Beverly's Palm Beach Cleanup - Part 2

My friend Beverly spent days of her vacation in Palm Beach, Florida doing Daily Ocean style beach cleanups and sending me her findings. I have already posted Part 1, here is Part 2 which spans three days.

Being from the N.E. United States, I am sure that when she looks at her pictures today this sunny, beach world will feel far away as she wades through a few feet of snow to work.

I look forward to her next contribution to the Community Count Collection invitation that I have put out there for those of you who read this blog. So far each of Beverly's cleanups make me smile, and inspire me to continue on with the work I have started here. I think maybe because at the heart of the Daily Ocean is my desire to pull people together to protect our oceans, and remind them just how magnificent our only planet is. Thanks Beverly! Stay warm!

Thanks again to Surfrider of Palm Beach Co. for your friendly assistance to Beverly as she combed your beaches.

Community Collection Count - Beverly

Palm Beach Florida

Day 21, 22 & 23

9.9 pounds

153.4 total pounds

The Daily Ocean – Florida Week 2 – Jupiter, Delray Beach and Ocean Reef Park

1/27/10

Jupiter – Unnamed Beach North of Jupiter Inlet – 2 lbs. 15 oz. Collected

Jupiter Beach Park is south of Jupiter Inlet, but I ended up north of Jupiter Inlet on a beach that’s accessible but not marked. I was driving along, parked by the side of the road and walked in to investigate. This was a quiet, peaceful, deserted beach except for several gulls and a lone fisherman. ‘What’s this beach called?’ I asked him. ‘No name; I call it North of Jupiter Inlet Beach, or Rocks Beach.’ There is a rock formation off one end of the beach and gulls were flocking around it, the sun behind them. As I walked along the shore, I saw some small sea urchins that had washed up on the beach, and very little trash. This is a fairly isolated spot. Close to sunset toward the end of the day, it was quiet perfection.

1/27/10

Jupiter – Unnamed Beach North of Jupiter Inlet – 2 lbs. 15 oz. Collected

Jupiter Beach Park is south of Jupiter Inlet, but I ended up north of Jupiter Inlet on a beach that’s accessible but not marked. I was driving along, parked by the side of the road and walked in to investigate. This was a quiet, peaceful, deserted beach except for several gulls and a lone fisherman. ‘What’s this beach called?’ I asked him. ‘No name; I call it North of Jupiter Inlet Beach, or Rocks Beach.’ There is a rock formation off one end of the beach and gulls were flocking around it, the sun behind them. As I walked along the shore, I saw some small sea urchins that had washed up on the beach, and very little trash. This is a fairly isolated spot. Close to sunset toward the end of the day, it was quiet perfection.

1/29/10

Ocean Reef Park (Riviera Shores) – 2 lbs. 9.3 oz Collected

Just got back from a walk up the beach to Ocean Reef Park – it’s my last day in Florida for this trip. It’s a pretty beach, guarded, and there are the same variety of gulls on the beach as at Palm Beach Municipal Beach. Shark activity today means no swimming, and as I walk along the beach, I see a fish leap out of the water, swirl in a playful corkscrew and dive back in. The shape is long and black with a white stomach and a pronounced tail – I decide it’s a shark even though I don’t know if sharks can leap. I keep watching but no more leaps out of the water. I pick up more bottle caps, plastic bags, and straws. It’s a sunny morning, light wind and lots of activity – birds, beachgoers and fishing boats nearby.

Day 95 - Feb. 6, 2010

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

2.5 pounds collected

393.4 total pounds
Santa Monica has banned styrofoam. I have mentioned this before. Yet all the time I find the stuff, especially after it has rained. Why? Because we are the end of the pipe here in S.M. meaning that our adjacent city, Los Angeles, has not banned styrofoam so therefor when it rains all of their polystyrene washes into the bay, some of it making its way back onto our beach.

I think the Santa Monica Office of Sustainability and the Environment does a great job, but we need action from all the local communities in our watershed that feed into the Santa Monica Bay.

