Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Our Daily Ocean: Day 43

Here's the thing... yesterday, my kids and I went to Wrightsville Beach to do a 20 minute clean up.... Same beach, different day... same story.  We found all the typical things we've been finding this winter... mostly cigarette butts and single use plastics.  

But as we were walking... I found something that I've never seen before.  I reached down to grab what looked like a piece of metal sticking out of the sand....
BUT...when I grabbed it... a whole wad of organics held together by fishing line came with it... maybe there's a special name for what I found... but I'm feeling like it's just a big "wad of irresponsibility." 

 For the third clean up in a row, the cigarette butt counts are still on the decline... but with the weather heating up.... it's (obviously) only a matter of time....

Like cigarette butts, a beach clean up is never complete without finding a straw.  Really it never fails... even on the coldest days we find straws.   Most (like this photo) are from juice boxes.  A single use product in all it's glory.  Throwaway container, with a plastic wrapped single use straw.... used for mere minutes and then tossed.  As a parent, I get that kids dig juice boxes and they are pretty darn convenient... but it doesn't take that much longer or much effort to fill a reusable bottle with juice... seriously.

Switching gears... to good news :)   Jackson Browne is to be honored with the Save Our Shores Ocean Hero Award for his social, environmental and anti-plastic activism and his ongoing dedication to ocean issues. 

“This is a critical moment in our planet’s life.  Plastic was a big mistake, and we need to do something about it.” 
~Browne
I couldn't agree more.


20 minutes on February 15, 2011
Cigarette butts: 85
Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 43 days: 
14,301

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