Team Marine at Santa Monica High School

This flu season has really kicked my butt. I've been sick again for a few days and unable to get out for a beach cleanup. I will try to go tonight if I feel better. But never mind all of that, here is a post that will make your Monday.

click here for article in the NY Post

This is Megan Kilroy who was nominated by her Marine Biology Teacher Ben Kay at Santa Monica High School. She is part of Team Marine, a group of environmental activist students that Ben coaches. This year I have the privilege of getting involved.

Megan won the Teen Halo Award given by Nickelodeon and she is going to be on their awards show Dec. 11. She'll receive her award by Hayden Panittiere, also pictured above.

Watch a trailer for the Teen Nick Halo Awards that features Megan here.

And this video will hopefully be shown at the Copenhagen Climate Conference. Made by Lynne Cherry and starring Team Marine. It is just a few minutes long, and speaks volumes about these students, their depth of knowledge, and our need to act now to help our ocean.

Day 73 - Nov. 3

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds of trash collected today - 2.14

estimated pounds of trash collected to date - 336.13
There is an important hearing happening downtown in Los Angeles tomorrow.

The LA's Regional Water Quality Control Board has stepped in to solve the serious health problem of contaminated water at Surfrider Beach in Malibu.

Come to the hearing at:

Metropolitan Water District

700 North Alameda St.

Downtown LA

9 AM - 12 noon

Surfrider, Santa Monica Bay Keeper, Malibu Surfing Assoc., and Heal The Bay will be there to request that septic systems be phased-out on the Civic Center Area.

email: info@smbaykeeper.org for more of the scoop on this issue.

Surfrider has been fighting for clean water at Surfrider Beach in Malibu for 15 years. Tomorrow, if we show up and stand together to be counted as support, we may just get a victory.

Please come and give your support. Thank you!

Can't be there in person? Go to: surfriderwlam.org/cleanthebu and sign the petition. We will hopefully take 1,000's of signatures with us to show!

Save money and heal the earth by extending the life of everything you already own.

Whether it’s using hairspray to remove ink stains, vodka to clean your eyeglasses, or coffee grounds to fertilize your garden, AltUse taps into the planet's collective wisdom so you can keep more in your wallet and send less to landfill!

Search for an AltUse, post your own, vote for your favorites, and share with your friends.

AltUse contacted me about The Daily Ocean and has featured me today as their

Featured AltUse Partner: http://spotlight.altuse.com/2009/11/daily-ocean.html

It is a very inspiring idea to find concrete and useful ways to REUSE our products that keeps more trash out of landfills and keeps money in your pocket. Nice work Ben, and thanks for featuring The Daily Ocean.

Everyone -- please take a second and go look at their website

Most "Marine Debris" is PLASTIC, about 90%, says some of the members of Team Marine, the High School Environmental Group that I work with.

So why not change the vernacular to Plastic Pollution?

Debris - sounds like something that just fell into the ocean, maybe occurred naturally and merely needs to be cleaned up.

Pollution - is a problem, is man-made, and toxic with bad side effects.

Which seems like a more acurate description?

Marine Debris or PLASTIC POLLUTION?

Yeah, me too, PLASTIC POLLUTION.

So go to the Plastic Pollution Coalition Website and see how you can help!

Learn about their "Straws Are For Suckers" campaign. Brilliant.

Lunch anyone?

Nov. 2, 2009

My friend Ben Kay, Marine Bio Teacher at Santa Monica High School and coach for Team Marine, sent me this in an email yesterday.

Pretty right on. Yuck!

Haven't collected in a few days. Going out tomorrow night around sunset.

Day 72 - Oct. 30

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica, CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds collected today - 1.4

estimated pounds collected to date - 333.5
The Plastic Pollution Coalition - Is just that, a coalition of individuals, organizations, scientists, and other like-minded people that are coming together to find solutions to the devastating amount of Plastic Pollution that is poisoning our world. Here, in their own words, is their mission statement:

Mission

The Plastic Pollution Coalition, a nonprofit organization, is a coalition of individuals and institutions involved in the study and remediation of plastic pollution worldwide. The Plastic Pollution Coalition promotes strategic planning, coherent communication, and synergistic action to reduce the negative impacts of plastics on the environment, wildlife, marine life, and human health.

