Day 104 - March 13th

Did you miss the screening at SMC? Want to come to this one?

It's FREE, bring 10, hell bring 50 people. We've got Barnum Hall at Santa Monica High and it seats a huge amount of folks. Around 500 I believe. We want you there.

FaceBook it, Tweet it, Blog it, and don't forget to come!!!

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

2 pounds

415.6 pounds total

Plastic, plastic everywhere.

This week I can't help but think about the Sushi sting that took place in my backyard. Right on the heels of the Oscars, the team of people who made The Cove have uncovered that The Hump restaurant, less than 2 miles from my house, has been selling illegal whale meet. Sei Whale to be exact was served up on the menu, and guess what THEY ARE ENDANGERED.

Carl Safina weighs in on the killing of dolphins for food in this article.

The main problem with killing marine mammals — a much bigger problem than whether a small amount of killing is sustainable — is that it is cruel. Every real advance in human thought has had to do with expanding our circle of compassion. Cruelty to animals seems to parallel cruelty to people. So, I think the international condemnation of the dolphin killing is fair enough. There is no denying the fact that it is brutal business.

I'm going to end with this link to some stunning pictures of dolphins at play in the waves.

Day 41 - August 5, 2009

Life Guard Station 26, Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds of trash collected today - 5

estimated pounds of trash collected to date - 233

The Daily Water Bottle. Yesterday I came across a site that someone who is following my blog also follows. It is called 365 Days of Trash, "One man's attempt to throw nothing away for a year....and beyond." He has an article posted called, "Isn't it time to give up on plastic water bottles?" If you are interested, click on the article name above and read a thoughtful, concise, argument against single use water bottles.
This did not go into the water, but you get the point. In fact, Garen and I saved about 10 band-aids from entering the ocean today. I picked one up completely bare handed by accident, yuck! I am not sure why people enter the ocean with band-aids on, they do not stick! We labeled today, "Big Band-aid Wednesday", a reference to the beloved surfing move, "Big Wednesday".
We were up at Zuma today and saw dolphins twice, then again down here in Ocean Park at about 6:00 pm. Three dolphin sightings in one day made me very happy. I made a list in a recent post of all the trash items I collected in a day. To counter that with a positive list, here are all of the animals we saw today:

- 3 flocks of Pelicans in V formation 12 - 16 approx. in each group!

- Sea Gulls, at least three different varieties.

- Crows on the beach, (my favorite!)

- Dolphins - hard to know how many, you can see the same ones again and again.

- Humans - too many to count!! Many of them having a very good time.

What is this you may ask? It is a picture of the blue sky I saw above us at the end of our collection time. If only house paint COULD capture colors from nature. There is a brand that I can recommend, Fresh Aire House Paint. We have painted most of our house with it, and I am very happy with the colors. Exclusively at Home Depot, these paints to not contain V.O.C.'s, (Volatile Organic Compounds....toxins that get into the water when flushed, or washed down the sink). You can barely smell them, even with the windows and doors closed, and the AC on. I speak from experience.
Occasionally Garen, (my husband), comes out to help me on a collection. Other people, (friends and people who have found me online), have offered to help collect trash from the beach too.

The plan is: If you want to join in!

- collect trash for 20 minutes.

- take a few pictures (trash, something inspiring, where you're standing...)

- email the pictures to me along with the name of the beach, how many pounds you collected, and a little something about you.

- my email: sara_bayles@yahoo.com

I will start a Community Collection Count, people doing what I do, from anywhere in the world, connecting to this project via the internet, and spreading the word. Let's Do It!!!