Our Daily Ocean: Day 35

The first day of the new year.... our 1st clean-up of 2011 and it couldn't have been a more perfect day.... 64˚ meant flip flops... the New Year is looking good!!!

Looking up and down the beach strand... there were so many people that it looked like it was September at the beach (except the water is a frigid 47˚!!).  We were joined by my friend Bonnie Monteleone of The Plastic Ocean.  Bonnie is finally back from sailing across the South Atlantic Ocean with 5 Gyres... so we spent a good portion of our time talking about plastics in our oceans, beach clean ups and people coming together for this common cause-- our tiny blue marble... our planet... our home.

In 2010, I had a moment where I was thinking about how there are so many people doing things to make a positive impact on this world... then I said to myself (and a few people).... "What if we all came together??  Just imagine what that would be like..."**    Because when we come together... we can accomplish so much more.  As one, we are just a voice in a crowd... going about our lives doing what we do.  BUT... when we come together... together we have the ability to rise above being a crowd of individuals... and our voices become one and we rise above that crowd.  **(So you know... moments after saying that, I contacted my (now) friend Sara Bayles who writes The Daily Ocean blog... and you know where that led ;) )

I call them "friends."  Bonnie said that they're "butting up to each other." ;)

As we were picking up cigarette butts in the wrack line and then this straw... Bonnie said, "Like things travel together."  They sure do... that's why we're friends ;)

In 2010, I also changed my way of thinking.  I went from saying, "I want to help" to "I can help" to "I am helping."  I stopped wishing that I could make a difference.  And realized that I am the difference.  That's something that we all need to realize.  If no one has told you this year... let me be the first: 

You are the difference.  

"We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.  Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential."  ~Ellen Goodman

20 minutes on January 1, 2011

Litter by weight: 13.5 oz

Cigarette butts: 431

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 35 days:

13,279

Our Daily Ocean: Day 34

My kids are all going through different phases with this whole 20 minute clean up project.  My oldest son (who's 8) is over it.  My 6 year old daughter is in the supervisor stage... meaning she points stuff out and draws in the sand a lot.  And... the once most difficult to get to help...my youngest son (4 years old) has become the biggest help.  Out of everything we're doing... he seems to be connecting the most with the project.  From his photos on Day 33 to him saying, "Aww man, it's wrapped in plastic" about a game he received for Christmas.

But even though they're at different stages in how they help or how they feel about the project... they always manage to have a fun time at the beach.... and everything is always more fun with friends!! Yesterday, my friend Tracy and her daughter, Emma (aka Claire's best friend) met us at Wrightsville Beach Access 36.

Since we started doing our 20 minute clean-ups at the beginning of August, we've removed 40 pounds 13.4 ounces of litter from Wrightsville Beach, NC.

Every weight has been added to The Daily Ocean Community Count.  I just checked and the Community Collection on The Daily Ocean was up to 769.8 lbs in 101 days!!!  

My friend Sara who writes The Daily Ocean blog has collected 706.6 lbs in 181 days.  That's 20 minutes at a time... and with her two hands alone!!!  

Did you know that Sara and her amazing husband, Garen, are going to be sailing across the South Pacific Gyre to study plastics with 5 Gyres this spring??  With 80 days to go they still need to raise $19,980. 

Can YOU spare $5 (or more) to send them on 5 Gyres??  I did... :)

20 minutes on December 28, 2010

Litter by weight: 2 lbs 13 oz

315 cigarette butts

For more details about the photos, check out the "It Starts With Me" Facebook page.

Total amount of cigarette butts picked up off of Wrightsville Beach, NC in 34 days:

12,848

Our Daily Ocean: Day 26

You ever read something it it completely strikes a chord with you??  I've been updating The Plastic Ocean Project blog and have been staying current with the happenings of the Sea Dragon crew in the South Atlantic Ocean.  I can't stop thinking about the other day when I was reading 5 gyres blog and my heart felt heavy and my eyes filled with tears:

"Slowly but surely, we're showing the world that it's crazy to think you can clean this up, that gyre cleanup starts on land...

