Taking More Than Pictures....

Because people leave more than footprints.

Our Daily Ocean: Day 27

My lips are chapped from spending a cold afternoon at Wrightsville Beach.  *sigh* it's beginning to feel a lot like winter.  (When I left the beach... my car read 46˚!!)

My friend Tracy and her two children-- Liam and Emma-- met the four of us at the beach to do a 20 minute clean up.  We hadn't seen our friends since Thanksgiving and our kids were ecstatic to see each other.... so overly excited that the 5 of them ran around playing for the entire 20 minutes and beyond! (yes, they fell asleep fast tonight!)  While our kids got much needed energy out of their systems... Tracy and I picked up litter around Access 18.  

This is Tracy's daughter and my daughter's best friend :)

Access 18 is sandwiched between Johnnie Mercer's Pier (Access 16) and our record setting Access 20.  Something about that area... I don't know what it is... and maybe I don't need to... but one thing is for certain... there IS a problem.

The beach is changing it's shape once again.  The ocean has carved a ledge in our once flat beach...

....and as the ocean digs away at the sand... I imagine it's revealing years worth of littered cigarette butts... and no doubt the ocean does this often... sifting through layers of sand to show us the years of irresponsibility.... this should help us remove the wool from our eyes.... and become conscious to the fact that this process-- litter, cover, purge--is a never-ending circle repeating itself constantly...

Because it's obvious that the shape of the beach is changing and the weather is changing...

BUT there's one thing that isn't:

20 minutes on December 4, 2010

Litter by weight:  1 lb 15.7 oz 

Cigarette butts: 461 

Total amount of cigarette butts picked up off of Wrightsville Beach, NC in 27 days:

11,101

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

Plastic-Free Recipe: Vegetable & Bean Tamale Pie

Ever since we did our plastic-free food week at the end of September, we have been striving to buy no foods in plastic.  Some weeks it has proven to be difficult (mainly because of traveling and the inability to not taking the time to plan ahead).  For the most part--like eating local--80-90% of our meals, including snacks, are plastic-free.

On Monday, I adapted one of my favorite recipes to make it plastic-free!!  (Well... almost... I still used canned tomatoes :/... but canning tomatoes is on my to do list for next year!!)  UPDATE: I've found diced tomatoes in glass jars!

Vegetable & Bean Tamale Pie 

adapted from America's Test Kitchen The Best Make Ahead Recipe

3 TBSP Vegetable Oil*

1 medium onion, minced

Salt

2 (28-oz) cans diced tomatoes, well drained, with 2 cups of juice reserved OR use fresh tomatoes

2 tsp sugar

1 TBSP chili powder*

4 med. garlic cloves, minced

2-4 tsp minced chipotle chilis in adobo sauce

2 tsp minced fresh oregano leaves (optional)

1 tsp ground cumin*

2 cups dried beans*-- black, kidney and/or pinto beans. (I like to use all 3), soaked and cooked OR
         3 (15oz) cans of beans

2-3 ears of corn, cut off kernels from cobs

1 medium zucchini, cut into half-inch cubes

2 cups chopped or torn Kale (optional)

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves

4 tsp lime juice (2 limes)

Ground black pepper

Homemade cornbread (for topping)
Guacamole (for serving)

*bought in bulk

All veggies are organic and/or local.

  

Preheat oven to 375˚

**Heat oil in large Dutch oven over med-high heat.  Add onion and 1/2 tsp of salt.  Cook until softened and lightly browned, 5-7 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes and sugar and cook, stirring, until tomatoes are very dried and browned, 10- 15 minutes.

Add chili powder, garlic, chipotles, oregano, and cumin.  Cook about 1 minute or until fragrant.  Stir in the reserved tomato juice, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.

Off heat, add beans, corn, zucchini, kale, cilantro and lime juice.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer bean and veggie mixture to a 9x13" baking dish.

