Community Count Day 111 - Manhattan Academy, Feb. 14

COMMUNITY COUNT DAY 111 - MANHATTAN ACADEMY - THANK YOU!

40 people

trash collected for 20 min. on Manhattan Beach

2/3 of a pound average per person

24.4 pounds total

COMMUNITY COUNT TOTAL TO DATE - 691.8 POUNDS 

We fanned out on the beach, forming smaller groups to scan the sand.

On Oct. 30th of 2010 I came down to their school for our first beach cleanup. This student found a bottle under the pier that day. He remembered collecting it with his friend who was absent this time. Same beach, different day, same stuff.....

This bottle cap looks like it has been through the ringer, so to speak. Seeing it reminds me that our trash, and especially plastic trash, can float around out in the ocean for days, months, years at a time never biodegrading. 

The insides of a student's bag shows me the same things that I routinely find in Santa Monica. I know that I have picked up a Mc Cafe plastic cup off of the beach sometime in the last year. AND straws.....countless.

We weighed our collaborative collection after our 20 minutes were up. Then I brought up the top three items that I find on the beach which we had discussed back at the school before heading out. 

I asked the group to raise their hands if they found cigarette butts. Now I didn't count, but the group looked unanimous. Their teacher had showed them the short film, "It Starts With Me" which features my friend Danielle's 20 min. beach cleanup in Wrightsville N.C. Her latest tally of cigarettes collected is 

14,216 cigarettes in 42 days

We talked about solutions to the beach liter before we took this picture. I said that sometimes I feel overwhelmed thinking about how much trash is getting into the ocean, and so I need to remember that there are solutions, although they might not fix our problem overnight. 


solution to cigarette butts: They said, "don't smoke."
solution to plastic water bottles: They said, "use a reusable bottle of your own." I added that stainless steel was best. 
solution to the 7 BILLION plastic bags we use in LA County in a year: They said, "reusable bags."


These solutions seem so simple, could they really work? I certainly hope so. Shifting our daily habits impacts our own lives, the lives of those around us, and ultimately the world. It may sound like a grand statement, but is it? Is it really that simple? I guess I believe it is, or I wouldn't be writing this blog.

Day 197 - Feb. 11, 2011

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min. 

1.5 pounds

741.3 pounds total

Have you heard of this campaign? PLUCKFASTIC - genius!

"pluckfastic: an exclamation in response to someone using a reusable or biodegradable alternative to disposable, single-use plastic."

Another campaign I am in full support of: SHRIMP SUCK 

WHAT? I know, I know....I like eating shrimp too, but did you know?

"WHY SHRIMP SUCK?

Shrimp is the #1 seafood in the U.S.

But, eating shrimp can be among the worst things you can do to the ocean and to coastal communities.

Trawling for shrimp catches + kills more sea turtles than any other human activity.

Bottom trawling and farming for shrimp can destroy the ocean.

Seriously, you don't want to be a part of that." - from Shrimp Suck website

It is the winter of styrofoam. I have one thing to say about sytrofoam: I AM FREAKIN' SICK OF IT! 

I'd like to talk about Michael Sprague. This is what his description reads on Twitter: 

"WATER HOLDS A KIND OF MAGIC. IT CALMS US. IT LIFTS UP. ULTIMATELY IT SUSTAINS US."

 His company is called Trout Head Waters. They are all about river, stream and wetlands renewal. 

Day 196 - Feb. 8, 2011

life guard 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

10 pounds

739.8 pounds total

I pulled over before driving into the beach parking lot to grab this plastic bag. If you look along the curb in the picture to the square cement patch in the grass, you will notice a hole in the sidewalk at the edge of the street. The bag would have probably ended up in that storm drain. I could get the bag now, or later, I thought. The beach was close, but I saved the bag a trip.

I really don't know what to say about straws. Well, I do. I find too many off them. Do we really need them? If I did feel like I needed a straw, couldn't I find the time to buy a reusable one made from stainless steel? I tell you what, I've never found one of those on the beach. 

Plastic straws...I've found countless.

With two minutes left in the collection for the night I noticed this beach chair. I was going to walk right by, but then I asked myself why this broken chair was not also trash? I didn't want it to be trash, I didn't want to carry it across the sand, and neither had the owner who once it had gotten crushed, didn't want to haul it off of the sand either. 

So I grabbed it. I took it to the parking lot, weighed it and realized that I was going to have to take it home to deposit it in the dumpster behind our house. If I left it next to a trash can, wouldn't it be almost the same thing as abandoning it on the sand?  

