rise above plastics

The Rise Above Plastics Blog Has Moved

2011-09-22T13:24:00.000-07:00

The Surfrider Foundation has consolidated all of our issue-based blogs into one Coastal Blog.

Check it out at www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog
and to view all of the Rise Above Plastics posts at once you can bookmark
www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/c/rise-above-plastics

California Supreme Court Rules for Bag Bans!

2011-07-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

Today, the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of the City of Manhattan Beach’s single-use plastic bag ban, holding that state law does not require the City to complete a full Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) in order to impose the ban. This decision undoubtedly will make it easier for cities to prohibit stores from distributing plastic grocery bags, ruling that state law didn't require Manhattan Beach to do an environmental impact report before imposing a plastic-bag ban in 2008. In the past, California cities have been especially deterred from acting to pass these local ordinances because there was the potential to be sued by the "Save Our Plastic Bag Coalition," a group comprised of plastic bag manufacturers and distributors.

The Plaintiff industry group claims the movement to ban plastic bags was based on misinformation and would increase the use of paper bags, with overall negative environmental consequences. However, the Supreme Court seemed to understand that the motive behind the ordinance was to replace single-use plastic bags with reusable ones, thereby making for a better coastal environment. Surely, the ordinance would have no significant negative effect on the environment. Justice Carol A. Corrigan, writing for a unanimous court and reversing the lower court opinion, said that “[s]ubstantial evidence and common sense support the city’s determination that its ordinance would have no significant effect. Therefore, a negative declaration was sufficient to comply with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.”

Half of the opinion is spent discussing the standard for standing (or ability to sue). The Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, even though representing industry corporations, was allowed to bring this citizen suit because there was an actual controversy between parties with sufficient interests in the subject matter. The court also noted that under CEQA, strict rules of standing do not apply when there are broad environmental concerns involved in the case.

This is a win for Manhattan Beach who has spent the past three years wrapped up in this litigation at the Superior Court, Appeals Court and finally the California Supreme Court level. It started in July of 2008, when Surfrider Foundation South Bay Chapter activists worked with many other environmental organizations to spark Manhattan Beach City Council to prohibit carry-out plastic bags.

Importantly, this decision means that it is safe for cities (especially smaller cities) to proceed in enacting a local bag ban ordinance with merely an accompanying Negative Declaration rather than a full (and more expensive) Environmental Impact Report to fulfill their California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) requirement. The decision does focus on Manhattan Beach being a smaller city, with the population of 35,852 in the 2010 census, as one of the justifications for environmental impact being low.

One significant distinguishing factor between the Manhattan Beach case and the more recent bag bans that have been passed in California is the inclusion of a 5-cent fee on single-use paper bags. Because the popular approach to this issue is now deterring all single-use bags, there is even less of an argument that a restriction on plastic bags will increase the use of paper bags. The object of all cities that are trying to regulate bags in California is to encourage consumers to shop with reusable bags and to encourage the habit of bringing your own bag to the store. This type of ordinance regulating both paper and plastic, in turn, alleviates the impact on the environment, especially the marine environment, and stops a waste of natural resources used to make the single-use bags.

San Francisco, Malibu, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Calabasas, Marin County and unincorporated Los Angeles County have also enacted bans. Many other cities are chomping at the bit to do the same, but were waiting on the opinion of the Supreme Court in this case. This opinion will usher in a new round of local action on single-use plastic bag pollution.

Applause to the California Supreme Court for allowing Manhattan Beach to Rise Above Plastics!

Texas' Attempt to Ban Plastic Bag Bans Fails!

2011-06-23T06:59:00.000-07:00

I am happy to announce with that the attempt by two Texas Legislators to limit local rule on plastic bag ordinances has failed in the Texas Legislature leaving local communities able to tackle plastic pollution on their own terms! This was the result of a joint effort by all 5 Texas Chapters of the Surfrider Foundation and the Texas Campaign for the Environment.

This now leaves the door open for proposed plastic bag bans in Austin, Corpus Christi and Galveston to be passed and join South Padre Island, Brownsville and Fort Stockton as communities that have adopted plastic bag bans in an effort to reduce litter and plastics litter in their areas! The passage of more plastic bag ordinances within the state of Texas is now imperative in the next 2 years so that Texas Legislators that supported the ban on plastic bag bans will be forced to defend actions that were taken in their districts to take care of their environment.

