Day 336 - Sept. 26, 2012

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min. 

2.5 pounds 

1,268.3 pounds total 

11 cigarettes

A high school student in Maui follows The Daily Ocean. She calls herself the Blue Menpachi. Cool name! She's got a blog, and does a video blog on Youtube. Here's her stunning video of the 100 pounds of trash she got during her Maui International Coastal Cleanup Day. 

"I had only three trash bags with me yesterday and I thought it was funny cause I wanted to continue cleaning but I ran out of trash bags. However, I was able to find two more plastic bags 

of sorts that was on the coastline. So it was kind of funny because 

I guess the ocean really does provide whatever you need." - the Blue Menpachi

The Blue Menpachi found a perfectly good lawn chair, a metal drawer, wood and lots of cigarette butts among the liter. She showed us how plastic gets fragile and breaks apart when 

left out in the sun and surf. This is called photodegrading. 

I appreciate her attitude while showing us the trash she found. She lets her findings do the "talking." One cardinal rule in writing fiction is the principle of show don't tell. Her efforts show us what's out there and show us how much she cares which inspires me. 

People care about the ocean. If you care, you are not alone. Together we can really make a difference. 

Day 335 - Sept. 23, 2012

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min. 

3 pounds

1,265.8 pounds total

3 cigarette butts

Last night I went to hear Greg Stone, Marine Biologist/Explorer/Scuba Diver and Conservationist talk about the health of the oceans. He has an article on Sea Mounts in this month's National Geographic and had real life tales of diving into icebergs to share with us. 

The work he does now with Conservation International focuses on policy and international collaboration. 

What I really enjoyed about his talk was when he broke down why the ocean is so key to not only the health of the planet, but the health of all the people on the planet.  

For starters, the ocean is the primary source of protein for developing nations. With over 8 billion people here and 9 billion around the corner, managing the way we catch fish so they can reproduce and grow at a rate that keeps the ocean a vital food source is a really good idea. 

How can you help?

Go to Monterey Bay Aquarium and download their seafood guide for Android and iphone. 

Then in the grocery store or at a restaurant you can check if the fish you want to order is caught using sustainable fishing practices and is healthy for you to eat.

It's true, LA states on their Public Works Website that you can recycle styrofoam cups in the blue bins provided by the city. So why does this photo bother me? Because I've read up on what happens to materials in the recycling waste stream. 

My friend Harry from The Flotsam Diaries lifts the veil on recycling to reveal the ugly truth that

 - THE TRIANGLE IS A LIE. 

Harry goes into detail and sites his sources to deliver concise, easy to understand facts about recycling. Even the stuff we dutifully clean and sort into our bins is still an issue. Many nations in the world have little to no recycling infrastructure at all.  

How can you help?

Buy in bulk so there is less plastic packaging. 

Buy less plastic wrapped stuff. 

Carry a clean, reusable bag to the grocery store. 

All of these efforts make a difference. Remember, there's a whole lot of us on the planet. What if most of us changed only a little? I believe it would still make a world of difference. 

Day 334 - Sept. 21, 2012

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA
trash collected for 20 min. 
1.5 pounds
1,262.8 pounds total 

1 cigarette butt

I weighed frequently found trash items for a previous post and came upon the list again this week.

1.5 pounds of trash is great! Yes and no because of the weight of the litter I find. 

For example - 

A Werther's Original Candy Wrapper weighs .02 ounces

It would take 1,200 wrappers to = 1.5 pounds of trash

A plastic single-use bag weighs .25 ounces 

(yes, they are often heavier on the beach given the water and sand)

It would still take around 96 bags to = 1.5 pounds 

And remember, all the trash I report about here is found in only 20 min. 

ONE FISH 

TWO FISH

RED FISH 

BLUE FISH

PLASTIC FISH?

Thanks to my friend Mark for keeping me company on yet another cleanup. 

Day 333 - Sept. 20, 2012

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min. 

1.5 pounds 

1,261.3 pounds total 

6 cigarettes

There's a cool new site that shares old and new remedies for preventing chronic illness called - 

THE HEALIST - WELLNESS REMIXED

There's a direct connection between a healthy body and a healthy ocean.

Check out their site for interesting video and inspiring content to take better care of your body. 

Health starts with us and spreads to the whole planet. 

