A couple of summers ago, my family and I went to southern California. I remember driving along PCH-1 and looking out to the ocean. It was a perfect drive... but then there was a moment when I looked out at the ocean and said to my husband, "What the heck is that??" Offshore oil rig. Yuck. When I stare out at the Atlantic Ocean, there are no off-shore oil rigs in my view. It's perfect. That ocean view is something that people pay top dollar for when choosing their hotels at the beach... and it's that unobstructed view of the ocean that people will spend major $$ on for their ocean front homes. Yes, I'm all about the conservation and protection of our oceans, beaches and the wildlife that inhabit them... but let's be honest... the ocean is worth protecting on so many levels including enjoyment, real estate, tourism, fishing, LIFE, etc...
Please take the time to send in your public comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management opposing seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean by using this Oceana action alert:
Yes, I'm still picking up cigarette butts and other litter at Wrightsville Beach... and the comparison of the amount of cigarette butts that Sara and I pick up at our respective beaches is still going strong. During Sara's last 20 minute beach clean up in Santa Monica (a smoke-free beach), she picked up 4 cigarette butts... while I picked up 105. Since March 9, Sara and I have each done 13 beach clean ups. Here are the tallies:
13 beach clean ups in Santa Monica: 107 cigarette butts
13 beach clean ups in Wrightsville Beach: 3,345 cigarette butts
Ummm.... as Sara says, "Ban the Butt works!"
20 minutes on May 3, 2012 at Access 36
Litter by weight: 12.7 oz
Cigarette butts: 105
Straws: 36
Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 136 days:
44,687
