Day 153 - Sept. 13, 2010

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

1.2 pounds

623.8 total

The world's heaviest Sumo wrestler, Yokozuna, was 620 pounds. He passed away in 2000.
Who's read, or seen, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? This is NOT the golden ticket. It is a Werther's Original candy wrapper. For the last two days I have seen these strewn across the beach, and even in my local park where I walk my dogs. This park is only 25 blocks from the beach. I find this curious, and well -- frustrating.

Right after I spotted the golden candy wrapper, I saw a sea gull pecking at the empty cigarette pack above. I chased him away, which is the only time I chase sea gulls, and grabbed the pack.
I have taken this shot about half a dozen times this summer. But I thought I would take it again to drive home the point that an empty single use plastic water bottle is such a common occurrence that someone who only spends twenty minutes on the beach will find one nearly every time.
This sign seems to really absolve the city of their responsibility to keep our water clean and free from polluted run-off. Which reminds me, a host of organizations like Surfrider and Heal the Bay will be holding a press conference at Surfrider beach on Thurs. to show support to finally ban septic tanks in the area that have been draining POO into the BU for decades. If you can't make it out in person on Thurs., you can sign Surfrider's petition online here. Heal the Bay also has a petition to ban septics. Sign both!
I may have only collected 1.2 pounds of trash. But this weight included two plastic bags poised to enter the ocean. Each bag weighs approximately 1 ounce. However it does a world of damage once in the water.
Above is bag number 2, which I found right after bag number 1. Within 100 feet of each other.
I love sea gulls. In my opinion, they are an under appreciated bird. I've taken lots of photographs of them during my collections for The Daily Ocean.

I will be showing many of those images at the 3rd annual fundraiser for our local green organization, Sustainable Works which is being held at the Writer's Boot Camp in Bergamont Station here in Santa Monica.

Lots of yummy food from Urth Cafe, a comedian host for the evening, and a slew of silent auction items you won't want to miss. Oh, and did I mention a bar? Here's the scoop on tickets.

Day 152 - Sept. 12, 2010

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

3.1 pounds

622.6 pounds total
I got the chance to hang out at the Oceana table yesterday up in Malibu for the Nautica triathlon. They had a handout on offshore oil drilling. I realize this has nothing to do with Toy Story 3, but I want to highlight a few of their myths vs facts that they so eloquently listed.
Myth: Expanding offshore oil drilling will drastically cut foreign oil imports.

Fact: By completely developing our oceans for oil extraction, the Department of Energy estimates that oil imports would be reduced by a mere 2.5% in 2030 at which point we will have begun exhausting out offshore potential.

Myth: Expanding offshore drilling will significantly lower gas prices.

Fact: The Department of Energy estimates that opening all of our oceans to oil drilling would have no effect on gas prices by 2020 (10 YEARS AWAY!)...

Myth: Offshore oil drilling is environmentally safe.

Fact: The Deepwater Drilling Disaster is an extreme example of a relatively common occurrence. There have been at least eight other spills of 50,000 gallons or more since 2005. In addition, offshore drilling rigs can dump tons of oily drilling fluid, toxic metal cuttings and carcinogens into the ocean simply from normal operations.

OK - that is worth repeating: offshore drilling rigs can dump tons of oily drilling fluid, toxic metal cuttings and carcinogens into the ocean simply from normal operations.

Myth: Renewable energy sources cannot replace oil and gas.

Fact: Renewable energy resources are already replacing oil and gas. Currently, renewable resources generate more than 10% of the United States' electricity and provide the equivalent of more than 5 billion gallons of gasoline for transportation annually.

Want to meet a guy doing all he can to change the way we see using oil to power our cars?

Meet Paul Scott.

He lives here in Santa Monica, has a wicked sense of humor, and you may have seen him in "Who Killed the Electric Car." GO TO: PLUG IN AMERICA to learn more.

Day 151 - Sept. 10, 2010

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

2.1 pounds

619.5 pounds total

Camden Howitt came to California recently from his home country of New Zealand. I got to meet him when he came out to the Community Count day with my friend Emily who had worked with Camden in the past at Sustainable Coastlines, an NGO in New Zealand dedicated to cleaning up the beautiful NZ coasts. Hey Camden, are you hiring? :D

Here's what he had to say to a few questions about ocean conservation and how he got involved.

What got you started doing beach cleanups?

