Our Daily Ocean: Day 184

On Earth Day, I hesitantly went to Wrightsville Beach to do an Earth Day Beach Cleanup.  I say "hesitantly" because the weather here had been really warm (almost summer-like), but over the weekend cold weather settled in with a chill.  But as uncomfortable as I was with the lack of warmth... Earth Day is the day to get out, explore, rethink, and do more.  So with my hoodie pulled tight to keep my ears warm, I began walking the beach and remembering my commitment.

Just as the New Year is a time to make resolutions, Earth Day is a day to resolve to do more to help protect and restore the world we live in.  It's important to take the time to remember (or even to learn) that we are all connected on this planet... and that what is bad for the planet is bad for us.  And what is inherently bad for us is bad for the planet.  Nothing is separate.  The air we breath is connected to the water we drink and the water we drink is connected to the earth on which we stand. 

 One thing that I haven't shared much about (or at all) on here is the local effort to help protect our air, water and children from the development of a cement plant in my area.  It's a grassroots effort that has been going strong for 5 years now and it's important that our community continues to stand strong stopping Titan for the health of our children, our families, our air and our water.  

On Sunday, April 28 @ 2:30pm come join the Stop Titan community at Tidal Creek Coop.  There'll be live music, speakers and good company.  For more info about the event: 

STANDING STRONG-- STOPPING TITAN

"Don't spend your precious time asking 'Why isn't the world a better place?'  It will only be time wasted.  The question to ask is 'How can I make it better?'  To that there is an answer." 

~ Leo Buscaglia

20 minutes on April 22, 2013 at Access 29

Litter by weight: 1 lb

Cigarette butts: 23

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 184 days:

54,912

Glass Dharma's 1000 FREE Glass Straws for Earth Day

It's only been a year since I started sipping my drinks again.  You see, I went several years saying "no thank you" to disposable plastic straws.  After finding so many littered on the beach, I just can't force myself to use them.  I still refuse plastic straws, but thanks to Glass Dharma reaching out to me last Earth Day, I have grown very fond of glass straws. :)

Some people say that Christmas is the season for giving, but if you know Glass Dharma... their season for giving is happening right now!  Each year for the past 4 years, Glass Dharma marks Earth Day by giving away FREE (yup, I said it: FREE) glass straws!!  AND... this year they want to go BIG!  Glass Dharma wants to give away 1000 FREE glass straws!!

It's super easy to participate!  Glass Dharma is asking YOU to share why you love glass straws OR why you would love a glass straw!  I'm super stoked that Glass Dharma has asked me to take an active role in helping them give away 1000 glass straws that I had to make a submission of my own to share!



Yup, I love sipping my drinks... slurping up the end of my smoothies... and taking my kids to get fun things like root beer floats.... all while encouraging others to kick their plastic straw habit.  :)

How about you?  What do you LOVE (or what would you love) about glass straws??

To participate in the 1000 FREE Glass Straws for Earth Day, be sure to follow all of the directions below! If you have questions, let me know!

Entrants - please include:
1. 100 to 200 word essay in an attached document (or) a link to a 1 to 3 minute YouTube Video
2. Your name, email address and mailing address. (In the body of your email)
3. Email your request for a free glass straw to: EarthDay@GlassDharma.com 
4. One entry per person (If multiple people are using the same email address, please note in the body of the email.)

Glass Straws and how they relate to a better world is the suggested inspiration point of submissions for this contest. Content ideas might include: Beauty, Joy, Taste & Planet Care (Environmental). Creativity is encouraged as you write or shoot your video!

Video and Essay submission instructions – simply include the link to your “YouTube Video” or attach your essay to your email (Word format (.doc) or basic text (.txt) format please)  

Electronic (email) submissions are preferred to snail mail as an optimum eco-choice. All entries must be received by Earth Day, April 22. We will begin shipping the straws after April 1^st and the 2 grand prize winners will be posted (and contacted) by May 5^th.