**Make Cornbread Topping:

1 1/2 c unbleached all-purpose flour

1 c yellow cornmeal

6 TBSP sugar

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 c buttermilk (local and/or organic)

8 TBSP organic unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

Whisk together the dry ingredients-- flour through baking soda-- in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk remaining ingredients.  Stir the wet mixture into the flour mixture until no dry lumps remain.

**Spread the cornbread mixture evenly over the top of the veggie and bean filling, pushing it into the edges of the baking dish.  Then, pop it all in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the cornbread is baked through and golden.

Serve with homemade guacamole!!  Seriously... SO YUMMY!!! :)

Tip:  This makes A LOT!  You can bake half and freeze the rest.  To do this all you have to do is use two 8x8" casserole dishes.  Divide the filling and topping into each dish evening.  Bake ONLY one.  The other cover with parchment paper and then aluminum foil.  The Tamale Pie can be frozen for up to a month.  To bake the frozen pie, let it sit at room temp. for 30 minutes.  Then bake, covered, for 20 minutes @ 375˚.  Uncover and bake until the cornbread topping is baked through and golden, about 40 minutes longer.  

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 24

On Sunday, my family and I went to the beach.  It was really a gorgeous day... the sun was shining bright and the sky was as blue as blue could be... BUT... it was a very windy and cold day at the beach...

That's the Oceanic Pier at Access 36.  Access 36 has become a regular spot for us to do our 20 minute clean ups.  It's one of those accesses that even in off-season... litter still abounds.  Liz, who writes the Litter Sucks blog, joined us at Access 36.  Liz does clean ups at Carolina and Kure Beaches... where she often loses track of time while picking up litter.  The butt counts for CB and KB in the Community Butt Count come from her efforts :)  Go Liz!!!

Sorry for the uber dark photo... the sun was strong!!

Whenever we hit Access 36, my husband and I always make a right... heading south to the Oceanic Pier.  It never fails that we find a good portion of our butt count under the pier... especially in the Oceanic Restaurant's employee break area.  I know I bring this up A LOT....BUT... when I... and I alone... am able to pick up 42 fairly "fresh" cigarette butts in one area.... I think that's a problem.  A problem not only because of the obvious... but also because if those people can casually put their butts in the sand under the pier... it means that they're casually putting their butts out everywhere else.  That's a HUGE problem and such a bummer.

Of course, I always take photos of the litter that we find during our 20-minute clean ups... I feel like I'm always taking the same photos... cigarette butt here... plastic something there... with the most beautiful backdrop.  Over the weekend I took some of the photos that I've taken during our 20 minute cleanups and made this video....

20 minutes on November 28, 2010

Litter by weight: 13.5 oz

Cigarette Butts: 434

Total amount of cigarette butts picked up off of Wrightsville Beach, NC in 24 days:

10,398

Our Daily Ocean Community: Julie

On Saturday, November 20... while we were out of town... my friend Julie and her two young children went to Johnnie Mercer's Pier (Access 16) at Wrightsville Beach. 

Here's what she sent me:

"Yesterday, we went to the beach with the intention of picking up butts for just 20 minutes, but I couldn't get the kids to stop. They wanted to beat our last week's number (339). And it's nearly impossible to stop, because we always see just one or two more butts... Thank you for inspiring us. I never knew just how MANY butts there were, until we started picking them up. It's disheartening and disgusting...We hope that our small effort will help your big one... on that beautiful beach.

Here is our bucket. I didn't realize 'til after I took the photo, the "Thank You" label in the trash. The irony...

Johnnie Mercer's Pier: 436 butts"

I've been adding the amount of butts that my friends pick up off of Wrightsville Beach to the Community Butt Count on the sidebar.  Liz who writes the Litter Sucks blog has been sending me lots of butt counts.  She's been picking up litter and counting the butts she finds on Carolina and Kure Beaches.  On the same day that Julie was at Wrightsville Beach, Liz and a couple of people picked up 1,135 cigarette butts off of Carolina Beach, NC in just 30 minutes!!!  

