Day 288 - June 3, 2012

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min. with Tamara - an SMC student and Tahitian citizen

3.6 pounds (1.8 for the Community Count tally totaling 2,034.9 pounds!!)

1,071.8 pounds

I have a section of The Daily Ocean called the Community Count. During the early days of this blog, people started to email me wanting to get involved. I created the Community Count. 

You can do a 20 min. beach cleanup (lake, river or inland), take pictures, send me the weight and I will add your findings to a running tally. So far people around the world have written to me about cleanups that total 963+ pounds of trash off beaches, out of waterways, and collected from their local communities. Look on The Daily Ocean's right-side column for other Community Count postings.

My friend Danielle who writes the blog, It Starts With Me has taken 37.5 pounds off her North Carolina beaches since February alone! She also focuses her 20 min. Daily Ocean cleanups on cigarette butts. We've been comparing how many I find on my local beach where smoking is banned and how many she finds on hers. 

Last night I found 17 cigarette filters. On average, Danielle finds a few hundred!!

If you'd like to get involved email me thedailyocean AT yahoo.com or stop on over to Danielle's blog and learn more about her Community Count focusing on cigarette butts. We'd love you to do both!

For me, it's about community one person at a time. Every time you bend down to pick up a cigarette butt, plastic water bottle or bag, I hope it is a reminder to watch for these "disposable" items in your own life. It's a clear picture of where they really end up, (on the beach, in the ocean, along your street, in your park.) And the ultimate empowering message in this is that if we don't use these products, they can't end up there harming our environment. Demand for these plastic products creates the supply. 

But who am I to do one little thing like refuse plastic bottled water? 

You are one more person changing the tide in favor of your health, your world, and the world for future generations. You have tremendous power. 

Now what if we all remembered that? Oh but we can....and we are!

Thanks Tamara for coming tonight. This funny picture is of her quick thinking when reaching for a pair of discarded boxers in the parking lot. Flip-flops as trash tongs. Nice!

Inspiring to meet you and you're welcome anytime!