Away on an Anusara Yoga retreat 10/10-10/17

I am on a yoga retreat in Tulum, Mexico which is on the "Mayan Riviera."

We are staying at the Maya Tulum Retreat Center for the third year in a row.

My teacher, Tara Judelle, pictured above,

is a certified Anusara Yoga Teacher

Click here to find out more about Anusara yoga, started by John Friend.

Anusara - a word that loosely means, "to flow with grace." Other ways to think about it are:

- to follow your heart

- flowing with nature

Sleeping to the sound of waves and feeling the breeze that blows softly across this property makes it a lot easier to get in touch with the principles of this Hatha Yoga based practice.

I love coming here with Tara. She performed our wedding ceremony last

December. She is an unbelievably talented, funny, intelligent, and inspirational teacher who walks the walk, while she talks the talk.

Check her out here.
I will be away from 10/9 - 10/17 check back here this week for entries of Beverly's Beach Cleanup Vacation to Rhode Island. I am so excited to share her experience here with you. Her efforts are very much appreciated!

And remember, come to The Blogger Beach Cleanup on Oct. 24th

go to green LA girl for constant updates on gift giveaways, who will be there and more.

Siel of green LA girl is really making this happen and I am so inspired and impressed by her efforts. Please join us, you'll have a blast, save the lives of Marine Animals by cleaning the beach, and meet a really cool group of people too!

Day 67 - Oct 7

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds collected today - 1.3 (WOO_HOO!! could be lowest day yet)

estimated pounds collected to date -321.3

That is what you think it is. Don't know why this is underlined, sorry.

Beverly, a reader of Siel's blog and mine, went on vacation to Rhode Island recently. She was inspired by The Daily Ocean to clean some beaches while she was away since she lives in Washington D.C. and doesn't usually have access to some.

I will chronicle her trip in several posts over the next few days. I am stunned and grateful that she took the time and care she did to clean up some beaches. Thank you Beverly!
Sylvia Earle - Oceanographer, Marine Scientist/Biologist, Environmental and Ocean Conservationist/Activist, Deep Sea Explorer, Author, Lecturer who began her work in the 50's was awarded the TED prize this year. Please scroll down in my blog to the next post and watch her talk.

As the winner, she gets to state one wish, (and 100,000 to help it happen).

Can you guess what it could be?

“I wish you would use all means at your disposal — films! expeditions! the web! more! — to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet.” - Sylvia Earle

Please watch her talk. If you are reading this, she may be speaking to the choir, but even so it will inspire you even further.

Slyvia Earle's TED talk

Day 66 - Oct. 5

life guard tower 26, Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds collected today - 2

estimated pounds collected to date - 320

click on the graphic below and if you live in the L.A. area join us!

Here are a bunch of Snowy Plover's and a Sea Gull. Snowy Plovers come around and we know winter is coming. They are so cute. If you like them, check out this site and click here. It has beautiful pictures of Snowy Plovers and their hatchlings.
I think this picture looks staged. But really I found these two toys just like this, in this proximity to each other. In fact, I try to take pictures of all the trash I find without disturbing it, and before I pick it up. There is one recent exception to this. Scroll down to see and you'll understand why I made the exception.
Is this a balloon, or a deflated organ? Sorry for the graphic interpretation. Maybe it's the end of the balloon that makes me think of arteries.
Ahhh, the exception mentioned above. Would it not suck to step on this beauty? Jeez, the beach is synonymous with barefoot, maybe not anymore.
Tonight was my 65th day out there and I am really excited to break the 300 barrier. Less than 300 days seems do-able. Could be kidding myself, clearly. At this point it doesn't matter, I wouldn't be able to give up on this project if I had double the amount of days left.

I like this picture don't you? I took it from the parking lot as I was getting into my car.

Day 65 - Oct. 3

life guard tower 26, Ocean Park, Santa Monica Ca

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds of trash collected today - 1.1

estimated pounds of trash collected to date - 318
My friend Judy sent me a link to this blog. The author set it up as a teaching tool for kids on such heavy topics as the Midway Atoll and Albatross Birds that are dying there by the thousands. They die from eating plastics, plastic tops just like this. Check out his blog, SOAR.
If this balloon had gotten into the water it would have been anything but a happy event. Marine animals mistake balloons as food that they then eat causing terminal blockages in their digestive system. This is a major cause of death in animals like sea turtles. There is a wonderful book that I may have mentioned called Voyage of the Turtle by Dr. Carl Safina. Click here for more details.
Wayne Sentman of the Naturefinder Blog has a very good entry on Albatross and living near the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch on the Midway Atoll near Hawaii. Please read it by clicking here.