I'm almost in countdown mode with 32 beach cleanups to go, but this is not an end to The Daily Ocean. I'm looking at a computer monitor for many more minutes a day than normal in preparation for the next phase. It's bitter-sweet getting closer to my 365th beach cleanup goal. But once I'm done, I'm eager to get off the sand and come meet you during my -

OFF THE SAND AND ON THE ROAD 

speaking tour for schools and businesses. 

Let me know if you'd like me to come to your school, town or business. 

This plastic wrapper held some kind of fast food. 

If we all packed a quick snack from home in a reusable container or grabbed a piece of fruit, we'd buy less products that leave a plastic trace for years and years to come. 

Even if we did this once a week, there'd still be a positive impact for you and the environment. 

Once a week? Really? Come on...

Yes, really!

You may find my point idealistic or even a little silly, but for example - in Santa Monica there are about  90,000 people living here next to the ocean. 

If we all bought one less plastic wrapped snack product a week -

THAT'S OVER 90,000 PIECES OF PLASTIC WRAPPERS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY ENTER THE OCEAN.

Like my friend Danielle often reminds us with her blog IT STARTS WITH ME. 

"Everything we do or don't do has an impact on the world, it starts with me and ripples to you."

Day 332 - Sept. 19, 2012

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min. 

5 pounds

1,259.8 pounds total 

21 cigarette butts

This week I upgraded my operating system on my Mac Desktop. It can't even open Safari on a predictable basis now. I'm so very close to finishing my beach cleanup goal and my trusty computer where I store all my images is acting very strange. I'm backing it all up, but can't sit down to post without major glitches. Why oh why did I want to get iCloud? Everything was running so smoothly just a few days ago. Being the reluctant techie that I am, I didn't read reviews of OS X before downloading that baby onto all my machines are really messing it all up. Sigh. 

An inside look at the trails of maintaining an almost daily blog.

I'm reading NO IMPACT MAN as research for turning The Daily Ocean into a book as well. During his early weeks of his make-no-environmental-impact experiment while living in the middle of NYC with a wife and toddler, he approached a press office at a big environmental organization.

"I told her I was trying to figure out how to live a no-impact life in New York City and that all the information seemed confusing. "Yeah," she said, "we're good at scaring people, but we haven't gotten good yet at telling them what to do." She promised to email me some guidance but never did."

I hope that when you visit The Daily Ocean you get the solutions I offer as well.
Here's one off the top of my head.

1. See too many pictures of the same item on different cleanups again and again? Try using less of this item in your own life. For example - too many water bottles lying in the sand? Go ahead and switch to a reusable one. You'll save money, and drink healthier water. What's good for your wallet is good for the ocean.

Before you get all yeah-yeah-yeah what's that going to do to stop the giant trash vortex in the ocean from growing? 

Change happens through different kinds of applied effort. We need non-profits, legislative lobbying for stronger environmental protection, but we also need you. We need you and me to encourage each other to create healthier lifestyles so that our oceans can get healthier with us. It's a win-win all the way around. We can do it together. Person to person with kindness and inspiration I know we can create a healthier environment for our families, pets, and in turn for our big blue planet. 

Day 331 - Sept. 17, 2012

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min.

3 pounds 

1,254.8 pounds total

I've said this recently, but it's important to repeat. One of the ways I think that beach cleanups make an impact is the experiential learning taking place as you do it. There's a kinesthetic connection between picking up empty plastic water bottles off the sand and reaching for one the next time you are in the store. It had this effect on me. I am sure I still drank plenty of bottled water when I started this project. I am sure I stopped because I saw too many empty containers, learned more about the quality of water in them, and some of the myths surrounding plastic recycling.

How do I take that message to more people? Just last Monday someone told me that because of all the plastic water bottle photos on The Daily Ocean she thought twice when reaching to purchase some and didn't. That's music to my ears. Delivering a message in a way people can hear it. 

Would telling people to stop buying bottled water work? Making them feel bad? No. I call this "Green Shame" when someone feels guilty for a way they perceive to be environmentally unfriendly. I love the ocean. I have loved the beach my whole life. I didn't switch from drinking bottled water until I found too many empties on the beach. Is it possible that there are other ocean lovers out there that given a message they can hear would switch in their own time, and do so from inspiration rather than from being told to? I think so. 

Heal the Bay's Coastal Cleanup Day last Sat. spanned 56 miles of coastline and extracted 38,598 pounds of trash from California. If you enjoyed coming out on Sat. join Heal the Bay every third Sat. for their monthly cleanups. 

