Day 89 - Jan. 14

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

est. lbs. of trash today - 2.3 pounds

est. lbs. of trash to date - 372

While walking out at sunset last night, I thought to myself, "I live here!" Pretty happy about that. Paid my dues for YEARS living through North Eastern winters. Always thought it would have been less torturous if I liked to ski....but alas, I prefer body surfing. In the right place at last.
Well, SAVE OUR SHORES, up in Santa Cruz confirms what I always think to be the case.

PLASTIC is by far the number one material picked up on their beaches. They keep track of EVERYTHING they collect, much like the HEAL THE BAY MARINE DATA BASE that is done by our local Santa Monica non-profit organization. But don't take my word for it, here's a link to the post that SAVE OUR SHORES BLOG, INTO THE BLUE, says.
Does this look like a beach that you should be afraid to swim at for health reasons? No. But it is the beach where the sign below, posted by the California Department of Public Health, put up their sign warning swimmers of the dangers of swimming near/in water from Storm Drains. I'd forgotten that it rained in LA this week, until I walked up to this sign. Can you say bummer?
But to leave you on a funny note, PLEASE WATCH THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO. The three and a half minutes spent doing so will be worth it. Oh, it's relevant to reusable bags, and FIGHTING PLASTIC!!