Was not too thrilled to put this chair in my car. How had it gotten crushed into the fully open position in the first place? I quickly moved on to another thought....

The chair came home with me, added 8.2 pounds to the night's collection, and ended up in the dumpster. 

"emotional incentives, when combined with economic incentives, present a formidable team for biodiversity conservation" - Wallace J Nichols

*** CHICO BAGS FOR DONATIONS TO OUR 5 GYRES EXPEDITION!! ***

www.chicobags.com

ANDY KELLER, THE FOUNDER OF CHICO BAG HAS GENEROUSLY DONATED 4 COOL CHICO BAGS TO 

THE DAILY OCEAN TO GIVE AWAY 

FOR DONATIONS TO 

OUR 5 GYRES RESEARCH EXPEDITION. 

FIND ALL THE DETAILS HERE!

*PLEASE WRITE STYLE AND COLOR ON YOUR PAYPAL FORM OR EMAIL ME: thedailyocean@yahoo.com*

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

THE SLING

WE HAVE THE 1 GREEN & 1 AQUA COLOR

$20 DONATION

Materials: Fabric 100% Recycled PET, Carabiner 97% Recycled Aluminum, Cord 100% Recycled PET, Cordlock 100% Recycled Polyurethane

Dimensions: Bag 13.5" x 14.5" Pouch 4" x5.5" (approximately)

Washing: Machine wash cold and hang dry.

The Sling rePETe™ is our response to your popular request for a messenger-style bag.

Like many of our rePETe™ products, the Sling rePETe™ is manufactured of 99% recycled content. A printed list of recycled materials used in manufacturing appear on the inside of the bag and backside of the pouch.

- curtesy of the Chico Bag website

WE HAVE THE 1 GRAY & 1 YELLOW COLOR

$20

Materials: Fabric 100% Recycled PET, Carabiner 97% Recycled Aluminum, Cord 100% Recycled PET, Cordlock 100% Recycled Polyurethane

Dimensions: Bag 19" x 15.5" Pouch 3.5" x 5" (approximately)

Capacity: 40 lbs.

Washing: Machine wash cold and hang dry.

This new addition to the ChicoBag™ brand combines the attributes of two of our most popular selling reusable bags, the Original rePETe™ and the Vita™. This fashion-forward lifestyle bag is designed to wear on your shoulder and is manufactured out of 99% recycled materials.

Day 195 - Feb. 7, 2011

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

1.5 pounds

729.8 pounds total

COMMUNITY COUNT - Day 110 

Logan Wallace, Santa Monica College student

trash collected for 20 minutes

1 pound

667.4 pounds total

THE DAILY OCEAN TOTAL - 1,397.2 POUNDS

"What is that?" asked Logan when we found this plastic wrapper. "It's a casing for kid's popsicles," I said. "I had to do some research to find out. I had no idea at first when I started to see them."

Garen and I had breakfast together this morning, which is rare during the week. We talked about preparations for our 5 Gyres research expedition over eggs and coffee. We brainstormed how to measure the nitrate levels in the seawater samples with out using wet chemistry on the boat. Please don't think that I know what I am talking about when it comes to nitrate measurements. I don't. Well, not yet. 

That's the part that got me really excited about our conversation. I am about to learn a whole lot about the ocean, its chemistry, the tiny critters that call it home, and a crash course in all things involving marine biology. Just talking about this one aspect of Garen's research made me really excited to see what the next few months have in store for us. Learn more about our expedition here. 

And visit 5 Gyres to find out how you can climb aboard too!

I love it when people join me out on the beach. But sometimes my photography for the day suffers from the chatting away I do with whoever has joined me on the sand. Today is not my best day for photographs. 

A high school student took pictures of a beach cleanup with me a couple of times this year. I am sure Amelia's photos are better than mine on a good day. And I hope that she grabs some friends to come along to the TEENS TURNING GREEN CONFERENCE that is happening later this month.

SAT. FEB. 26

LOS ANGELES SOUTHWEST COLLEGE, LITTLE THEATER

1600 WEST IMPERIAL HIGHWAY

LOS ANGELES, CA 90047

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

www.teensturninggreen.org

My friend Mark is the creator of The Bait Tank, which if you haven't seen one, please go take a look on his web page now! In a nut shell, it is the coolest way to keep cigarette butts off of the street, out of storm drains, our rivers and the ocean while saving fish. 

Please support him by taking this survey. 

HE WILL BE GIVING ONE LUCKY PERSON A FREE FLIP CAMERA JUST FOR A 30 SEC. SURVEY!!

Surfrider's e-newsletter SOUP just came out for the week which included an article about 

THE TRASHIEST BEACH IN SAN DIEGO. 