Ironically, Senator Troy Fraser who introduced the Senate version of the plastic bag ordinance ban was named as one of Texas Monthly's worst legislators for the 82nd Texas Legislative Session. He actually introduced legislation that would give incentive to grow the states burgeoning solar energy industry but then failed to support the legislation himself.

A Sea Turtle's Bag

2011-06-03T05:45:00.000-07:00

For those of you that refuse to believe that plastic bags have a direct effect on marine life see below. This turtle was rescued by Sea Turtle, Inc. on South Padre Island. The volunteer is having to aid the animal in passing the bag. Most turtles are not so lucky to have assistance and end up dying.

Yes. This is a REAL turtle attempting to pass a REAL plastic shopping bag it consumed

Thanks to the hospital at Sea Turtle, Inc. this Sea Turtle will survive its mistake. Most aren't so lucky.

Pass on the bag so another Sea Turtle won't have to!

BPA on Cash Register Receipts - D'OH!

2011-05-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

Bisphenol-A, or "BPA", is a key component in plastics. It has been fingered by scientists as an endocrine disruptor and in studies has shown to mimic the effects of the female-centric hormone estrogen... And...scientists and biologists agree that when you mess with a person's hormones, you are asking for trouble, so bottom line: stop eating & drinking from items that leach this BPA (all plastics leach these chemicals). Fun Fact: plastic drink bottles contain and leach this BPA Chemical.

NEWS FLASH: Sadly, now BPA is a key component in cash register receipts! Hel-lo! Yep, it's that powdery-feeling stuff on the ubiquitous "thermal" cash register receipts - so pretty much ALL receipts that you get from any establishment nowadays is coated with waaaaay more BPA than is proven to be harmful to developing babies, in clinical studies. Experts claim that these receipts give off waaaaay more BPA than you can get from drinking from plastic bottles - so much so that several restaurant chains are banning the use of this type of "paper" receipt in their restaurants.

Taco Bell, KFC & Pizza Hut are all dumping the BPA receipts - and you thought that they didn't care about your health...tsk-tsk - THEY ARE MAVERICKS - BRAVO! Read one of the articles about it here. We here at RAP HQ have even heard that the ENTIRE COUNTRY of JAPAN has already banned this type of receipt paper-poison-stuff.

Watch out for stuff labeled "BPA Free" too - this nasty BPA is often being replaced in plastics with something called..."BPS"...we can only imagine what this yet-to-be-studied compound will do to our bodies - stay tuned for more on that as we get more info!

HAVE A GREAT MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND, ALL Y'ALL!

Greatest Generation Had It Right. So What Happened?

2011-05-19T19:03:00.000-07:00

We have a lot to learn from our Grandparents. I find myself in awe with my Grandmother, Nana as I have known her my entire life. She is the strongest and most opinionated woman I have ever met. She isn't going to sugar coat anything when it comes to her beliefs. Why not, she grew up in the Great Depression and watched all of her Brothers sail off to the Pacific in World War II. She even tried to get certified to ferry B-17 bombers to Europe but luckily the war ended and ALL of her brothers came home to start their new lives. The great life stories she tells only begin there!

To wrap her up in one sentence, my Dad used to say, "Nana can spit further and shoot straighter than any man alive and will prove it at the drop of a hat." That being said, she is the essence of a truly radiant, polished and kind Texas woman.

That's a long intro for this post but it is important because Nana is strong willed. The times she grew up in in South Texas made her that way. She has never, to my knowledge, backed down from a challenge and rising above plastics is a huge challenge, especially to older people. The irony is it shouldn't have ever happened that this campaign ever came about. They already had it right!

Nana grew up in the Great Depression and World War II. This time in America was all about living on very little and wasting nothing. People were asked to collect scrap metal, tires, cans, to not drive, grow their own gardens. Even cooking fat had value to be recycled for explosives. Nana has told us multiple times of when they would get a stick of chewing gum as kids, it was such a big deal that they would stick it on their headboards when they went to sleep at night and chew it again the next day!

To use something once and throw it away was seen as not being a patriotic American and though times were very difficult, the people that came out were proud, not wasteful and saved everything!

My Grandmother now hates the fact that the City of San Antonio makes her recycle. What?! They even provide a large bin and sort it for her. When you look back on the beginning of this post, you would think that recycling is at the core of her being. After all, she grew up doing it. Do not get me wrong, this one aspect of her personality does not diminish her in my eyes at all. I am just wanting to know what happened. The woman still uses cloth napkins for crying out loud at just about every meal and then washes them! It doesn't jive.