The first 1000 essay/video contest entries received by the Earth Day deadline will receive a free Glass Straw from GlassDharma!Please note that GlassDharma will pay shipping charges for each free glass straw up to $3.00 (free shipping for USA deliveries)

A judging panel consisting of three passionate Environmental Bloggers and three members of the GlassDharma staff is ready to select 10 finalists, five for the video category, and five for the essay category.  One Grand Prize Winner for each category will be selected by popular vote amongst the judges. Grand Prize Winners will receive a $100.00 electronic GlassDharma Gift Code by email.

Music in video by Joel P. West.

More blogposts about the 1000 Free Glass Straws:

Good Girl Gone Green: No Straw, Please

Want to get your kids involved in helping clean up their world??  Join the 90 Days to Earth Day Challenge!!  It doesn't matter where you live... this is a COAST to COAST challenge and all K-12 students are invited to participate!!  Of course, I've registered my 3rd and 1st grade children for the challenge.  They're both super excited and we've decided to expand our clean up efforts beyond the beach because.... all drains to the ocean.

90 Days to Earth Day   

Attention Grades K-12

3rd Annual 90 Days to Earth Day challenge begins January 22

The challenge? To pick up as much litter as possible between January 22 and Earth Day, April 22, focusing on trash that is closest to making its way into our life support system – the ocean.

Streams, creeks, rivers, the Intracoastal Waterway and beaches are the targets of Ocean Cure’s annual 90 Days to Earth Day challenge. A local non-profit best known for providing surf camps to medically fragile and at-risk youth, Ocean Cure removed two-and-a-half tons of trash during its annual clean-up challenge in 2009 and 2010, recycling 80 percent of it. Now in its third year, 90 Days to Earth Day hopes to attract an unprecedented number of participants from North Carolina’s coastal region, making the first two years look more like a “warm-up” session. Participating grade K-12 students will have the opportunity to win prizes donated by local area businesses, with those completing a photo or video essay of their trash collection efforts eligible to win the grand prize, a week-long surf camp and Engrain surfboard from Indo Jax Surf and Kiteboard School.

Click here for rules and registration forms. Please fill out the registration form and mail it to Kevin Murphy at 607 N. Lake Park blvd. Carolina Beach, NC 28428. Any questions please contact him at 910-431-0594 or KMurphSBU@gmail.com.  **The challenge starts this Saturday, Jan. 22... send your registration form in ASAP!! :)

The ocean provides much of the food, water and oxygen we need to survive. It absorbs half of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that we pump into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels and most of the extra heat produced by the greenhouse effect.

Get involved. Your efforts will make a difference. 

Walk Lightly...

Last week, we checked out the book "A World of Wonders: Geographic Travels in Verse and Rhyme" by J. Patrick Lewis from the library.   It is such a beautiful book... my kids were constantly asking questions and illustrations had them captivated.  Wow... this is sounding like a book review! ;)

There were SO many verses and rhymes that I loved... but this one stuck out to me (especially since we checked out the book on Earth Day.)

Walk Lightly

Make the Earth your companion.

       Walk lightly on it, as other creatures do.

Let the Sky paint her beauty--she is always 

       watching over you.

Learn from the Sea how to face harsh forces.

Let the River remind you that everything will pass.

Let the Lake instruct you in stillness.

Let the Mountain teach you grandeur.

Make the Woodland your house of peace.

Make the Rainforest your house of hope.

Meet the Wetland on twilight ground.

Save some small piece of Grassland for a red kite

       on a windy day.

Watch the Icecaps glisten with crystal majesty.

Hear the Desert whisper hush to eternity.

Let the Town bring you togetherness.

Make the Earth your companion.

        Walk lightly, as other creatures do. 

Connect to the Small World

The other day, several friends had their Facebook statuses as "It's a small world."  I thought... how appropriate.  I had been thinking the same thing for days... for months... for years.  I often think about how many people that we are connected to... not personally... but through knowing another... if we've had an impact on someone we know... then eventually we will have an impact on someone we don't know without even realizing we did it.  I also think about this whole "small world" theme with nature... things that seem worlds apart... really aren't as far apart as they seem...things that seem insignificant... ARE significant.


Today-- on Earth Day-- and everyday.... Here's how you change the world:  

Realize the power of YOU.