I met someone after the Blogger Beach Cleanup who is a part of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, Beth Terry, who has an amazing blog called Fake Plastic Fish, chronicling her choice to live her live with as little necessary plastic as possible.

She is an accountant, as well as a passionate and knowledgeable advocate for living as plastic free. On her site is a charted spreadsheet of her plastic consumption over the last two years.

Please visit her site and click on the graph at the top to see her progress charted in a very concrete and meticulous way. I don't know where she gets the time and energy! She is a wealth of knowledge, and I am so glad to have met her.
I find mostly trash made from plastic on the beach. I would guess that it is well over 80% of what I am picking up.

Do I think that my beach cleanup efforts are going to make a dent in the plastic pollution problem facing our world, and evidently, our oceans?

No.

Beach cleanups are good for raising awareness in a tangible way by collecting concrete evidence that illustrates the enormous problem.

What I have been wanting to do is find other people who are as disturbed, as in need of community to tackle this gigantic problem, as angry, but as passionate about finding and realistically implementing solutions big and small. The Plastic Pollution Coalition is just that, and I am really excited to help out.

Tackling plastic pollution will require change across all sectors of life: individuals; businesses; governments; and global solutions. Will you join us and visit the Plastic Pollution Coalition and take their S.U.P.E.R. Hero pledge?

Single

Use

Plastic

Emergency

Response
The beach is a place that has always, and continues to inspire me. I get the chance to see beautiful examples of what is under the surface of our "blue heart" as Sylvia Earle calls the ocean.

In California, our Kelp Forests are a state treasure. I'd much rather photograph kelp, than plastic bags that wash up. Today, I got to end my cleanup by doing just that.
This Wed. in Los Angeles is the Environmental Youth Conference at the LA Convention center. The keynote speaker is the woman behind Green Ambassadors, Jordan. She started the Environmental Charter School in Lawndale California where my friend and fellow Surfrider member Lindsey Jurca teaches.

At least two members of Team Marine will be speaking that day too.

I have mentioned them in earlier posts, but I'll say it again here.

They are a group of 14 11th, and 12th grade environmental activists that work tirelessly on issues like climate change, plastic pollution in the ocean, and ocean water quality testing. They've do more, and know more than me by a long shot. Visit their website to get an idea of what they have accomplished and what they are up to this year.

Beverly's Beach Clean Up - Day 5

This is the last post of one of my reader's, Beverly, who took me up on the Community Count Challenge and spent most of her beautiful Newport, R.I. vacation picking up trash from the beaches she researched by contacting the Rhode Island Chapter of Surfrider.

Beverly is an example of someone who has been really inspired, and her efforts go above and beyond what I could have hoped someone to do.

But you can contribute to the Community Count too by:

1. going to your local beach and collecting trash for 20 minutes.

2. take pictures of the trash and what you see along the way.

3. weigh the trash

4. send me the pictures, how much you collected, and your thoughts and I will post them on The Daily Ocean.

You can also come to the beach in Santa Monica if you are a local and help me collect.

I post the time I am going out on the day and you can see this by following me on Twitter, http://twitter.com/thedailyocean , or looking on my blog towards the upper right of my home page for the information. You can come once, or as much as you like.

The Community Count has:

COMMUNITY COLLECTION -

107.9 POUNDS COLLECTED IN 8 DAYS

357 DAYS TO GO

Again, thank you so much Beverly! You have inspired me to keep going with The Daily Ocean

and have been such a huge supporter. I really appreciate it.

Third Beach (Middletown) October 6: 2.8 lbs. (Rusty Pipe: 1 lbs.) collected

The last beach on my list. Third Beach is one of several beaches on the Sakonnet River in between the Norman Bird Sanctuary and the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge, and on this sunny afternoon it’s a boater’s beach. There are boats moored in the harbor, and kayakers out on the water.

I watch a gull take a clam shell from the water and hold it in his mouth, moving around the shore and out into the water. I’ve never seen that before. The gull’s not in a hurry and proudly paddles by the other gulls, his prize in his mouth.