Day 64 - Oct. 2

click on the box to find out more! designed by Net2LA


life guard tower 26, Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds of trash collected today - 1.9

estimated pounds of trash collected to date - 316.9

You've got to see what the Green Bag Lady is doing! She made me these bags especially for collecting trash on the beach, but she has made over 6500 of them and mailed them to people around the world for free if they promise to use them instead of paper or plastic. Check it out! Teresa's generosity is astounding, thank you and keep it up!
I was completely blown away when I received her package stuffed full with these two custom made bags for me, one for my neighbor who has been giving me plastic bags to use (which has been a great way to recycle them for her, thank you Diana), and many for gifts for THE BLOGGER BEACH CLEANUP OCT. 24TH. If you come, you may get one of her bags!
Rorschach or balloon? Or balloon as Rorschach test, you know the ink blot flash cards where you

are supposed to tell what you see instead just the blotch of ink on the page? Anyway.
Motor oil bottle, fabulous.

Have you seen this site? The Climate Community is doing great things. I met Dan today who is behind this project. It is wonderful to meet people who are curious, humble and passionate. Great work Dan, keep it up.
At the rate I am going I collect once every three days. This is a little too slow in my opinion. What has brought my average down is a week like last when I was just too sick to come to the beach, or when we went on our honeymoon. These events are understandable, and why I set the rule for myself that I will collect on 365 non-consecutive days, but I feel the need to try and step it up a bit. What a slacker I am, huh? I know, perspective is a tricky thing. Think a happy medium of stepping up and letting myself have a little slack is where I need to be. This elusive middle ground - balance.
It was so wonderful to be back on the beach tonight.

SICK IN BED 9/27 - 9/30

SINCE SUNDAY. WHICH IS GREAT TIMING CONSIDERING I WAS THE FOCUS OF A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE IN THE SANTA MONICA DAILY PRESS THAT RAN OVER THE WEEKEND.

IF YOU HAVE CHECKED MY BLOG RECENTLY AND SEE THAT I HAVEN'T POSTED A NEW ENTRY IN AWHILE IT IS BECAUSE I HAVE A COLD THAT IS REALLY KICKING MY BUTT AND I WILL HOPEFULLY BE BACK TO MY REGULAR COLLECTING TOMORROW. CROSS YOUR FINGERS FOR ME.

Day 63 - Sept. 24

Beach between Lifeguard Tower 26 & 27 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes.

estimated pounds of trash collected today - 1.2 trash/ .4 recyclable total = 1.6

estimated pounds of trash collected to date - 315

* I forgot to take a picture of the Lifeguard Tower 26! It feels strange to start my post without it.
The plastic in this picture appears almost precious because of the late afternoon sunlight. It's not.
It has been awhile since I found a single use plastic water bottle. I didn't miss them. I do like days like today though, when the weight of the trash collected is so low. Silly questions roll through my head like, "I should have picked a dirtier beach!" Well, this is my local beach, literally it is at the end of the street from where I live. I like the fact that I chose this strip of beach for just that reason.
In an email from Heal The Bay, they posted the results of Coastal Cleanup Day which was last weekend.

CCD 2009 - The Most Volunteers and Trash Ever!

Thanks to your help, Coastal Cleanup Day 2009 was a record breaking year!

At 69 cleanup sites all over Los Angeles County, we had 14,038 volunteers (a new record!) remove 298,686 lbs of trash and 1,726 lbs of recyclables for a record total of 300,413 lbs!

These numbers, extraordinary as they are, can't tell the whole story. Our hope is that everyone leaves Coastal Cleanup Day with a deeper appreciation for our ocean, rivers, creeks, and parks, and a better understanding of the problems they face.

If you follow my blog you may have had enough pictures of backlit children on the beach. I can't stop taking them. I apologize, but maybe you don't mind so much.

It is friday and we are headed to the beach to body surf before collecting Day 63's trash.

BLOGGER BEACH CLEANUP! OCT. 24TH

Siel (pictured above) of, green LA girl, came out to interview me in August and collect trash for 20 minutes.

We've put our heads together and decided to co-host an event in October.

THE BLOGGER BEACH CLEANUP, OCTOBER 24TH LIFEGUARD TOWER 26 OCEAN PARK, SANTA MONICA CA FROM 4:20 - 4:40

She has posted about it beautifully here.

And we have also listed it on the 350 website.

A group organizing internationally to get people to come out and act to help stop climate change.

Oct. 24th is my birthday and the International Day of Climate Action.

Won't you bend over and help us! We'll be collecting trash for 20 minutes.

There are prizes and incentives for all.

Lets get together and brainstorm how we can all do one small thing to change the way we live, and the world that together makes a landslide of difference!

Change starts with you, with us, come along and meet like-minded folks who want to make a difference. (Don't have to be a blogger to join us!!)

Day 62 - Sept. 23

Lifeguard Tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min.

estimated pounds of trash collected today - 1.5

estimated pounds of trash collected to date - 313.4
Is it a balloon, a jelly fish, or a creature from the deep? I think you know the answer....

My local paper is amazing, they run stories about beach closures on the front page.