My view of the beach after our two days of torrential rain.

"Marine Debris", taking this term to task, like the Plastic Pollution Coalition calls for, I'd like to ask you a few questions.

A - Do you think of plastic, styrofoam, tampon applicators and used condoms as debris?

OR

B - Do you think of leaves, bits of bark, floating twigs and other natural detritus as debris?

I thought you would say B.

So, why do we call it "Marine Debris" when over 80 percent of the stuff floating in the ocean is plastic?????

It doesn't sound so bad when you say debris, does it? Which is a huge disservice to the monumental plague of plastic pollution entering our oceans.

But, like the folks at 5 Gyres say - Plastic Marine Pollution gets a whole lot closer.

I love these ice cream bars! The over sugared-strawberry-insides with all those nuts. Yum. But I don't love seeing the wrapper here.

Plastic Orange Bottle Cap - "debris"?

I want to get a campaign going to make Starbucks recycle their damn beverage packaging. Well, here's the thing. Recycling is an option, but not a very strong one. I couldn't have put it better than Manuel Maqueda, Co-founder of the Plastic Pollution Coalition and The BlooSee:

"How come producers are not resposible for the end life of their products?

Also, do we recycle? Or do we put things in bins?

Do you know what happens to your recyclables? Who can you ask? Who is accountable?

What we have now is: out of sight, out of mind + hope for the best = back to the mall to consume some more. A matrix.

Without producer responsibility, transparency and accountability, the current "recycling system" is a greenwashing machine designed to generate more and more waste."

The following is a quotation from a native of Kenya, who was involved in his country’s efforts to save the native wildlife from extinction:

• You only save what you love

• You only love what you understand

• You only understand what you are taught

Aquarium of the Pacific - Feb. 6, 2010

The Aquarium of the Pacific, or Long Beach Aquarium as many locals call it, is a fascinating place to visit. I drove down with my husband Garen on a rainy Sat. morning to meet his Marine Biology Class from Santa Monica College for their last field trip of Winter Session.

At 9:45 almost the entire class was assembled and ready to enter. I have to say that getting there early on a Sat. is a great idea. You have the place relatively to yourself before the families with strollers storm the exhibits. Although, I absolutely loved seeing the hundreds of people who brought their children out to explore the underwater worlds waiting for them. Building awareness and appreciation for these fascinating animals from a young age is a major solution to environmental protection.

A Scorpion Fish

A Ray - look at its mouth! Unbelievably cute.

A Leafy Sea Dragon - much like a Sea Horse except that they look more exotic with their "leafy" camouflage.

A Lorikeet - found in the Southern Pacific.

Aren't their colors beautiful?

Above is a picture of a diver for the aquarium that came in to feed the fish and rays. He offered leafy looking lettuce to the rays who eagerly munched it down. I think that zoos and aquariums, when managed properly, serve several important functions in the community and for the animals. But this is the first time that I briefly thought the marine life that lived there are lucky not to be digesting plastic trash, and pollution when looking for food. My thought surprised me.
A Saw-toothed Shark and a Leopard Shark maybe saying good morning as they passed one another in the shark tank.

One thing that I really like about the Aquarium of the Pacific is that they go to great lengths to educate the public properly about sharks. They emphasize how ancient they are and now how endangered they've become due to irresponsible fishing practices and Shark Finning.

If you didn't know, Shark Finning is when a shark is caught, their fins cut off, and their body dumped back into the water to sink and slowly drown. Sharks need water washing over their gills from constant movement for them to breath. Left with no fins for them to swim with, they literally sink to the bottom and drown. One of the first exhibits you see upon entering the aquarium is a huge poster explaining Shark Finning to the public. Hopefully, with awareness and activism, Shark Finning will become a thing of the past and not a part of people's soup.

Yao Ming's, (NBA star Center for the Houston Rockets), PSA against Shark Fin Soup! Yay Yao!!!