I walk along picking up pieces of plastic, some plastic bottles and pieces of cans. Not many child’s toys here. This side is for boating, in and out. It’s a little rocky at mid-tide; hard to sit or play. I see a rusty pipe and put it in my bag.

I finish picking up a few more pieces of plastic, and then reach down for what I think is Styrofoam but turns out to be shattered clam shell. That’s happened at each beach, and I leave the shell pieces on the sand. I weigh my final bag of trash and it’s 2.8 lbs. including the rusty pipe which is 1 lb.

Driving away I head up to the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge to see what’s there. It’s a drive through tall sea grass and up a hill – a beautiful view overlooking Third Beach on one side, and Second Beach and Sachuest Beach on the other, with the pavilions of Atlantic and Easton’s Beaches further in the distance. A great end to my beach cleanup project – the chance to see some of the beaches I’ve visited from a distance.

Beach Cleanup Impressions:

My strongest impression from the beach cleanup project was plastic – plastic everywhere. Children’s toys, sandals, pieces of many things, bags, parts of cups, plates and containers. It’s easy to forget something at the beach – it’s in the sand, the wind blows something away, you’re distracted. It’s hard to change behavior and hard to keep beaches clean without taking away the joy of the beach. But being careful about what you bring and what you leave help keep any special place clean for all.

Second Beach in Middletown and Gooseberry Beach in Little Compton made me think about dogs at the beach. It’s great to see owners and dogs at the beach – great for the owners, great for the dogs. But doesn’t this affect the beach? I’d like to learn more, and I’m sure that dog owners would too.

Perhaps one message from this cleanup project is to have respect for the beach the way you have respect for anything you love. Maybe that means coming to the beach with items in cloth bags, and reusable containers for drinks and food, not throw away. Curbing your dog when you’re at the beach. Small changes that add up to cleaner beaches and cleaner water. I’m glad for groups like SurfRider and Save The Bay that remind us beaches and water are fragile systems that need our support and care.

Beach Cleanup on Future Vacations:

I enjoyed this project from beginning to end – meeting Sara and responding to her suggestions, working with SurfRider Rhode Island, visiting all the beaches, experiencing them from a trash collection point of view. The thank yous from other beachgoers were very encouraging. I’ll plan to do the same project when I’m in Florida in January, and again on Hilton Head in April – there are SurfRider chapters where I’ll be going. I invite other vacationers to do the same when they travel to beaches they love. I know that Sara will be glad to post your pictures and your thoughts.

Day 71 - Oct. 29

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds of trash collected today - 2.4

estimated pounds of trash collected to date - 332.1
If you'll look closer, you'll see that the label says, "No Junk Promise."

Except now.......it is junk, or trash, or litter, or plastic, or a problem, or a bummer.

But speaking of food, just got an email from The Blue Ocean Institute founded by Dr. Carl Safina, who is a Marine Scientist and Ocean Conservationist on the east coast.

He does a lot of speaking and political lobbying to help save the Atlantic Blue Fin Tuna that is nearly extinct. He's also the author of some amazing books like, "Song for the Blue Ocean."

OK, anyway you can tell I like this guy.

Here's the new program:

Green Chefs, Blue Ocean (GCBO)is a joint project of Chefs Collaborativeand Blue Ocean Institute.

GCBO is the first comprehensive, interactive online sustainable seafood training program developed jointly by culinary professionals and marine conservationists.

www.oceanfriendlychefs.org

I may be dating myself, but who doesn't associate Reece's Pieces with E.T.!

This also brings to mind Halloween.

I don't know what to do this year about trick or treaters, and the treats.

Let me explain.

Candy wrappers are the third most common type of trash polluting the oceans.

This year we moved to a neighborhood that may be swelling with little tricksters tomorrow night, and while I could just not answer the doorbell, (seems like a poor option), I don't want to hand out small candy bars with all those wrappers!

So then what, apples? No, couldn't stand being the "healthy" treat lady, gross.

Suggestions?
This is a Willet (Willett?) bird. They remind me of a small Egret.

I talk about Surfrider a lot. And let me say it again, I am not a surfer, but I am a member because I love how they work towards protecting our beaches, and coastal waters with their various programs.

One I have been looking into recently is the Ocean Friendly Gardens program.

