Hurricanes are so powerful... reshaping the beaches... giving and taking.... helping the ocean purge.
I can't tell you enough how the beach after a hurricane (even a big offshore storm) is one of the most amazing things! I'm continually left in awe of the ocean's power...
Honestly, I haven't been overwhelmed in awhile... but I really couldn't find focus... there was just so much. For example, Tracy and I picked up a record 92 plastic bottle caps. It was insane... every direction we looked bottle caps were there.
I've been trying to figure out how to explain the overwhelmed feeling I had on Saturday... then I hopped on over to WB-- Keep It Clean and read this:
"As I was walking today, one thing that I found really overwhelming was the number of cigarette butts. There were so many that I couldn't even focus on picking them up-- I didn't know where to start. It got me thinking about how Mother Teresa once said, "If I look at all this mass, I will never act." .... if we see one cigarette butt on an otherwise pristine beach, it is easy to pick it up, throw it away, blame the sole smoker for being careless, and move on. But when we walk down the beach and see 1,000 cigarette butts, which ones do we pick up? Where do we start? And whom do we blame? I think this is why so many people walk past the cigarette butts and don't stop to pick them up. The enormity of the problem is so great."
It completely sums up how I felt picking up litter on Saturday... there was no end in sight... sure I had 20 minutes... but this wasn't a day at the beach... this was DAYS and MONTHS at the beach spit out by the ocean... that's a lot to take in...
(A little more than) 20 minutes on August 27, 2011 at Access 41
Litter by weight: 8 lbs 11 oz
Cigarette butts: 344 (though Tracy said there was probably more like 34,400.)
Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 91 days:
27,755
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteI know exactly that feeling that you have of being overwhelmed by the amount of litter on the beaches. I feel it quite often, especially after a big storm spews a huge amount of trash on the beach. I love that quote, it really sums it all up and helps us realize that it really does make a difference when you stop to pick up trash, even if you can't get it all, you are setting an example for others to follow. I believe in the ripple effect...keep it up girl, you are making a HUGE difference! I only picked up plastic trash until I started reading your blog and realized that the butts are equally bad for our oceans. You rock!
Michelle... I've seen videos of what CA beaches look like after a big storm... definitely overwhelming just to look at....
ReplyDeleteRipple effects are SO powerful!!! Setting an example is so important...
I knew you always picked up the plastic trash... I love that you're picking up the nasty butts too!
So happy that we have connected... you ROCK!!! :)
Wow, so you witnessed the March of the Bottle Caps, too. Unbelievable. Thank you for re-posting my quote. You are proof positive that if one starts somewhere, just with one piece of litter, it can absolutely make a difference.
ReplyDeleteSusan, the bottle caps were unbelievable!! Just when we thought we got them all... we'd see one peaking out from the wrack line. I was so happy that I took a moment away from writing this blogpost to read yours from WB-KIC... it really hit home with me and was the perfect way to describe how I felt that day (AND how I've felt on so many other days... days where words can't possibly begin to describe that overwhelmed feeling.) Really happy that I finally got to meet you at the pizza party... if you ever want to meet up at the beach... let me know! :)
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