And here's the pill I swallow every day when I wake up, go on deck and look at ocean - plastic particles, just below the surface, cover 75% of the surface of the earth. Yes, they're dispersed, but we're 1700 miles from land and everywhere we look, we find it. Everytime. Without exception. And the good companies we buy it from sponsor conferences and say that's okay. Well, it's not okay. It's not okay that convenience can break the entire ocean."  

Read the entire blog post here. 

So I read it AND then I felt empowered.  Yes!  What we're doing *IS* making a difference.  There is no way to just clean up the mess in the ocean, BUT we can clean up the land and teach others to be conscious of the problem of litter and plastics in our environment.  We can come together as a family, a neighborhood, a community, a city, a state, a country...  a WORLD... and WE can begin to clean up the idea that there is an "away" because now we know... there is no such thing as "away."

We can begin to sacrifice "personal freedoms" for the betterment of our world.  

Sacrifice what we consider "rights" for something more important:  the right to clean air and water. (Everything and everyone IS connected.)

One cigarette butt in each jar containing 2 cups of water.  This photo was taken about 10 minutes after I added tap water to the butts. 

Yesterday, we went to Access 26 and my husband was visiting my friend Sara in Santa Monica.  Together they did a 20 minute clean up for Sara's The Daily Ocean blog.  So when I saw my kids jump into this hole... 

I was immediately taken back to when we did our first 20 minute clean up with Sara in Santa Monica...

Photo taken on July 16, 2010 in Santa Monica, CA

Speaking of Sara.. she was recently recognized in the Yahoo! 2010 Year in Review as an  "Inspiring Act."  YAY!!!  Sara as an "inspiration" is no surprise to me... the girl has started a beach clean-up revolution... and I'm absolutely thrilled to be a major part of that.  I'm also completely grateful to have been included in the article under "the ripple"... because most certainly that's what I'm all about ;) 

Sara is also taking the beach clean ups that she does a step further as she joins the Sea Dragon crew in the spring to sail across the South Pacific with 5 Gyres.  Can YOU "Spare $5 to send Sara on 5 Gyres"??   

20 minutes on December 3, 2010

Litter by weight: 5.7 oz

198 cigarette butts

Total amount of cigarette butts picked up off of Wrightsville Beach, NC in 26 days:

10,640

Our Daily Ocean: Day 25

Last week when I spoke to Jane of the Raleigh News & Observer... she asked me a question that I get asked often as of late, "When will you stop?"  Hmmm....

Thanks to my friend Bonnie for trusting me to update The Plastic Ocean Project blog while she's in the South Atlantic Gyre plucking and documenting plastics, I've been staying current with what they're doing and what they're finding... the other night I read 5 Gyres blog and could finally answer the question, "When will *I* stop??"  

"Slowly but surely, we're showing the world that it's crazy to think you can clean this up, that gyre cleanup starts on land...And here's the pill I swallow every day when I wake up, go on deck and look at ocean - plastic particles, just below the surface, cover 75% of the surface of the earth. Yes, they're dispersed, but we're 1700 miles from land and everywhere we look, we find it. Everytime. Without exception. And the good companies we buy it from sponsor conferences and say that's okay. Well, it's not okay. It's not okay that convenience can break the entire ocean." 

~ Stiv Wilson

What we're (all) doing by cleaning up on land is saving the ocean from another load of plastics that would have been destined to end up being ingested by marine animals or swirling about in our oceans.  Sure my project has been about cigarette butts... BUT... cigarette butts are a prime example of people's lack of consciousness to "where" their discarded litter actually goes and the impact that they have on the environment.  If we can change "that" mindset... I have nothing but hope for the possibilities :)

My kids and I (along with one of our dogs) went to Access 4 on Tuesday.  It's only the second time that we've been to the North end of Wrightsville Beach.  The north end is completely different than the south end.  One of the most notable differences is the sand.  It's so light and powdery that it's easily blown by the wind and forms a blanket (think like snow) over everything.  The wrack line was completely covered in a good 4-6 inches of sand.  Another difference that I noticed while we were picking up litter was the lack of litter.  Something to do with less people?? or maybe it was all covered in a blanket of sand??