If you live in a coastal area, and have a yard or garden, there are certain plants to plant that:

- take less water.

- grab more soil, therefor protecting the ground from eroding away when it rains and making it into the ocean.

The soil contributes to what is called Urban Runoff. Los Angeles is 90% concrete and therefor 90% impermeable.

When it rains here, (as infrequent as that is), the water rushes to the ocean picking up everything along the way, that's Urban Runoff.

If you plant an Ocean Friendly Garden, you contribute a lot less to the problem. Less stuff heading for the ocean, less pollution, and all you have to do is get some plants that usually don't need more than a very small amount of water.

Surfrider's Ocean Friendly Garden's program has a whole lot of workshops for free coming up in the LA area. Why not go to one?
I love to see the Sea Gulls on the beach at sunset gather together on the sand and face west to watch the show.

They do this by the hundreds, like a herd of cows that naturally orient themselves north, these birds stand together looking at the sun until it drops below the horizon.

Not a bad way to end the day, and by doing this it makes me think that they know how lucky they are to be able to witness a Pacific Coast sunset on a daily basis.

There may be a more scientific, zoologic explanation....but I like to believe they gather together like this simply because they want to.

Two Eco-Organizations I want to highlight

PineMark is a personal Green Certification Program.

I took their suggested 8 minute online survey that gives you an overview of all the areas of your life that you can apply sustainable principles, and therefor cut down on your carbon emissions.

I learned a lot too. Like:

"DVR and Tv combined consume more energy per year than your refrigerator, and Americans produce enough trash to equal the weight of the Empire State Building EVERYDAY."

It was a good reminder that in every area of your life, small conservation efforts add up to concrete differences that have a cumulative effect. Nice work to the guys that started PineMark. Below is some further description from one of the co-founders Joe Magee:

"The PineMark certification displays your eco-friendly life. We send you an official seal (sticker and soft seal for online), a PineMark grocery tote, and you access all the exclusive discounts in our marketplace

When you apply for the certification please use the "dailyocean" code for $10 off for the readers of The Daily Ocean"

It is 39$ per household and 29$ for an individual.

A great way to build a community and you get perks for your efforts and certification

from a number of environmentally conscience vendors.

F.Y.I. - "BU" stands for MaliBU and the iconic Surfrider Beach.

November 5th marks a big day for the Surfrider Foundation. I found out at our West Los Angeles/Malibu chapter meeting this week, that Surfrider has been trying to get the city of Malibu to clean up the water at Surfrider Beach for 15 years!!

"What causes the pollution? We know that commercial and residential septic tanks in the Malibu Civic Center area are a significant source of pollutants into Lower Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon and ultimately Surfrider Beach. As a result these areas are all included on the US EPA’s list as impaired for recreation. Impaired. For recreation. At Malibu.": WLAM/Surfrider Chapter website

Next week in downtown LA: (go to WLAM/Surfrider website for more details) there is a public meeting with the The LA Regional Water Quality Board. An arm of the EPA.

So you know, (and maybe I can say it since I am one small project and not a major nonprofit, the people presenting at Tues. meeting were gracious enough not to mention who lives in the Serra Retreat Center, but I'm not).

The Serra Retreat is one of the major polluters to the beach. It is about a mile of secluded celebrity estates near across from Surfrider Beach. Their septic systems routinely fail and their dookey flows into the water there, where not only surfers go, but families, tourists, kids. Gross.

Serra Retreat Residents include: James Cameron and Mel Gibson.

You think they have enough cash to upgrade their septic systems? Ridiculous. And for 15 years now. So please join us with your support. The WLAM website (link above) has an online petition you can sign too. Or come to the meeting!

GET INVOLVED

The LA Regional Water Quality Board is the ‘buck stops here’ agency *mandated* to protect resources (like Surfrider). Around three thousand people turn out to the Trestles hearings and it worked! Our physical presence is needed to make sure that the Board knows that the public care about, appreciate, and value this important area.