From the Santa Monica Daily Press today : (they are running a story on The Daily Ocean in their weekend edition. Check their website to read it, they are an online paper too!)

BEACH CLOSURE
WILL ROGERS STATE BEACH Foul smell causes closure The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has posted warning signs advising swimmers and surfers to avoid the ocean for a half-mile north and a half-mile south of the storm drain located at Will Rogers State Beach, near Pacific Palisades....more

essay continued from Day 60 post:

But I do this for a few reasons. I feel better when I collect the trash, making it unavailable for marine life to get sick from. I find it enormously satisfying when I chase a gull away from eating a plastic bottle cap.
Sometimes I feel worse after collecting. If the sand is littered with trash that day, usually on Sunday nights, then I am depressed because sometimes I collect over five pounds in twenty minutes. Remember, the stuff I am collecting weighs ounces; cigarette butts aren’t heavy.

Here’s why I keep doing it though. This is my hope. I hope that people see what I am doing physically, or online and it inspires them to do the same. I hope that steady shifts in awareness sink in that cause people to change. And that all of this effort creates a slow and steady climax to the tipping point where people feel inspired to take action around whatever environmental issue they feel passionate about and that this passion becomes contagious.

Day 61 - Sept. 22

Lifeguard Tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds collected today - 2

total pounds collected to date - 311.9
Today was a wonderful, and strange day to be out here. Santa Monica Daily Press came out to photograph me for the weekend edition of their paper. They are an online paper, so if you want to check on Sat. and see the article, click here.

I think I forgot to take as many pictures, or pick up as much trash, but I am very excited they are interested in The Daily Ocean. Thank you SMDP!
I wrote an OP-ED piece for the LA Times, they didn't want to run it, but I still like it. I'll include it in this post starting below:

As We Say Goodbye to Summer How Are We Leaving Our Beaches?

Who can imagine summertime without going to the beach? Even if you don’t live on the coast, just the thought of a beach probably brings to mind pictures of summer. For millions of people the time they spend at the ocean defines the season. Many of us have early memories of being a child there, discovering waves, chasing sea gulls, and building sand castles.

September 20th was the last official day of summer. Over the past weekend thousands of us probably headed out to the beach to enjoy the final moments before fall arrived. Some of us may have participated in “Coastal Cleanup Day” last Saturday sponsored in part by Heal the Bay, and The Ocean Conservation. “Coastal Cleanup Day” is a an initiative to raise awareness about issues of Ocean Conservation, like the huge problem of Marine Debris, by inviting people to participate in a nation-wide beach cleanup.

You may have noticed that we are literally trashing the beaches. Marine Debris is one of the largest problems affecting the health of the ocean. You may have also heard about the North Pacific Trash Gyre, an island of floating trash swirling in the middle of the Northern Pacific that is now twice the size of the continental United States.

How does all this trash end up in the ocean? Storm drains from urban coastal areas lead straight into the water. Without grates over most openings to catch the larger pieces of trash, all the litter that lands on the street gets swept into the sea. And that’s not all. Motor oil, dog waste, pesticides and fertilizers end up in there as well. This is a design that has always concerned me, and strikes me as particularly insane.

But storm drains aren’t the only way these items are getting to into the water. We leave a lot of the same items behind right where we were, on the sand. Recently I saw a California Gull swallow a Bic lighter whole. I was just feet away, and unable to stop it.

As we say goodbye to the end of summer I’d like to ask how are we going to leave our beaches? I am not naturally optimistic. But even though that is often how I feel I think the real question on my mind is that, if you know what is going on, and have informed yourself of even a miniscule amount of the ecological research available, how can you not do something?

I chose to start a one-person beach cleanup as a way to begin. I head to my local beach and for twenty minutes at a time, pick up trash off the sand. It started as a way to protect my own mental health, and has developed into a blog called The Daily Ocean as a tool to raise awareness.

If the same trash appears daily why do I return? Am I really stopping the trash from getting in the water or littering the beach? No, probably not. Let me explain, the trash I take away will only be back the next day. Basically the same stuff will return, and when I say the same stuff, I mean exactly the same stuff. Cigarette butts, plastic water bottles, band-aids, straws, food wrappers, tampons, sanitary napkins, condoms, bottle tops, and the occasional discarded flip flop are the most frequent items I find. And I find them day after day.........

(continued on Day 61 results post)

Teresa of Green Bag Lady, has contacted me and will be sending me bags to use for cleaning the beach, one for my neighbor who gives me single use plastic bags to collect in now, and a bunch for an event I am co-hosting with green LA girl ( http://greenlagirl.com/bbc/ ) more about the event in the next post.

She lives in Tenn. and has started a project/blog that gives reusable, beautiful, sown fabric bags away to people if they promise to use them instead of paper or plastic.
So far she has given away 6484 bags to people around the world. So cool!!

Thanks Teresa, click here for a link to her site.