20 minutes on November 30, 2010

Amount of litter by weight: 3.7 oz

Cigarette butts: 44 (yes, this is the lowest yet!!)

Total amount of cigarette butts picked up off of Wrightsville Beach, NC in 25 days:

10,442

Our Daily Ocean: Day 23

We hit the beach today after we had lunch at Flaming Amy's ... and went to Tidal Creek and Great Harvest Bread to get some last minute things for Thanksgiving!!  It was another gorgeous day today....

Yup... those are pelicans... I LOVE pelicans.... there's something so prehistoric yet graceful about them that leaves me in complete awe.

The last time we were at Access 39 was back in September when Hurricane Earl was just offshore.  I've been meaning to get back there, but always end up choosing a different access instead.  BUT... today I was so clear about where I wanted to go that I didn't ask for anyone else's input. AND...it's a good thing that I decided to go there today!!  As I was leaning over to pick up cigarette butts under the bench....

I noticed a bit of black plastic sticking out from the sand.  (Prepare for feel good moment ;) )  I reached into the sand and pulled out a cell phone!!  It was still on and had several missed calls... SO... I hit a button and called "Mom"... who ended up being sister and said that her brother was on his way home to Durham for Thanksgiving!!  This lost phone....  It's not lost anymore!!! :D (I'm hanging on to his phone until he gets back into town on Sunday!!)  YAY!!  It feels good to finally pick up something that isn't trash...

Unfortunately not everything left on the beach is wanted.... but today I thought about how great it would be if I could call up the people that left their butts on the beach... OR the companies who've branded their names.....

"Hi... Philip Morris... one of your Marlboros is on Wrightsville Beach, NC.  Would you like to meet me to pick it up??"  Hmmm... a girl can day dream... right?? ;)

 It's been awhile since we've played "Find That Butt"... can YOU find the butt in this picture??

I liken this picture to something that my friend Bonnie (The Plastic Ocean) said,

"...the problem with plastics in our marine environment goes unnoticed because most of it is underwater or broken down into small bits floating on the surface.  Not that it takes a trained eye to see it; you just have to recognize  that it's there.  Once you do, it likens to the 'Magic Eyes' from the 90's.  Remember staring at a random series of blotches until an image imbedded in the blotches could be recognized?  Once your eyes discovered it, you could always see it.  And you wondered why you hadn't noticed at first glance."

And that's the way it is with cigarette butts.  Once you start looking for them.. once you recognize that they're there... in piles... strewn across the sands....under shells....suddenly they're everywhere...

My friend Bonnie is currently sailing across the South Atlantic Ocean with 5 Gyres and Pangaea Explorations sampling plastics in the ocean.  While she's out in the middle of the ocean, I'm updating The Plastic Ocean Project blog with posts that she sends me.... please take the time to read about what life is like sailing through the South Atlantic and to learn about what they are finding.
 The Plastic Ocean Project and 5 Gyres Blog

From land to sea... we're all connected... 

There's a straw in this photo.