Heal the Bay says that cigarette butts, plastic bottles and caps, snack-food packaging, plastic bags and Styrofoam fragments were some of the most common items found. I covered almost every item on their list just in this one post. I'd agree that these items are pervasive in all my cleanups. 

If you bought less of any of these convenience items you'd save money, and get healthier. 
What's healthy for your body and wallet is healthy for the ocean. 

Day 330 - Sept. 15, 2012

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min. 

9 pounds (a wet sneaker and plastic bottle full of sand contributed to this)

1,251.8 pounds total

3 cigarette butts

The night after Coastal Cleanup Day and I collected nine pounds of trash in 20 minutes. I share this not to discourage those who came out but to illuminate a need for continuous action. 

Here are three things you can do to address all the trash flowing into the ocean:

1. TAKE IT OFF THE BEACH AND OUT OF YOUR OWN LIFE

Do more beach cleanups! Come out with me! I go out 3 - 4 times a week. Here's how to join me. Or do one on your own and email me about it. Surfrider and Heal the Bay also do monthly cleanups. Physically picking up the same items over and over made me reach for them less often in my own life.

2. BUY AND USE A REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE - If you did only one thing to help the ocean, this is it. You'll save money. You'll drink healthier water. (Brita Filters are great if you are worried about the quality of your tap water)

WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOUR BODY IS GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

3. PASS IT ON!
Think of a creative way to spread the message for cleaner oceans to your friends and family. You have permission to act on your own. Not everyone will end up starting a blog, or non-profit, but you probably have a camera in your phone, you have access to free social media (blogspot blogs like this one are free) and you have great ideas. Take 20 minutes and brainstorm how you could use your creativity, passion and determination to inspire people. I started The Daily Ocean with one beach cleanup. What could you do? Start your own Daily Ocean blog. Ideas are free. I share mine. Leave me a comment and tell me yours. 

ACTION FEELS SO MUCH BETTER THAN INACTION.

Maia - Community Count 8th Grader for clean oceans

 Maia's school 

Maia, an 8th grader from Ct., emailed me to get involved. She's written a report on plastics in our ocean. I asked her to tell me what got her interested in this topic, and what's a next step for her now that she knows. Here are her answers.

HOW SHE GOT INTERESTED:

I became interested in this topic because of the fact that I have

always wanted to be a marine biologist since the first time I stepped

foot on the beach. 

After a while I realized just what a huge issue

pollution is causing for local beachs, not only just making them look

unappealing, but causing the waters that people swim in everyday turn

an ugly shade of grey. 

Another reason I became interested in this

topic was because of the fact that sometimes I even see people just

throwing their trash out the windows of theirs cars, and seeing

seagulls attempt to swallow said trash. 

I always feel awful when i see

birds and other animals suffocating and slowly dying on trash, while

their is little I can do to save that particular animal I can reach

out to my community and inform them of what is going on around us.

WHAT MAIA IS GOING TO DO NOW SHE KNOWS THE PROBLEM WITH PLASTICS IN THE OCEAN:

My next step to help end pollution for good is to put posters on

trash cans on the beach and around my school explaining just why they

shouldn't pollute and how one small action can make a huge impact.

Maia is on to a key idea. One small action - sending me an email - got her message out to you. 

You will take this message and share it with others, won't you?

Maia's beach

Maia's report on plastics in the ocean: thanks for a great report!!

Plastic bags, broken bottles, crayons, even appliances slowly float in

the ocean current. That’s what the worlds’ oceans will look like if we

continue littering and polluting. There are two kinds of polluting;

chemical pollution and physical trash.

    Chemical pollution is inside almost every marine animal on the

planet, from plankton; to pink salmon; to polar bears it affects even

us humans when we eat our sushi and shark fin soup. Chemical pollution

can come in many forms, one of the most common being runoff from farms

and cities. Some chemicals that are in the runoff are fertilizer, lawn

care supplies, and other household products. 

The thing that sets

fertilizer apart is the fact that once it gets into the oceans it

causes a reaction called eutrophication; it’s when the nutrients in

the fertilizer causes the algae blooms to flourish and it then

depletes the surrounding water of all it oxygen making it

uninhabitable for other marine life such as fish and other types of

seaweed. Oil spills are also a part of chemical pollution, but only

account for 12% of all the oil that makes its way into the sea. The

other 36% is from cars exhausts and street runoff/storm drains. 80%of

all the urban sewage discharged into the Mediterranean Sea is left

untreated. 