"Also, of all the items recovered – including a keyboard, a conveyor belt and a soup ladle – volunteers report finding three items most often. Cigarette butts, Styrofoam and other plastics have been the most common pieces of trash found on San Diego beaches for the last five years."

Day 194 - Feb. 7, 2011

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

2 pounds

728.3 pounds total

I often scan the blogs I read for their latest entries when I sign into blogger. The Bag Monster had a great post about ONE MORE GENERATION. I've known about this brother and sister dynamo-duo but have not taken the opportunity to write about them. So with a nod to the Bag Monster, let me also cover some of the amazing environmental initiatives that Olivia - 9 1/2, and Carter - 8 have been up to. 

This post from their site caught my eye, "Plastic...it's what's for dinner." 

    

They started OMG with their primary interest being to save wild animals after they "adopted" a cheetah. Their involvement in caring for endangered species led them the issue of banning single-use bags in their own community, and keeping them out of their house too. If you care about wild animal welfare, this is a logical next step. 

Since becoming aware of the need to stop using plastic bags, they have talked to their mayor in Georgia, teamed up with the creators of BAG IT, and come up with a great skit called, "Captain Re-Use fighting off Princess Plastic." 

"Plastic, it's what's for dinner," is packed with great videos about singe-use plastic bags. Please head over to their site, read up on them, and show your support for kids changing the world.                                                                                                                                                                     

The people who live in Southern California have it pretty good. Few would argue with that seeing this stand up paddle board surfer enjoying the sunset from the water on Super Bowl Sunday when even Dallas was under snow only a few days ago. 

But life here is not all about fun in the sun. One trouble that we share with the global community is trash. What do we do with all of the tons of trash that's generated from our 15 million or so LA area residents? I have found that recycling is a slippery slope with one fact circulating through my mind more than most - WE SELL OUR PLASTIC TO CHINA. Yup. When you put that water bottle in the blue bin it is like giving it a one way ticket to Asia. Ugh. Or at least that is how I feel. 

But to be fair, here is an article from the LA Times that ran last week, "Trash: Southern California's mission to clean up the confusion." I'm not sure that the article did that for me, but I'll let you decide for yourself.

Wait one minute, didn't I JUST put this picture up only a day ago? Isn't this a mistake? 

Every person that I noticed walking to work through Clover Park this morning had their lunch in a plastic bag.

I find a bottle almost every time that I go out onto the sand. 

Right after I took this picture, I looked down and saw a dead seagull. The gull looked perfectly healthy except for the way that it was titled forward onto the sand with its wings folded underneath him. Did it die from eating too much plastic crap and Styrofoam? I didn't know what to do at first. It felt wrong to leave the gull to be raked over in the morning by the beach tractor. I couldn't put it in the trash can behind me, that felt worse. I hesitated to touch it. Don't feathers have mites? The only answer seemed to be bringing the bird to the ocean. So I did. 

Day 193- Feb. 4, 2011

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min.

1.4 pounds

726.3 pounds total

This is the first of 5 straws that I collected off of the beach last night in 20 min.

Harry of the Flotsam Diaries has done it again! In a series of posts about recycling called, "The Triangle is a Lie" he has illuminated the not-so-green practice of recycling plastic. His latest installment - "Recycling the Myth" is a mind blower that I will have to go back through to absorb. Thanks to Harry, we can read his meticulously researched posts navigating the quagmire that is recycling, and come out the other end feeling a little less dooped by the whole thing. I'd go so far as to say that recycling plastics is the best sold green washing campaign out there. Before you disagree, read this.

Last night Team Marine had a meeting where they watched a recorded talk given by oceanographer Joshua Willis. He works for at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena CA studying among other things, "The role of the ocean in the Earth's climate system under global climate change."

I didn't stay to watch the entire talk with Garen sick at home, but what I did hear made me revisit the undeniable fact that Global Warming is directly linked to the warming of the ocean. "If you want to heat up the planet you have to heat up the ocean," says Willis. And with 70% of the Earth covered in ocean, it doesn't take more than a second to see his point. 

Here is a post on the JPL blog that equates global warming with betting titled, "It's a Sure Bet." I recommend taking a minute to read it. 

"HOW INAPPROPRIATE TO CALL THIS PLANET EARTH WHEN IT IS QUITE CLEARLY OCEAN." - Arthur C. Clarke

I hope that Wallace J Nichols excuses my paraphrasing here, but something that he said to me came to mind last night while watching Josh Willis's talk. J Nichols said to me, "However big you imagine the ocean to be, it is bigger. The ocean is way bigger than we could ever imagine." Being reminded that it covers 70% of the Earth's surface, I'd have to agree with him. As much time and energy as I spend thinking about the ocean, I had never thought about it the way that J Nichols put it. Maybe you haven't either?

