Day 171 - Nov. 12, 2010

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

1.7 pounds

677.3 pounds total

Community Count Day 70

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min.

1.9 pounds

572.5 pounds total

The Daily Ocean combined total - 1249.8 pounds

I felt slightly voyeuristic taking this photo, but their anonymity is in tact thanks to the shadowy light of sunset.

The 5 Gyres crew has set sail across the South Atlantic. Many of them have succumbed to the common adjustment of eminent sea sickness that will "feed the fishes," but the eclectic crew is underway to study one of the least surveyed gyres for accumulating plastic pollution and persistent organic compounds.

Garen and I will be joining the team heading out in March from Chile. Please help if you can. Every facebook post counts, every dollar, every tweet, every conversation and email that passes on the information we need to desperately get out to "millions of people, not thousands, as Pangea Exploration's Sea Dragon blog says: (Pangea is partnered with 5 Gyres)

The crew despite their illnesses, are all top notch and I’m inspired by each of their life stories. As always, The 5 Gyres Institute looks for different accolades in our crew, from science, to art to education. It’s our firm belief as an organization that the science of plastic pollution can no longer remain just in academia, and thus we need filmmakers, artists, activists, pro surfers, educators and world sailors to share in our mission to change the world’s addiction to single use plastic. We need to reach millions, not thousands.

"Yes, on these voyages we’ll come across tremendous horrors, being confronted with the stain of our culture, but we’re reminded of what we wish to protect in every sunset, in every moonrise and every new appearance of a celestial body in the gloaming."
An extra HUGE thank you needs to go out to Jon who came to the beach with me last night for the 171st beach cleanup. Here's why:

We can upon this plastic bag buried under the sand at 18 min. and 35 sec. into our 20 minute cleanup. I think I speak for both of us when I say that I was sure we could unearth it fairly quickly.

28 minutes later, and with very little light, we finally dug out the tearing plastic garbage bag.
As we looked at the once buried plastic Jon said, "Just imagine what kind of damage this one bag could have done in the water."

"Especially because it's clear," I said, thinking about all of the sea turtles who mistake the floating plastic reaching the oceans for their familiar food of choice - jellyfish.

Fact: LA County ALONE uses 6 BILLION = 6,000,000,000 SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAGS IN ONE YEAR

COME OUT THIS TUES. TO DOWNTOWN LA TO SUPPORT THE BAN ON SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAGS IN LA COUNTY.

Here's a link to Heal the Bay for more details.

And I hear there's a pretty nasty cold going around...practice your cough for the Tues. morning phone in to work.