Our Daily Ocean: Day 165

For as long as I've been doing these 20 minute beach clean ups, I have often been asked when I would stop.  At first my response was, "hmm... I don't know... haven't even thought about it.  Well, at least until this whole cigarette litter problem is under control."  Then it changed to "when Sara-- The Daily Ocean-- finishes her 365 day goal."  Both are nearing.

With Sara and me doing comparative beach clean ups, the differences we find in the amount of cigarette litter on a non-smoking beach vs. a smoking beach continually blows my mind.  When updating mine and Sara's comparisons, I noticed that in 84 clean ups in Santa Monica... Sara has picked up 565 cigarette butts.  On Wednesday, I (alone) picked up 582 cigarette butts in 20 minutes.  In one 20 minute beach clean up, I picked up more cigarette butts than Sara has picked up in 84! (insane)  

If you're a registered voter at Wrightsville Beach... 

YOU have the POWER to CHANGE this!  Smoke-free beach ordinances help to majorly reduce cigarette litter!!  

Tell your neighbors, tell your friends, tell your family.. get out and VOTE FOR the referendum!  

So with the WB vote and knowing Sara will complete her goal of 365 non-consecutive beach clean ups by the end of 2012... I have been thinking a lot about how long I should continue documenting, collecting and weighing litter picked up in 20 minutes at Wrightsville Beach.  To be honest the past few months, I've felt this ball of energy in me... what to do? what to do?   

I've never really had an end plan... I started this because I was inspired... I was moved to do something... to take action.  Everything just flowed... as it should when something is so right.  But what I've realized is that this ball of energy within me, is about moving forward.  As Wrightsville Beach residents will vote on a referendum to (hopefully) make WB smoke-free and as Sara is 18 beach clean ups away from her goal... I know that I'm not ready to stop.

So here is my official announcement!!  From this point forward, I have an end plan.  Inspired by the dedication and commitment of Sara, I'm going all the way.  (Happy Belated Birthday Sara!!!)  365 non-consecutive beach clean ups here I come!  

165 down... 200 to go!!!  

20 minutes on October 24, 2012 at Access 16

Litter by weight: 11 oz

Cigarette butts: 582

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 165 days:

52,337

Our Daily Ocean: Day 123

Yesterday afternoon, I packed up the back of my car with a year and a half's work at Wrightsville Beach.  122 non-consecutive days of cleaning up my local beach and documenting the cigarette litter problem filled the back of my car with 40,827 cigarette butts.

I headed out to the beach to do a couple of interviews and a beach cleanup before the Wrightsville Beach public hearing on the proposed smoke-free beach ordinance.  I had a chance to share what we've done at Wrightsville Beach and why a smoking ban on the beach strand is important.  

  Check out the video here: WWAY: Woman Picks Up More Than 40,000 butts 

Once I finished with the interviews, I did a quick 20 minute beach clean up.  As usual, I picked up everything I found.  I originally had plans of counting what I picked up at the beach before the public hearing... but decided that having picked up nearly 41,000 was sufficient to show how bad the problem really is.  I went to the public hearing full of hope and optimism with my family and a community of supporters wearing blue.

The hearing was absolutely AMAZING.  Seeing the community come together was so inspiring and I'm so grateful to be a part of it.  During the hearing there were so many people that spoke out in support of a Smoke-Free WB... so many people that there wasn't enough allotted time for everyone to speak!!  We came prepared with facts and research to back up what we were asking the WB Board of Alderman to support.  I even offered this: I have committed myself to this problem and be assured that I stand here with you to help begin fixing this problem.  I offer my support in helping educate, enforce, promote and publicize the smoke-free ordinance.

Photo courtesy: Tracy Carr

 While the opposition, was scarce and comments were purely opinion driven... and fewer than 10 people opposing the ban...  the WB Board of Alderman voted 3-2 against banning smoking on the beach strand. Of course, I'm frustrated by this because it is obvious that last night democracy failed at Wrightsville Beach.  (Democracy failed because supporters outnumbered those opposing by 10-1.... nearly 1200 people wrote the alderman expressing their support and 402 Wrightsville Beach residents wrote in support of the proposed ordinance.  If you're wondering, one of the new board members was elected into office with 320 votes.)

I am particularly disheartened by the disrespectful comment made by Alderman Mayor Pro Tem Susan Collins in reference to the 40,827 cigarette butts we have removed from the beach.  When giving her address to the public before the vote she said, 

"I pick up cigarette butts at the beach, I just don't bring them to meetings."

I wonder if Ms. Collins has any idea the amount of time and effort we put into helping keep WB clean?  I wonder if she understands the amount of time and energy put in by ALL of the other volunteers that come out to help keep WB clean and beautiful?  We may not live on WB, but trust me... if WE (Big Sweep volunteers, Surfrider, Keep It Clean, adopt an access volunteers, boy scouts, etc) didn't do it... no one else would.

Photo courtesy: Ocean Cure

 I am grateful and have so much respect for Mayor Cignotti and Alderman Sisson who sat as elected officials and voted as the voice of the majority.  I thank them for doing their jobs as elected officials.  I have so much gratitude for this community... locally and globally.  Those who stood with us and those who sent in their support via emails and letters to the board... including the North Carolina American Lung Association.   

