Saturday, December 1, 2012

Day 361 - Nov. 29, 2012


lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA
trash collected for 20 min. 
3 pounds
1,318.1 pounds total 

6 cigarette butts


(this photo was taken before the rain came - compare it to the one below from the next day)

Sometimes the plastics on the sand blend right into the landscape. You have to look carefully to spot all the fragments mixed in with the natural debris. 
This detail shot is what most of the beach looked like on Nov. 29th. 

I've offered a tip to help the ocean for every one of my last ten beach cleanups. Since this beach cleanup  it has rained enough to flush the storm drains into Santa Monica Bay. This post's tip is inspired by my friend Sarah's picture taken on Friday Nov. 30, 2012 at lifeguard tower 20 next to the Pico/Kenter storm drain. 

TIP #4 to help the ocean - FEEL OVERWHELMED WITH THE POLLUTION IN THE OCEAN?


(photo credit to Sarah Sikich of Heal the Bay)


LET IT FUEL YOU INTO ACTION!

Trash strewn across my local beach disturbs me, but it can change. It changes when we come together and decide to reach for solutions. One simple solution is for me not to buy food products in styrofoam packaging. I've quit drinking plastic bottled water too. 

Sound too simple to be the one-two punch solution a picture like this demands? 

In a coastal city of 15 million people, if for one day we all decided to buy one less beverage bottled in plastic that's 15 million less plastic containers likely to end up on the sand. 
We're never alone. We all have dozens of daily choices that impact the world around us. 
We all matter. We can make a difference, in fact we are the only ones who can.