You are important... no matter who you are, where you're from, who you know or who you don't know... you have an impact (Yes, "No Impact Man" even you ;))... and YOU can make a difference... wait... you ARE the difference...

We are ALL connected.  From the smallest microorganism to the blue whale... and we all have one thing in common... the Earth.  


 "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world." ~ John Muir 

Going Waste-Free Saves (Everything)

A little over a year ago, a reporter came to my home to interview me about our trash... or rather our lack of trash. :)  Everything that he asked me was pretty basic... until he asked me if "being well off made doing everything we do... 'easier'??"  I was completely baffled by the question because by saving resources we save another kind of resource... $$$$.

Think about it.  By reducing and reusing, it's impossible not to save money.

All those disposable products... all of those individually wrapped/boxed convenience products... some may seem cheap... but in the long run they end up being more expensive... not only for our wallets... but for the Earth as well.

Check out these facts that I found on the Kids Konserve website:

Crazy right?!  But here's the thing... that's just children's lunches.   What about the teachers... what about the people who pack a lunch for the office... what about picnics??

Hmmm...  I'm feeling like running some numbers.....

• Bottled water... one plastic single-use bottle of water per day for a year (365 days) at $1.50 per bottle = $547.50* per year!  (And we all know that nobody drinks one bottle of water a day.)
• Reusable water bottle costs anywhere from $12.50 to $22 ... fill that bottle with tap water and.... Shoot...Tap water is practically free it's so cheap. 

Want to see the math yourself?? Check out this Water Calculator :)

On to plastic baggies aka zip-locks or sandwich bags:

• A box of 50 basic zip-lock bags runs around $4 (of course depending on where they're purchased).  Let's say that you use 3 every day for a whole year.  That's 1,095 bags in one year!  And let's be honest... I remember when I used plastic baggies... I went through a lot because I used them for EVERYTHING!  Hmmm... so what does that add up to...well besides a whole lot of waste... around $90* per year for something that's thrown away!!
• Food Cozy 5 for $23.  Use, Wash, Reuse... Repeat.  

Some other common products to check prices are on single serve yogurts vs. tubs of yogurt, cups of fruit vs. fresh, Uncrustables vs. unpackaged made by you PB&J sandwich... the list can go on and on!!

Of course, I pack my kids waste-free lunches for school... but we also pack waste-free for picnics, work lunches, on-the-go snacks and... well, you get the picture.

As the 40th anniversary of Earth Day approaches... make the decision to go "Waste-Free."  There are SO many amazing products out there that make packing Waste-free lunches (and snacks) super easy.  If you're ready to go Waste-Free, check out Kids Konserve.

Reasons why I like Kids Konserve:

• Many of their products are made from recycled materials... including bags made from recycled plastic bottles and containers made from recycled stainless steel!!  (If you're recycling... and you should be... then you should also look for products made from recycled materials to complete the circle of Reduce Reuse Recyle... don't let it end with Recycle :))
• Their products come in convenient kits or products can be purchased separately to make your own personal waste-free kit!!
• Kids Konserve is a company who believes in giving back, their school Waste-Free Challenges give a percentage of every sale back to the school.  Check out their Waste-Free Lunch Challenge.  
• Clean Up Your Act This Earth Day! and Miss Earth Day
• With every order placed in April, you will receive a free 20oz. stainless steel Kids Konserve Bottle (of course, while supplies last ;) )

AND... if that's not enough... just because you've taken the time to read my blog (YAY! You!!)....they've offered a 15% discount code (earth15) valid until April 30 to use at their website!!  Thanks Kids Konserve!!!  

"As Americans we have come to depend on the many convenience products that are available to us, and nowhere is this more evident than in the school lunch room. Most parents pack lunch items in single-use plastic bags, aluminum foil, or wax paper, or they purchase single-serving items that come in their own disposable package. Admittedly, these products are extremely convenient, but what is the environmental cost to a country that relies so heavily on them?"  

-- www.wastefreelunches.org 

*I am not a mathematician ;)  If you see an error... please feel free to do the math :)