Photo courtesy: Ocean Cure

Please know that as much as I am disappointed... I am empowered more than ever.  This is not a roadblock.  This is an opportunity to do more.

20 minutes on March 8, 2012 at Access 16

Litter by weight: 7.3 oz

Cigarette butts: 425

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 123 days: 

41,252

52 Week Plastic Challenge: 13 weeks

Back at the end of September, I challenged myself (which meant my family, too!) to a week of no foods in plastic.  Before the plastic-free food week, I took the My Plastic Free Life Show Your Plastic Challenge by collecting all of our plastic waste for one week.  This is what one week of plastic looked like before we started focusing on plastic-free food:

View the entire post here :)

As part of my New Year's "More Than Resolutions"... I committed to taking the Show Your Plastic Challenge for all of 2011!!  The purpose of me taking the challenge for the entire 52 weeks of the year is to get a gauge of what we use the most, understand habits and patterns, and most importantly figure out ways to change the amount of plastics we use.

The first quarter of the year is now over, which means I've been collecting our family of five's plastic waste for 13 weeks straight!!!

During the first quarter of the year, I focused on not purchasing breads, cereals, wraps/tortillas, pre-packaged pastas, baked goods... err...cookies (oh how I miss Liz Lovely Chocolate Moose Dragons!!), and milks in paper/plastic containers. (<--my husband has given up his half and half!!)  Here's how I'm doing it: 

Breads, wraps/tortillas, cookies = homemade (on occasion from Panera put in a paper bag)

Cereal = bulk granola

Pasta = bulk or homemade

Dairy/nut milks = local milk in glass jars or homemade almond milk  (though I did fall off the wagon a couple of times and have not fully committed to making my own yogurt.)

We have also started paying very close attention to plastics when we go out to eat.  Requesting reusable condiment dishes and avoiding some of our favorite places to eat simply because of how much disposable plastic/styrofoam they use.  Check out these tips for How to Request No Plastic and Get What You Ask For.

Sooo....this is what 13 weeks of plastic for our family of 5 looks like....

January 2-8

January 9-15

January 16-22

January 23-29

January 30- February 5

February 6-12

February 13-19

February 20-26

February 27- March 5

March 6- 12

March 13-19

March 20-26

March 27- April 2

Have you taken the Show Your Plastic Challenge??  Check out my guest post on My Plastic Free Life about why to take the challenge!!  Collect Your Plastic.  Change Your Life.

Collective Will

"We all have the ability to provide clean water for every man, woman, and child on the Earth. What has been lacking is the collective will to accomplish this. What are we waiting for? This is the commitment we need to make to the world, now."
~ Jean-Michel Cousteau

Think Outside the Bottle

Remember back in the day when buying bottled water was the "it" thing to do? I used to be a soda junky (Mr. Pibb was my weakness). When bottled water came out... I happily started buying it. Of course, the lover of all things French that I am... I was an Evian drinker. I was completely convinced that water packaged fresh from the French Alps just tasted better. Besides, carrying a bottle of Evian just made me feel healthy and sophisticated... well as sophisticated as a high schooler could possibly feel ;)

Sit tight... I have a feeling I could get long winded ;)

I bought bottled water well into my twenties. In fact, I only made the decision a little over 2 years ago to stop buying it completely. The reasons why I decided to stop buying bottled water came from various places. The first thought I had about it all came from my loathing of Kimberly-Clark. I got an email from GreenPeace that urged me to vote for Kimberly-Clark in Corporate Accountability International's Hall of Shame to cast light on their corporate abuse. I did. It was there that I noticed their campaign "Think Outside the Bottle". I was immediately curious and started reading.

I took the pledge to "Think Outside the Bottle" and stop buying bottled water.  Because:

• Water is a human right and not a commodity to be bought and sold for profit;
• Bottled water corporations are changing the way people think about water and undermining people's confidence in public water systems;
• Up to 40% of bottled water in the US and Canada is sourced from public tap water;
• Some bottlers have run over communities' concerns and the environment when they extract water and build bottling plants to get local spring and ground water;
• Bottled water travels many miles from the source, results in the burning of massive amounts of fossil fuels, and contributes to the billions of plastic bottles ending up in landfills;
• Worldwide there is a need for investments in public water systems to ensure EQUAL access to water-- a key ingredient for prosperity and health for ALL people, and
• Solutions to ensuring water as a fundamental human right require people acting together and standing up for public water systems.

Another reason that I choose reusable water bottles:

Caps/lids and plastic beverage bottles are numbers 4 and 5 of the most commonly found marine debris items in the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Clean-up.

Deciding to make a commitment to something is easy... standing strong with a commitment takes time, perseverance, and belief that it CAN be done. I believe in not buying bottled water. When we go on road trips I fill up nearly every water bottle we own (depending, of course, how long the trip is). If... by chance... our bottles run dry... it's easy (and free) to fill up at a water fountain or press the water tab on a soda fountain machine.

In the US, 2 million plastic water bottles are used every 5 minutes.

I contribute zero.