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."~Anne Frank

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 22

This afternoon my kids and I headed to Wrightsville Beach... once again it was an absolutely beautiful day!!  This is the November that I LOVE and the reason I moved here!!!

I know we've been going to Access 16 a lot lately... but today I had a reason-- easy to find and convenient location!!  My purpose for heading to WB today was not only to do a 20 minute clean up, but to also meet Zak Keith of Oceana North Carolina!

Zak is in Wilmington working as a field organizer for Oceana's climate and energy campaign to stop the expansion of offshore drilling along the Atlantic Coast.  YAY!!  Now that's a campaign that I will happily support and encourage everyone else to support as well!!  Please visit Oceana and/or Oceana North Carolina to sign the petition to President Obama in support of clean energy and against offshore drilling!

So as we picked up butts (and other litter),  Zak got me up to speed on the issues of off-shore drilling.  I've always been one to say that--of course--I'm against offshore drilling for the obvious reasons.  Some other reasons are purely aesthetics.  I don't want to look out from Wrighstville Beach (or any other beach for that matter) and see a offshore drilling platform.  But as Zak informed me... even if we couldn't see it from our beach there would always be reminders that it's out there... reminders coming in the form of tarballs that could wash up on our East Coast beaches.  YUCK!!

It's been 7 months since the Deep Water Horizon disaster and it's important that people don't forget....The only way to prevent another oil spill is by stopping offshore drilling and investing in clean energy.

A clean, safer energy future is possible... and it's up to US to demand it!!  

Check out this video of dolphins and a whale filmed (today) off the coast of Wrightsville Beach by fellow local litter sweeper.... "we live in paradise"... let's protect it....

We NEED change.

20 minutes on November 22, 2010

Total amount of litter by weight: 1 lb 1 oz

Cigarette Butts: 545

Total amount of cigarette butts picked up off of Wrightsville Beach, NC in 22 days:

9,798

Our Daily Ocean: Day 21

On Monday, as we made a trip to the store to refresh our snack bulk snack supply... my three kids and I made a detour to Wrightsville Beach.  Let me just say that the weather was AMAZINGLY gorgeous!!  There were so many more people at the beach... walking, basking in the sun, paddleboarding.... you name it... it was a beautiful day to be at the beach!!!                                                                                

It was so beautiful that my boys spent the good majority of our 20 minutes running around and digging in the sand.  My daughter, on the other hand, was right by my side for the entire 20 minutes.  She spent her time focused and saying things that make being a parent SO rewarding....

"I think the Earth likes us."

".... because we pick up the trash that it can't reach.  The Earth doesn't like all this trash... it wishes that it had arms so it could grab it all, but it can't...."

Like everything in life... it's always more fun with someone by your side.  And clean-ups are no exception...during our 20 minutes, my daughter reminded me of another reason why it's so great to have a partner in picking up litter... especially as we were picking up the cigarette butts and I would miss some and she would miss some....

"It's good we do this together because you see stuff that I don't see and I see stuff that you don't see." 

As we were leaving the beach, a father was playing soccer (ok... tapping around the ball) with his (probably) 18 month old son.  His son saw me with our buckets and reached into the sand... he walked towards me with a handful of sand and wanted to put it in the bucket.  "That's the good stuff." I told him as he put it in my hand.  The father quickly took notice of the contents of our buckets and asked...  I told him what we were doing and why we do it and of course how many cigarette butts we had picked up in 20 days.  All the while his son kept giving me sand... and then as he put the sand in my hand.... I said to the Dad, "Just think if he grabbed cigarette butts while he was picking up handfuls of sand."  And he said,


"Oh... he did... a little bit ago."  :(

20 minutes on November 15, 2010
Total amount of litter by weight: 14.3 oz
Cigarette butts: 526

Total amount of cigarette butts picked up off of Wrightsville Beach, NC in 21 days:

9,253