So what did happen to us in the few decades since the galvanizing of the "Greatest Generation". We got lazy and single use plastics led the way! Why wash the dishes when you could use a paper plate or cup and throw it away? Why have to use a soggy paper plate or cup when you could use the newer and stronger plastic ones? Why go through the effort of taking that case of returnable glass bottles back to the store for that 5 cent refund when you could just get your soda in a convenient can or plastic bottle that can just be discarded when done? Finally and the biggest one, why drink that "filthy" tap water out of the faucet or fountain when you can carry this "cleaner" and more stylish water around in a convenient SINGLE USE PLASTIC BOTTLE?

The "Rise Above Plastics" campaign is simple in concept and is one of the most challenging things you will ever do in life at the same time. Breaking the habit of those plastic bottles and bags is hard and anyone who says any different is not being honest. In fact, you have no real concept of just how much single use plastics have become a part of your life and our society until you decide to make that break. It can be done though.

"Rise Above Plastics" is an attempt to get us back to where we were just 6 decades ago. Our Grandparents and parents had it right. It was good and patriotic to not produce so much waste and to reuse things. Now through some twisted flip of the script businesses, lobbyists and politicians have convinced us that it is now oppressive and wrong to want our society to go back to the days before we threw away 215 plastic bottles per person in the United States a year. That's 66 BILLION bottles annually! There is something inherently wrong with that line of logic.

If you have not already started or tried, today is your day to go retro and emulate part of the greatness of the "Greatest Generation". They did it. My Grandmother still does it on some levels without even realizing it. Remember those cloth napkins? I'm working with her on the other stuff but when I say strong willed, I am not kidding around. It will be hard and you will stumble and forget your reusable bags or your reusable bottle or coffee cup but we all make mistakes AND we all become better as we move on from them. Rehabilitate your life and feel good doing it.

Today is your day to start rising above plastics!!

Brownsville Bag Ban Eliminates 350,000 Plastic Bags Per Day!

2011-05-09T05:16:00.000-07:00

It's amazing that with results like this, the Texas Legislature is attempting to ban plastic bag bans in Texas.

From May 7, 2011 New York Times.....

Mixed Reviews for Brownsville Ban on Plastic Bags

Ms. Orozco’s collection of tote bags stems from a recent ordinance in Brownsville, one of Texas’ poorest big cities: a ban on plastic checkout bags in virtually all businesses.The policy, which took effect in January, has eliminated more than 350,000 bags per day, according to Mayor Pat Ahumada, who said in an e-mail that it has “transformed our city from littered and dirty to a much cleaner city.

'Share A Bag' at Your Local Farmers Market

2011-05-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

There are lots of cool ways to Rise Above Plastics and we love this idea from the Mar Vista Farmers Market in California. The market has decided to ban the controversial bags, which pose a serious threat to marine life and contribute to our reliance on oil. Come Sept. 1, 2011, plastic grocery bags will no longer be given out by Mar Vista Farmers' Market vendors.

To wean shoppers off their reliance on the offending plastic bags, Mar Vista Farmers' Market management and the Mar Vista Community Council's Green Committee launched a "Share a Bag" program at the market on April 17. Five hundred free, reusable bags were distributed to kick off the program.

Click Here for the full story from www.MarVista.Patch.com

Real Reason Coke Is Not Ditching BPA.

2011-05-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

As a side note to the below article, I would like to comment that to this day, you can go into Mexico and buy and exchange your Coca-Cola, Topo Chico and yes, beer bottles any day of the week. Unfortunately for myself and them, I am no longer willing to risk being caught in the cross fire of a firefight between the Mexican Military and the Drug Cartels to do this. Yes, a country that is in the midst of a turmoil that we hopefully will never know here, still has a returnable bottle program that spreads across international borders and works.

From the April 29th article, " The Real Reason Coca-Cola Isn't Ditching Bisphenol A" at Treehugger by Lloyd Alter

"The REAL reason that Coke isn't talking is that they know perfectly well what the real answer is to the issue of how to get rid of BPA in cans: bring back the returnable bottle system that they have spent fifty years trying to destroy. As I noted in my post Recycling is Bullshit, the switch to disposables has enabled Coke to centralize production, eliminate the independent bottlers that served each community or region, and ship the stuff around the country on the interstates paid for by the taxpayers.

