of how long they take to degrade & stay in the environment. Previously plastic was more common, but there haven't been many storms, which is probably the reason for the lack of plastics.
Not 5 min. into our beach clean up a sacrifice for the cause was given. Though I had flip flops on, a tree stump, dried nicely by the sun & sand, w/ razor sharp wood was in my path as I was walking.... I unfortunately was not looking where I was going :o) & it gored the side of my foot (pic. included). We doctored it & continued collecting what trash we could find for 20 min.. The accumulated trash weighed approximately 5 lbs. w/ the diaper :oP, full can of tobacco, bottles, etc..


We collect trash every where we go! But, I highly recommend, when cleaning up wild & wooded beach areas, wearing closed toe water shoes, & have gloves & a first aid kit on hand!

SORRY FOR YOUR FOOT SACRAFICE, BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE COMMUNITY COUNT!!

go to THE GROOVY NEWS NETWORK "YOUR SOURCE FOR NEWS, STORIES, RESOURCES OF INSPIRATION & HOPE"

MY GOAL - TO HAVE PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD SEND ME PICTURES OF WHAT THEY COLLECT FROM A BEACH IN 20 MIN. HOW MUCH IT WEIGHED AND THEIR THOUGHTS....HOW ABOUT YOU?