20 minutes on November 24, 2010


Litter by weight: 6 oz
166 cigarette butts

Total amount of cigarette butts picked up off of Wrightsville Beach, NC in 23 days:

9,964

Our Daily Ocean: Day 16

The past 2 weeks have been an amazing whirlwind.  My project that was selected as a finalist for the Brita FilterForGood Film Project received more support than I could've ever dreamed up.  Who would've guessed when I started doing these 20 minute clean-ups and counting cigarette butts that it would turn into this??  Ok... I know one person who did.  For anyone who doesn't know the story (I've told it more times than I remember)... when I first started counting the cigarette butts my friend Tracy had text me with a message telling me that I needed to make a movie.... AND... go to Sundance. (hahaha... I was rolling...  I'm not laughing anymore.)  I've been quick to call her my fortune teller.  What she did (like so many others) was help facilitate this... opened my eyes to follow the signs.  How it happened was simple...Tracy wanted SO bad to go to Jack Johnson that she asked me to "like" Brita FilterForGood on Facebook to give her better odds of winning tickets ... so... I did. (she didn't win JJ tickets.)  BUT... what happened... is a couple of weeks after she made her comment to me about making a movie... I went on Facebook and as I was scrolling, I did a double take... obviously... at this point you know what I saw. :)

Yesterday, as the votes were coming in for my project, my kids and I went to Wrightsville Beach... it seemed only fitting that we go back to where we started on Day #1:

Access 43... ahh... the place of all of our family pictures.  Families, fishermen/women, surfers, and lovers spend their time at Access 43.  It is so beautiful there... dunes... grasses... birds... it's so beautiful it's breathtaking (ok... I admit... the beach always does that to me... I LOVE the beach). 

Before starting this project of picking up cigarette butts, I was (and still am) an avid litter picker-upper.  I learned about the problems of litter (including cigarette filters) from my friend Jennifer (she's a superhero!!).  It was Jennifer who told me about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and introduced me to my (now) friend Bonnie... which inspired me to ALWAYS pick up litter on my local beaches.

While I clean up litter on the land... Bonnie goes out to our oceans and helps sample and study plastics in our oceans.  She's been to the North Atlantic Gyre, sailed with the Algalita Foundation to the North Pacific Gyre (aka Great Pacific Garbage Patch) and NOW Bonnie is going to be traveling on the Sea Dragon with 5 Gyres, and Pangaea explorations from Rio to Cape Town sailing across the South Atlantic Gyre where she and a team of more AMAZING people will be sampling the ocean for quantities of plastic.

Why should we care? 

As Bonnie says, "Besides the fact that millions of marine life die each year from our floating plastic, I have witnessed prestigious island beaches where fragments of plastic, beaten down by the ocean, wash in as children swim.  If we don’t stop plastic trash from entering our oceans, all of our beaches will share the same fate.  Of all the environmental issues our oceans are facing, this one is the easiest one to fix and it starts with research in order to promote awareness and inspire change."

We need the research to support change.  They need YOUR support  for the research.

Bonnie is currently fundraising for this research mission... that leaves next weekend!!  She needs OUR help!!  Bonnie has been such an inspiration for me... she's not a scientist... she's just a "normal" person who read something and became inspired to get involved.  Of course, we've donated to Bonnie... SO I'm asking here....if you can help Bonnie... don't hesitate... whether you can give $10... $20... $50... every bit helps.  Check out her cause on Facebook or visit her website to donate!

Ok... back to the butts...

Did you know that cigarette butts are "toxic at rather low concentrations"??

 

 YUP...  based on a study by San Diego State University they found that "even one butt in a liter of water can kill the fish in a period of 96 hours."  (NASTY!)  They don't just look bad in the environment... they're BAD for the environment!! (Shocker)

 OK... so I don't want to forget to share the *romantic* side of Access 43 ;) Signs of "love" were everywhere... socks, underwear, shirts, panties... and lots of things that I refuse to touch!  Thanks to my kids finding a long metal pole... I didn't.  Here's a "rated PG" picture:

I appreciate people being safe... but geez... if you wrap it.... make sure you trash it!! (I can't believe I wrote that and am not going to delete it! haha!)

20 minutes on October 29, 2010

Litter picked up by weight: 2 lbs 11 oz

Cigarette Butts: 265

Total amount of cigarette butts picked up off of Wrightsville Beach, NC in 16 days:

7,625