As an organisation we started off in the Galapagos Islands: a unique marine ecosystem that despite its isolation and relatively small population, suffers from the human impacts just like many other locations around the world. After finding trash washed-up on these isolated shores from places thousands of kilometres away, the scale and extent of marine pollution became evident, and we decided to roll-up our sleeves and start doing something positive about it.

What are you up to now?

We are currently preparing for a series of large-scale coastal clean-up events around New Zealand, to be held in early December. In preparation for this we are traveling around the country, talking to schools and raising awareness about how to take care of our coastlines. We are also in the process of raising funds to help us run these events and to help support our ongoing work -- and have a charity ball coming up at the Hilton Auckland on Saturday 18 September.

Do you see a lot of plastics and single use convienence items littering the coasts in New Zealand?

Of course. Single-use 'disposable' plastics are the items we most commonly find on our coastlines -- even in New Zealand. Plastic bottles, cigarette lighters, food wrappers, toys and jandals are just some of the examples of what is floating around in our seas and ending up on our beaches. But, we're hoping, once this trash gets there, more and more tidy kiwis will start picking it up.

I am pretty sick of these adds by the American Chemistry Council. I should have taken a photo of the little girl in the bike helmet gulping water from a single use plastic water bottle that is on the front saying that plastics are too valuable to waste - so recycle! But all I have to do to get the shot is go straight down to my beach. The ACC has lined the coast in LA with this add campaign. I saw this crushed water bottle as soon as I walked into the Nautica Triathalon area in Malibu today. Disclaimer - I moved the crushed plastic bottle 14 inches so that it would be infront of the ACC symbol. What are a few things you would like to tell people to help clean up our oceans?

Buy less single-use items, dispose of all litter thoughtfully, reuse items wherever possible, and recycle what's left. And, if you see litter in the street or on the beach, pick it up! That way you leave a place even better than when you arrived.

How has your point of view of the problem of trash in our oceans changed since you started?

The more we look into the problem of trash in our oceans, the more we realise how critical it is to create solutions. But also, more positively, we now see a lot more people getting involved in cleaning-up our coastlines. Once people realise that taking care of our beaches and coasts actually a lot of fun, they tend to start thinking about it differently. We protect what we love, and in New Zealand it's hard to find anyone who doesn't love our beaches!

THANKS CAMDEN! FOLLOW SUSTAINABLE COASTLINES ONLINE HERE

Day 150 - Sept. 9, 2010

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

2.3 pounds

617.4 pounds total
This weekend is Nautica's Triathlon and Oceana will be there. I"ll be there 12 - 4 up in Malibu to help gather signatures for Oceana's petition to stop Offshore Oil Drilling. You can visit their website to sign the petition if you are otherwise occupied, or do not live in the area.
Next Thurs. night I will have the great opportunity to show photographs from The Daily Ocean at the 3rd Annual Sustainable Works fundraiser. Prices are very reasonable, especially if you buy before the day, and it goes to a great local organization making direct, practical impact to businesses and individuals.

I'm also saving all the trash I collect off the beach for a week to pile onto a table so people can see just how much one person can collect off their local beach by spending 20 minutes a day. The baby doll above was a real find for the pile. One word - creepy.

The 21st Coastal Cleanup Day is coming! Angelenos Mobilize!

Sept. 25th

Heal the Bay needs volunteers for Sept. 25th. Coastal Cleanup Day which happens all over the country, and locally in 60 Southland sites.

You can help remove trash off the beach or along the many waterways that feed into the ocean.

Tens of thousands of Southland residents will participate between 9 a.m. to noon at more than 60 sites, from Compton to Malibu.

Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers have collected more than 1 million pounds of trash in Los Angeles County since the 1990's = the weight of a fully loaded Boeing 747 jumbo jet

(should those things be in the air?!?)

But wait there's more!

Coastal Cleanup Day sponsor Subaru will be hosting special test drive and sweepstakes events throughout the county to benefit Heal the Bay and raise awareness about the cleanup. Among other unique community building activities planned:

Give Back to the Beach - a food truck festival, the LA Craft Beer Crawl curated by food critic Jonathan Gold, as well as a sunrise yoga session and three electronic waste drop-off/recycling collections. For event times and locations, information can be found at http://www.healthebay.org/ccd/whatsnew

"A single day of concerted action and education can make a world of difference." - Eveline Bravo, Heal the Bay

I think I like that quote.

