Our Daily Ocean: Day 32

In an effort to "spice up" our 20 minute clean ups, I'm really trying to go to accesses that we haven't been to before.  Of course, I still want to hit up the regulars like accesses 16 and 36... but I'm thinking it'll be interesting-- if not fun-- to visit every access.  Sooo.... after the dentist and lunch, my kids and I parked at access 16 and walked under Johnnie Mercer's Pier to....

It was one of those days that I always refer to as a "deceiving day"... beautiful blue skies... looks like a perfect summer day... then you go outside and are reminded that it's winter.  Based on how cold it was... I was really surprised by how many cars were in the parking lot and even more surprised to see many groups of people on the beach. (some looked like they were going to have a picnic!! and yes, they had loads of plastic grocery bags :( )  I suppose people are in town visiting for the holidays... and you can't visit our area without going to the beach.  ;)

Unlike people from out of town... we can go to the beach anytime we choose. :)  Today, wasn't a day that I would normally choose to go to the beach...besides being cold... there was a northerly wind that just cut right through us.  Because of the wind, my kids were done after about 10 minutes.  They found a plastic sand shovel and began to play....eventually making their way back under the pier...they got sidetracked... forgot about the cold and came running to me with straws and 2 beer bottles.

I also found a plastic fork under the pier and it got me thinking.  There are all of these products made to make our lives more "convenient," but I wonder... how convenient do they really make our lives??  Is it really that big of a deal to wash a fork??  I don't get it. 

We're using all these disposable products... because we've been convinced that we need them... that somehow our lives will be easier.  But the truth is... we're filling up our land with trash... littering our beaches, waterways, roadways, streets, sidewalks, parks.... oceans.... polluting our air and water... poisoning ourselves (and the animals we share this Earth with)...    All for convenience of making our already busy lives easier or being able to "not have to deal" with cleaning something.  But it seems to me-- and this is my opinion-- that this mess created for convenience doesn't really make our lives easier because in the end we're just putting off what we should have done today... and this mess of "convenience" is a lot harder to clean up.... 

Disposable products don't fit in an indisposable world.

20 minutes on December 23, 2010

Litter by weight: 1 lb 9.2 oz

Cigarette butts: 69 (and the numbers keep dropping!!!)

Total amount of cigarette butts picked up off of Wrightsville Beach, NC in 32 days:

11,813