Day 17 - May 14 part one

Life Guard Station 26, Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

estimated ponds collected today - 7

estimated pounds collected to date - 113
I may get tired of pretty sunset shots as I continue this project. Or, I may not. If you do, I apologize. It's just that every time I see the sun setting on the ocean, it strikes me as a particularly beautiful landscape to witness. Put simply, it makes me feel better about the world. 
This is my husband Garen. He is a Marine Biologist and he teaches full time at Santa Monica community college. www.smc.edu If you take Marine Biology there, you will go on an optional trip to Morro Bay where you'll see Elephant Seals, sea birds galore, and families of otters. I'm going in the fall. 
Dr. Garen Baghdasarian is his offical title because he did his Phd. on environmental factors affecting coral bleaching and recovery of corals from bleaching events. He's the coolest, I'm proud of him. This sounds corny perhaps, but being proud of your partner is a gift I don't take for granted. Alright, moving on. I just heard a loud collective AWWWWWWH from my friends. 
I thought it was a little ironic to find a cup with this "Hang Ten Ocean Theme" on the side of this plastic cup. Did you know that all of the plastic that has ever been made since the 1950's is here, and it is not going anywhere? It just breaks down to smaller and smaller pieces until they have found out recently that even the smallest organisms in the oceans are eating it. Plastic is now a major part of the food chain.

"According to the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, more than a million birds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die every year from eating or getting entangled in plastic."

This quote is taken from a blog that I think looks helpful. Click here to see the entire post that I quoted and check out the site
                                                                  Yummy. Ugh.
Garen and I unearthed this treasure. I always like when we go together. Double the fun. Well, actually  it is empowering to do this project, but not fun to find bud ice in the sand. Ice is not Nice
Stand up paddle surfing reminds me of Hawaii. I always visualize ancient Hawaiians riding the waves this way. I have no idea if they did or not, so I will read more from this site. You can too if you clicked on "this site" in case you missed the cue.
Another amazing way to end the day. Standing here and watching this.

Day 16 - May 12

Life Guard Station 26, Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

est. lbs. collected today - 5

est. lbs. to date - 106
Like I've said in a previous post, the most common types of trash found on beaches, or in the ocean, are

1. cigarette butts

2. candy wrappers

3. fast food wrappers

So what if we asked major corporations to spend some of their earnings on education about ocean conservation? They could support existing organizations that already do this, help coastal cities with their beach clean-up sanitation services, and invest in alternative packaging technologies. Sound crazy? Maybe some already do. I'll research this and report back in a later post. 

I see major brand name food and beverage empires with their wrappers everywhere on the beach. Ultimately it is up to us to do the responsible thing and dispose of our trash. But, it is their packaging, on their products, that is polluting the water. I'd like to know what you think. Ideas? The ocean is being littered by this kind of trash daily. We need solutions other than trash collection.

Sunset in Santa Monica at Ocean Park looking at the municipal pier.

The only benefit to smog in Los Angeles is a beautiful sunset.