Until the 1970’s people were allowed to dump almost

anything into the ocean; things like toxic waste, chemical weapons,

and radioactive material, were dumped on a regular basis.  In 1972

dumping most toxic materials into the sea was banned worldwide,  but

in 1996 they further restricted what could be dumped.

  Physical garbage is also a massive issue in the world. Soda six-pack

rings pose a problem every day; they choke penguins in Antarctica and

dolphins in South America. However the worst criminals are the helium

balloon and plastic bag, these items are found blocking the airways

and stomachs of seals, whales, dolphins, and turtles who mistake them

for their favorite snack of jelly fish. But that’s not all; they even

get caught on coral reefs, killing them. Sharks all over have been

found with numerous types of trash in their stomachs, from tin cans to

license plates, they take a bite out of everything.

Garbage and pollution are everywhere but just one small action can make a big impact.

Coastal Cleanup Day

Coastal Cleanup Day - Sept. 15, 2012

Venice Beach, CA - South of the pier

trash collected by over 110 volunteers

160+ pounds collected in 3 hours

Heal the Bay and Surfrider teamed up to facilitate a well organized beach cleanup. Juli Shultz, a longtime member of Surfrider, really did the lion's share. Thanks Juli. Kathryn Benz from Heal the Bay also pitched in all day. A professor from Otis College of Art and Design joined us with a few of her students. I had fun talking to the volunteers, meeting 8th graders from Sylmar, and high school students from Hamilton as they came back to weigh their findings. 

No surprise that they found the usual suspects - plastic bottles, cigarette butts, straws, plastic food wrappers, bottles and cans, and assorted misc. gross items. 

All in all we weighed in around 160 pounds. That's just over a pound per person. 

At noon we broke down the tents and sorted the trash. I'm thrilled that over 160 pounds of trash got taken off the beach, but as we left it in bags for the city of Venice to dispose of, I was reminded that beach cleanups displace trash, they don't get rid of it. I've wished for a Harry Potter wand to make it all disappear, but what happens to this plastic litter is that it gets moved to the dump where it remains a problem. 

Yes, the trash is off the beach I love, out of the water, and away from the animals, but it is far from out of sight out of mind. Beach cleanups raise awareness for how much liter is generated from our rabid culture of convenience. 

Take it off the sand, and then take it out of your life. 

What's good for your health, and your pocket book 

(you save money buying less snacks and drinks out on the go) 

is good for the environment too. 

You are the environment and the environment is a reflection of you. 

Day 329 - Sept. 14, 2012

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min. 

1.3 pounds

1,242.8 pounds total 

3 cigarette butts

I gave a ten year old boy digging with his friends this shovel. 

"It's free?" he said. 

"Yup, just don't leave it on the sand when you go." 

COASTAL CLEANUP DAY TOMORROW - SEPT. 15

The nation's largest volunteer day on the planet!  

Join us, join the thousands of people who spread out coast-to-coast, up rivers, and down streams to take out the pollution fouling up our waterways. 

I'll be at Venice with Surfrider, the Rise Above Plastics crew and you? 

HEAL THE BAY COASTAL CLEANUP DAY INFO

I thought I'd snagged the best shot. A styrafoam cup sticking out of the sand with the sun setting just right. Notice the pair of legs in the background? That's the kid who looked confused as I held my camera close to the cup of little crabbies he'd carefully collected. He was sweet enough not to freak when I dumped them out to put this nasty cup in my bag. 

"Is this yours?" I asked as little wriggling bug-like crabs crawled about and I finally noticed the kid staring at me. 

"Yeah," he said. 

"These guys like a little water in the sand." I held up the cup. He turned to the ocean and scooped up a few handfuls into the white plastic foam that I usually loath. 

"Make sure this cup doesn't get left on the beach," I said and scrunched it down into the sand for him.

"OK," he said as he turned back to the water and the warm late summer sunset.

Just last Tuesday at Blue Drinks I shared how I'd seen so many kids playing with plastic Starbucks, or styrafoam cups to make sand castles. These items I saw as toxic trash helped form their summertime memories at the beach. When I go to schools, how do I make sure that they don't feel ashamed when they hear my message? How do I make sure I don't taint their memories, memories of the beach that I too have and in part make me do what I do? I don't have the answer yet, but I am going to take time to figure out how to encourage change instead of make kids like this boy feel guilty for a golden Sept. evening on the beach.