For all of the poor air quality we endure in the LA area, we are paid back in part with dazzling sunsets.

Day 192 - Feb. 3, 2011

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

2.4 pounds 

724.9 pounds total

My friend, phenomenal photographer and print maker Mary Michel sent me a link to a Vimeo about the couple in Northern California who makes art out of the plastics that they find washed ashore on their beach. Richard Lang and Judith Selby have been at this for over a decade! I wrote about them in a recent post, with a link to this video, but it is so good that I had to mention it again!

One Plastic Beach from ANIMAL | ON EST MAL on Vimeo.

Here is a link to the couple's blog that chronicles their project that has been going on for 12 YEARS! That's right 12 YEARS. 

PLASTIC FOREVER

They collected 2 tons in one year off of their local beach! I wonder how long they were out there for at a time? I hope that it was for a lot longer than 20 minutes to get that much trash!!

Like Richard and Judith say, they are not cleaning their beach in the sense that what they collect will make a dent in the flow of materials to and from the water, but that they are curating it. I hope that I too can do the same in my own way with my photographs and posts. What a cool feeling to be connected to their work, and to the efforts of all of the motivated, and talented folks talking about this urgent issue. Their inspiration started from a walk on the beach, and so did mine. What would come to mind if you took a walk on the beach and asked yourself the same thing? What can I add to the conversation?

Day 191 - Feb. 2, 2011

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min.

3.2 pounds collected

722.5 pounds total

COMMUNITY COUNT - Day 109 

Dean Miya

trash collected for 20 min.

3.2 pounds

666.4 pounds total

Daily Ocean combined total - 1,388.9

This is the lifeguard's water bottle that was sitting out on the deck as he was shuttering up 26 for the night. My first thought was that it would be great to take a picture of it, but I hadn't even seen the RISE ABOVE PLASTICS logo that was on his KLEEN KANTEEN stainless steel bottle. The discovery was a huge bonus to me. Surfrider's RISE ABOVE PLASTICS campaign is tremendous. You can get involved where ever you live, coastal or not. Check it out!

The Wake Project interviewed me about The Daily Ocean recently. I hadn't heard of their organization before they contacted me, but now I feel the need to pass along a link to them so that you too can learn about their amazing efforts. 

"WAKE IS AN AWARENESS INITIATIVE THAT SEEKS TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF SHARKS, RAYS AND TUNAS TO OUR PLANET'S FRAGILE OCEAN ECOSYSTEM. WE SPEAK FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES."

Thank you to the Wake Project for taking an interest in The Daily Ocean. 

What kind of strange plastic bottle is this?

This startling fact is from the Britta Filter For Good PSA collaboration with the Sundance Channel:

"LAST YEAR THE USA USED ENOUGH PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES TO STRETCH AROUND THE EARTH OVER 190 TIMES."

My friend Danielle's short film about her cigarette butt beach cleanup in Wrightsville Beach N.C. is one of three winners at this year's Sundance Festival. Here is a great site to find out more about all three, the talented filmmakers who made them, and the inspiring stories that sparked the short films. 

Yay Danielle! What a pleasure it has been to see this grow! You are tremendous!

I want to thank Dean for coming out with me tonight. It was over nine months ago that he contacted me for the first time when he say this blog after recognizing the stretch of beach as the very spot that he surfed at most often. Since then, he has joined me several times, while also volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, Sea Shepard, and spending weeks down in the Gulf this past year getting up close to all the devastation. He inspires me. When you mention how cool it is that he does all of this, he simply says, "It can't be about me all the time."

We were talking about how depressing beach cleanups can be. As you can see from the pictures, the tide was waaaaay out, revealing a plethora of plastics and other soggy trash. We agreed after a minute or two that cleaning it up has to start somewhere. And further agreed that we find it very distressing that animals mistake this trash for food. 

Many jellyfish were stranded by the receding tide last night. I nearly picked up a jelly instead of the plastic next to it. They looked identical to me for a moment. 

Garen and I are buying our plane tickets to Chile this week. We leave the 10th of March from LA to fly to Chile to join a 5 Gyres expedition where Garen will research the effects of plastic micro-pollutants on plankton. If you would like to join an expedition with 5 Gyres find all the info here. If you would like to learn more about the one that we will be joining, and why we want to go with them, check out our story here. Hey, check out both if you feel inspired too! We hope you do.