lifeguard 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA
trash collected for 20 min.
2.5 pounds
1,048.4 pounds total
3 cigarette butts
This post is dedicated to an ocean hero of mine, Dr. Wallace J Nichols, known affectionately by all who meet him as J. He's worked for the ocean for decades.
This is not an exaggeration. He is a marine biologist who's done ground breaking research on sea turtles. He's on staff as a Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences and is the founder of OceanRevolution.org.
His goal is to disseminate one blue marble through the hands of everyone on this planet as a symbol of gratitude for our ocean (we look like a blue marble from space.) When you get a marble, you pass it on with gratitude and do one good deed for the ocean
before you ask the next person in the chain to do the same. In short, this man rocks!
Here's why this day is dedicated to him.
About ten minutes into last night's beach cleanup, a surfer going out at sunset stopped me to say thank you, and then continued, "It's just a brain thing, but as I was coming out here and I saw what you were doing (picking up trash) I thought the word devotion could be broken down into DEV-OCEAN. And I thought, what you're doing, that's DEV-OCEAN." I smiled and said thank you.
But when I think of DEV-OCEAN, I think of J instantly.
This surfer had a creative, new thought looking at the ocean. It is a brain thing! And J is putting together professional symposiums to illustrate this very point!
He's having another BlueMind summit where top-notch Marine Scientists, Ocean Explorers and Neuroscientists will gather on the Grand Banks in June to discuss the positive effects the ocean has on us, and our brain chemistry.
One main goal is to harness this for successful conservation of this blue planet we all so dearly love.
Here's a great PSA about J and his family by Nautica showing their DEV-OCEAN. I found it inspiring, I bet you will too. After watching, maybe pass on that inspiration today in your own way.
A recent TEDx talk in Monterey by J
Ok, now I have to tell you that every time I read one of your posts now the little number of cigarette butts that you find is practically in bold flashing lights for me. I tend to always do a double take and repeat your number... today it was... "3??!!! 3??? *sigh*"
ReplyDeleteThank you for your DevOcean to everything you do, including introducing me to J's work and his DevOcean (gosh, I just love that) to our blue planet.
xox
Hey D
ReplyDeleteYes, 3. 3!!! I think about it too, and how many you find. Mark talked about when he went out with you in N.C. and the impression it made. I'm with you and behind on banning the butts in your area 100% and then some!!
And J is the greatest example of DevOcean. I love that too! Let's pass it on...
xoxo