Saturday, October 16, 2010

Jack Johnson Concert for 5 Gyres - Oct. 12

Anna Cummins and Dr. Marcus Eriksen who are the co-founders of 5 Gyres

I've lost track of which ocean Marcus is crossing at the moment, and Anna is home in LA very hard at work, so Garen and I went to the Jack Johnson concert for them to set up a 5 Gyres table in the Village Green.

Jack Johnson invites local non-porfits from the surrounding area to come to every one of his concerts to educate people about helping the environment whether it is through ocean conservation education about marine plastic pollution, or supporting local foods. He invites a diverse group of folks out to change the world.
Garen and I did not know the treat that we were in for. Sure, I've liked Jack Johnson for awhile - BUT now I am a huge fan! He's a fantastic musician with a message I totally dig, but also he walks the walk so to speak. One of his staff - Kate - who was very nice to all of us - told me that there are no plastic water bottles allowed on the tour. So cool.

Garen is standing at an empty table - the only time that happened that night - because, as you will see below, Jack Johnson came out and played a 4 song set for us from oh...I'd say 20 feet away!
Jack Johnson and friend playing for a small gathering of folks on the Village Green
Garen is teaching interested concert goers about the dangers of plastic trash that ends up in the oceans. Much of it is collecting in 5 places called a gyre, which is a place where the ocean currents swirl together naturally bringing in natural debris, and trash - mostly plastic trash.

Marcus made this really cool display from welding the base to hold three window panels each depicting one of three topics - PROBLEM - SOLUTION - 5 GYRES. His display made the information easy to understand because of its creative, eye-catching design.
A sample shot of the PROBLEM side. See what it says in the bottom,"What's in your sushi?"
Algalita, 5 Gyres and Surfrider's Rise Above Plastics are hosting the PLASTICS ARE FOREVER INTERNATIONAL YOUTH SUMMIT in Long Beach this coming March.

Are you in high school, work at a high school, or know anyone who does? Then check this out and pass the word.

They are asking the youth to come up with solutions to plastic pollution, participate in a weekend conference in Long Beach, hear speakers Wallace J Nichols and Charles Moore, and then head back into their communities to be leaders of change!
It's going to rock!
Kamillo Beach is on the Big Island of Hawaii, which also happens to be my favorite place in the world. Swimming in the ocean off the Big Island inspired me to write, "Calliope and the Heart of the Sea" that I just finished on Thursday night. I sent it out the next morning to a literary agent that I met the SCBWI conference this past summer. Cross your fingers for me will you?
The paragraph above made it sound like I just blasted out, "Calliope" in no time. It actually took me 3 years, 10 months, and 15 days to get it to the agent I mentioned. That's not even to get it published. The clock is still ticking...
This shirt was designed by Rick Erkeneff - he and his wife Denise are very active in the South Orange County Surfrider Chapter. I had the priviledge of lobbying with her for AB 1998 - CA Ban the Bag Law (that didn't pass) - twice this year in Sacramento. They are a powerhouse environmental duo, and their daughter Lulu is a total champion surfer.
"An individual action, multiplied by millions, creates global change."

the picture above is of the "Village Green" that is erected at each JJ show

Day 162 - Oct. 14, 2010

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA
trash collected for 20 minutes
4.8 pounds
654.8 pounds total

Community Count - Day 61
Casey Bayles, NYC
trash collected for 20 minutes
2.4 pounds
505 pounds total

Remember the owl that would say on the Tootsie Pop commercial, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop?" AND then he would count as he licked 1,2, and then CRUNCH - he couldn't even make it to 3 licks! Damn those pops must be good, I'd think.

SO here's the question - if you can't even wait for three darn licks to get to the center of a tootsie pop, then why-oh-why make the wrapper out of plastic?

Hold something that people can't take three licks of - with plastic that lasts for - well plastic never goes away...........hmmmm.....does that make sense?
Straws are easily overlooked. Like my friend Danielle said in her most recent post, just say, "HOLD THE STRAW" when you go out to eat. Really, it adds up and people catch on.

Look what Danielle caught on to do in her home state of North Carolina and now she is up for a film award from the BRITTA FILTER FOR GOOD PROJECT. Won't you take a sec. and vote for her please? THANKS
Garen and I tabled for 5 Gyres at the Jack Johnson concert in Irvine last Tues. If I loved Jack Johnson before, now I am in total awe of what he does. He donates 100% of his earnings from his tour to the local non-profits that he invites to the show. Man, that is just the coolest thing EVER!

Anyway - spent a lot of time showing pictures of Albatross with lighters remaining in their skeletons after they have died from starvation from ingesting plastic to people who came up to the 5 Gyres table.

Chris Jordan is the photographer, artist, activist behind these images. Please check them out, and be forewarned -- you'll never look at a lighter the same way again. Ever.
This is my amazing aunt Casey. She came out to visit a few friends and family sprinkled around the LA area. AND she is the first family member to come out with me to the beach for a Daily Ocean cleanup. But, like she pointed out, more of my familia would probably be out with me if they didn't all live on the opposite coast.
Love you Casey - thank you for coming out with me!

Community Count - Day 60

Cassy, Suki, and friend
trash collected for 350.org's 10/10/10
Monteray CA
93 pounds
502.4 pounds total

Suki the dog is not amused at the 93 lbs. of trash - YES 93 lbs. of trash found on the beach

I got an email this week from fellow blogger Cassy Marichal who moved from Miami to Monteray CA. (Good move :)) Anyway - she went to the beach last Sunday to collect some trash for 350.org's 10/10/10 - just like we did and found a heap - a HUGE heap - of trash to add to the Community Count of The Daily Ocean (which you can read about if you scroll down and read the description on the right side of this blog)

I'll let her relay her experience below -

"On Sunday, my friend and I headed down to the local beach to pick up some trash in honor of 350.org's 10/10/10. We were pleasantly surprised to find very few small pieces of trash during the first portion of our walk.

About 20 minutes later, we saw a crowd of seagulls huddled over a mound of trash. It seriously looked like a bar had thrown up on the beach. There were all sorts of liquor bottles, beer bottles and cans, reusable bottles (?!), blankets and even a pair of shoes!

There was a bonfire near all the trash so it looked like someone had a big party the night before and didn't bother to collect and throw away their 93 pounds of trash!!

We were so surprised after we weighed it all. We had to load all the trash into my car and it literally smelled like a bar at the end of the night!"


Should I have a prize or something for most trash collected for the Community Count? 93 pounds is a huge effort - and also rather depressing, no? Would it be turning lemons into lemonade - or should I just say -
THANK YOU FOR CARING ENOUGH TO PICK IT ALL UP CASSY!