Day 149 - Sept. 8, 2010

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

2.3 pounds

615.1 pounds total
I did something today that I had never done before. I stopped a couple on the beach that were smoking cigarettes and asked them to take their cigarette butts with them. I explained that it was illegal to smoke on the beach here in Santa Monica and that if the lifeguard caught them they would receive a 50$ fine (diverting responsibility because of my own insecurity..)

Their response: "I saw cigarette butts on the beach so I thought it was OK," they said with a thick eastern European accent. They clearly felt bad, and so I back peddled a little more explaining how toxic cigarettes were when they got in the water.

They thanked me profusely.

I walked away with a red face.

But I did this today because when I saw them smoking I couldn't help but think about my friend Danielle in North Carolina that has collected 1over 2,000 cigarette butts off her local beach in under 10 days.

I told the couple about this.

They looked stunned.

Before I walked away I added, "Imagine what this beach would look like if it were legal to smoke on it."
Oceana is coming to town this weekend for the Nautica Marathon in Malibu. I'll be there on Sat. at their table gathering signatures to stop Offshore Oil Drilling. Come on by if you are in the area. You can also sign Ocean's petition online. They need 500K signatures - let's help them out!
A dirty diaper on the beach is not so great to look at....but Adrian Grenier is, check out his Oceana PSA to help Bluefin Tuna below.

Adrian Grenier Wants To Stop Bluefin Tuna From Going Too Fast from Oceana on Vimeo.

I got in touch with an old friend who now lives in Brazil. He is going to do some sort of Community Collection for The Daily Ocean there and spread this beach cleanup revolution to South America.

Where do you live? Want to help me?

Leave me a comment or email me at thedailyocean@yahoo.com and thanks!

Day 148 - Sept. 4, 2010

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

9 pounds

612.8 pounds total

OK - so this may be one of my favorite shots. Can't help but chuckle a little looking at it...

ROZ SAVAGE has crossed the Pacific Ocean, by herself, in an ocean rowing boat. If you haven't heard of Roz you need to stop reading The Daily Ocean and visit her website right now.

Here it is -- go ahead. I mean it!

Castles made of sand dissolve into the sea...but not plastic.

Here is a cool story - a small group of stand-up paddle boarders commune with a POD of Blue Whales off the LA coast. Watch the interview here.

This is such a rare occurrence. I am speechless. Their "home footage" is phenomenal.

I'd like to thank the Clean Seas Coalition for all their hard work surrounding AB 1998. If you haven't heard of this power-house force of Ocean Conservation, check it out!

Here is what I found on the sand. There were three evenly spaced empty soda cans lined up in a row. A butt-sized indent in the sand was next to each one of the them. The people where gone, but not the evidence of their sodas that they enjoyed in the sun remained.

I like the sea gull above the cans. It looks to me like he is the surveyor of it all.

The view from the parking lot near tower 26. Not bad.

Day 147 - Sept. 3, 2010

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min.

4.3 pounds

602.8 pounds total
There's news from the South Atlantic Gyre - and it's not so good...from a Sept. 2nd post by one of the crew members on the Sea Dragon now underway to Ascension Island:

"What has also really opened my eyes is just how much debris there is at sea when you start to look for it. Everyone on deck has half an eye open for larger pieces of debris and today a hard hat idly drifted by and at one point the trawl had to be temporarily stopped after it ensnared a large ball of assorted ropes and fishing lines. When you consider just how small an area is observed from the path of Sea Dragon and the vastness of the ocean, it doesn’t take much mental agility to realize just how much plastic pollution is out there." - Dougal from ASR ltd.
When I look at photographs that I take from my own small section of the CA coast beach, it is also not hard to see how so much plastic pollution ends up in the ocean....Atlantic or Pacific.

Sea Gulls refuse to eat taco sauce from Jack in the box, although they certainly spread it around to check it out first.

Come out and party for Heal the Bay!

While they must still be bummed about the failure of AB 1998 (HTB were the sponsors) - they have many reasons to celebrate, and friends who want to throw parties for them! SO..join us!

"learn about the current environmental efforts of Heal the Bay, to become donors of the charity as well as volunteers, advocates and educators. Funds are raised through a donation of $40 per guest to attend the evening party being held, poolside, at Hotel Shangri-La, by the Pacific Ocean on September 3rd from 7pm."

learn more by clicking on the image at the top of this post.

My friend Danielle sent me a link to this great blog called "News from Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project." They have been hard at work collecting trash, washing abandoned towels and donating shoes that are left astray on their local beach. Yay!