1. ATTEND THE PUBLIC HEARING
   Thursday, November 5th / 9am / Metropolitan Water Board / 700 N Alameda Street (Google Map)

Day 70 - Oct. 28

life guard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

estimated pounds collected today - 3.2

estimated pounds collected to date - 329.13
It was incredibly windy today, well for the last three days. I like this time of year though, so it doesn't bother me. When I walked out onto the beach I thought that there wouldn't be that much trash left for me to collect, that everything had already blown into the water.

But then i remembered how much gets buried into the sand, and I quickly realized I may find some interesting pieces of trash that the extreme weather had revealed.

I found the usual:

-plastic wrappers

-bottle tops

- tons of cigarette butts

- food wrappers

Nothing interesting about any of that stuff.
Ah, Starbucks...why don't they have recycling for plastics in their stores? Have you ever noticed how many clear plastic single use drinking cups with lids are crammed into their trash bins? I might try to get them to take on some recycling initiative. Anyone know someone who works for Starbucks at the corporate level? Want to help me?
Styrofoam - It is banned in the city of Santa Monica, yet I got some to go from the Novel Cafe up the street the other week and my yogurt came in a styrofoam container. Siel knows of a link that you can report businesses who still use styrofoam in the city of S.M.. When I find out, I'll pass on the information.
Windy? Doesn't it look like someone propped this metal trash can on its side like a make-shift goal? Maybe they did, but I like to think it might also have been the strong winds that have swept through here lately.

I was reading greenLAgirl yesterday and Siel had posted about a really cool project.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare has launched the Tails for Whale's campaign.

Take your picture with your hands in front of you fanning out to look like a whale's tale and send it in. Your support will be counted.

You can submit your whale tail photo here.

If you want to come support this project in person and you live in Santa Monica:

next Sat. on the 3rd st. promenade at 1 pm at Lush Cosmetics, the actress Kristen Bauer from True Blood will be there to talk about this project, take some pictures and has a giveaway for the first 100 people to RSVP. email: tailsforwhales@lush.com

Can't be there in person? Help support Whale's and a new bill for Whale Conservation that is being put through congress right now by downloading animal ring tones from IFAW

Just a couple of people out today. At sunset it was me and a few sea gulls. As I've said in earlier posts, I like their company so I didn't mind. There is something soothing about being on a beach that feels like you've got it all to yourself.

And if you haven't seen this before, the NRDC has a really incredible campaign for the oceans. Go here to find out more.

The Peace Troop Cleans the Beach - Oct 25

Life Guard Tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 min. by 11 4th grade girls and their families!

estimated pounds collected today - 9

estimated pounds collected in Community Count to date -
I met the Peace Troop last Sunday night on the beach to collect trash and as the sun sank lower towards the Pacific.

We first met at the Roots and Shoots Day of Peace back in late Sept.. They came to the Santa Monica Pier to help work the Surfrider booth and that is where I was lucky enough to meet them.

The Peace Troop formed to give their 13 members who joined a chance to learn more about environmental issues, and volunteer in different capacities to make a difference.

I think the Girl Scouts might not have been anywhere near as green minded as these girls wanted to be.
Sometimes we found beautiful things on the beach.
Our only wish when we saw this sand sculpture was that it wasn't a real Sea Turtle!
Here are a few suggestions of environmental organizations that have programs with kids in mind.

The NRDC - this link provides over 50 other links organized by the different environmental issues they cover. An incredible resource for any teacher, parent, or kid.

Heal the Bay - has an aquarium on the Santa Monica Pier with a kids corner!

WWF - your child wants a pet, but you can't have one? Well adopt one of these real ones. And the best thing is they don't have to move in with you. In fact, umm.. they probably shouldn't.
Can solutions be as small as cleaning a beach together as a family?

Yes.

Do solutions also need to be as big as the upcoming conference on climate change in Denmark this December?

Yes.

Small efforts accumulate to larger results, and big efforts make sweeping change.

Both approaches are needed, and welcomed.

Want to come to a beach cleanup with me like The Peace Troop did? Sure! Just ask, I'm there. My email can be found on my blog or just leave me a comment below this post.

Two Peace Troopers down by the surf at sunset.
My sincere thanks to all the girls that came out that day and the parents that came with them. This weekend was a really special one for me. One that I will remember for a long time. Thanks for being a part of it, for your effort, smiles, and concern for the environment. I hope to see you all soon!