Day 146 - Sept. 2, 2010

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min.

3 pounds

598.5 pounds total

California failed to pass AB 1998 in the 11th hour of the legislative session for the year. Having passed the States Assembly, and endorsed publicly by the Governor you have to wonder what stopped the momentum in the State Senate? Where did all the millions of dollars the American Chemistry Council spend go to? Add campaigns, sure. But some pockets were involved too. There is no doubt in that.
Have you seen the website - savetheplasticbag.com ? It is too unbelievable to be true, but it's very real. Check it out. It leaves many, many facts out of the picture and perhaps the one that I would like to mention here is that it takes up to 1,000 for this single use product to degrade...if it ever does.
My friend continues to collect cigarette butts on and around her local beach in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. In 7 Days she has picked up 2,171 cigarette butts. That is a staggering amount. Keep it up Danielle. Like the title of your blog says, "It starts with me..."

This guy is amazing: from Oscar Award winning documentry, The Cove -

"Ric O'Barry, 70 – who appeared in The Cove and trained dolphins for 1960s TV show Flipper – was flanked by police and dozens of supporters carrying banners. The petition was signed by 1.7 million people from 151 countries.

O'Barry had hoped to deliver it to the Japanese fisheries agency but cancelled the plan after threats from a nationalist group with a history of violence. The Cove, which won this year's Oscar for best documentary, shows fishermen from the town of Taiji who scare dolphins into a cove before killing them slowly by piercing them repeatedly.

The annual hunt in the town began on Wednesday, but boats came back empty. The government allows the hunting of around 20,000 dolphins a year and argues that killing them is no different from breeding cows and pigs for slaughter. Most Japanese have never eaten dolphin meat and, even in Taiji, it is not consumed regularly." - The Guardian

Day 145 - August 30, 2010

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

1.9 pounds

595.5 pounds total

I'm not surprised to find this on the beach today. It's summertime which means thirsty people fill the beach.

I am going to be on a the radio! My friend Heather Lounsbury - acupuncturist, nutritionist, and herbalist here in Santa Monica - has a great radio program that she hosts called, "Live Natural, Live Well," on BLOGTALK RADIO. She'll interview me in Sept. and when she does I'll put a link to it on The Daily Ocean. But in the meantime, check out her playlist of previous shows.

My friend Danielle of the blog It Starts With Me, in North Carolina was inspired by The Daily Ocean to start a spin off called Our Daily Ocean.

Her mission is to pick up cigarette butts off the beach in Wilmington NC. So far in just 5 days she has collected 1,402. Holy smokes! BA BOOM CHI! Sorry, couldn't resist.

That's a lot of butts...Her hope is that they will ban smoking on the beach. I hope it works, but the picture above was taken right smack in the middle of our smoke-free beach just last night.
My friend Siel of green LA girl highlighted Beth Terry's facebook page called, "Plastic Crap Wall of Shame." Beth also blogs at Fake Plastic Fish. Today's product highlight was, as Siel puts it, "A one-serving “sensible gourmet snack” with a plastic cup of cheese goo and a trio individually plastic-wrapped pretzel sticks — all encased in a plastic clam shell!"

INDIVIDUALLY PLASTIC-WRAPPED PRETZEL STICKS...WOW

Day 144 - August 29, 2010

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

4.9 pounds

593.6 pounds total
Sustainable Works is an incredible organization with their offices at Santa Monica College: in their own words...

"Sustainable Works is a non-profit environmental education organization and a project of Community Partners. Our mission is to foster a culture of sustainability in cities, colleges, and businesses."

They have a fundraiser in a couple of weeks and I have been asked to put up photographs from this blog for it. I am very excited to be a part of this. Here's more information on this "eco-fabulous" event

This is a used diaper nicely wrapped into a tight little bundle, and then left on the beach.

If you are expecting, or have a baby you may have already thought this through: disposable or washable? This is an interesting, and somewhat obvious fact I took from a website debating the pros and cons of both.

"The untreated waste placed in landfills by dirty disposable diapers is also a possible danger to contaminating ground water."

Well what happens when that diaper goes into the ocean instead? Same thing that happens when dog poop gets in there. We have a bacteria laden marine environment that causes humans to get sick with all kinds of wonderful things: skin rashes, flu-like symptoms, ear eye nose and throat infections, gastro-intestinal issues...yummy.

It wasn't even 8:00 yet when I took this photograph. Summer is coming to a close...