They have become hugely profitable because they have shifted the cost of taking back and dealing with the container from the company to Ariel and me and everyone else who pays for the garbage pickup, the landfill and the recycling costs.

Right now, there is no proven, reliable replacement for Bispenol A epoxies for acidic products like tomatoes or Coke. If people want to stop being exposed to it, they should demand returnable, refillable glass bottles. The stuff tastes better in it anyways."

Read the entire story here.

Texas Lege Attempts To Ban Plastic Bag Bans!

2011-04-29T06:27:00.000-07:00

There are two bills in the Texas Legislature right now that represent what is wrong with our political "discourse" as of late. They also do a hell of a job pointing out the hypocrisy that political parties regularly generate.

Senator Troy Fraser

Rep. Kelly Hancock

Everyone in Texas (Conservative, Liberal, Tea Party, Independent) should immediately contact their Texas State Senators and Representatives and ask them to strike out the last line of SB908 and HB1913. These bills are 95% good (encouraging the recycling of plastic shopping bags and offering of reusable bags), but the two lawmakers that are sponsoring them, District 24 Senator Troy Fraser and District 91 Representative Kelly Hancock, have decided to slide in a restrictive clause in the bill that would limit local community rights by not allowing them to enact any local ordinances that would conflict with these bills. Some,myself among them, interpret this to mean that Texas towns and counties will not be able to draft and implement plastic bag bans, fees or other ordinances that would aid in the reduction of litter in their area.

The reason that an environmental conscious person should object to the restrictions on their local governments is obvious. Encouraging the recycling of plastic bags is nice but is really almost completely ineffectual and almost non existent. These bags end up in our streets and gutters; clogging them up. Those that get through the gutters move on to our lakes, rivers and oceans to finally end up being consumed by marine animals and birds that mistake them for food.

Only 1%-9% of plastic bags are recycled annually. In addition the recyclables commodity market does not exactly encourage the recycling of plastic bags by private industry and is a huge loss for anyone who attempts it. According to the Clean Air Council, it costs $1,000 to recycle one ton of plastic bags which can be turned around and sold for $32. Not really a great cost benefit ratio there, huh? Therefor it is obvious that we should reduce the amount and usage of these bags through bans on these bags being distributed at stores or by implementing fees that will discourage the use of the bags encourage reusable bags but still provide funding for those cities and towns to clean up the current plastic litter problem they are facing.

What if you think, despite the above information, that plastic bag bans, fees and other ordinances are not the answer and consumers should have the option of plastic bags and then recycle and reuse them? Well, these bills seek to usurp local community's rights to enact laws and regulations that they feel would address their plastic and other litter issues. Whether these laws end up being a ban, a fee or even an expanded recycling program- shouldn't those communities have THAT choice to tackle their problem? After all the solution will be debated on the local level and not dictated by a lawmaker in Austin.

Isn't this what many of the Conservatives ran on to ride the wave of conservative change into the Texas Legislature in 2010? They told their constituents that they, like them, were tired of being told what to do by the ever expanding state and federal government and they would protect the rights of their constituents to make their own choices for their communities and themselves. The very fact that HB1913 and SB908 seek to limit these local powers is a slap in the face to these principles that conservative candidates like Representative Hancock and Senator Fraser expounded on to get into office. As a Conservative or Tea Party member, you should be outraged and send a message to them and your own local Legislators to leave your community alone and let you decide these issues at the local level!

I urge you to please contact your local Texas State Representative and Senator and tell them to oppose HB1913 and SB908 and stop this attempt by the Texas Legislature to take away your local rights to enact laws that would benefit your communities! Click on the link below to utilize a resource created by the Surfrider Foundation that will direct you to your Law Maker and help you send a letter to them today!

Don't Limit Local Rule on Plastics

ACTION (polystyrene ban), REaction (paper bottles)

2011-04-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday - the day of the week in which all get productive!

First off - ACTION: California is shootin' for a state-wide polysytrene (StyroFoam) take-out food-container ban - go here to sling an email to your "elected" that encourages them to support the ban. All ya gotta do is enter your California zip code, and the application will figure out your designated State Senator, and even write the email to them, supporting the ban - EEEEAZY - go now!

Secondly, REaction: sick of plastic bottles (side bar: one attendee called the grounds of SoCal's annual & recently-held and once-eco-friendly-music-fest Coachella 2011, "a sea of empty plastic water bottles" - YUK!)?? - so are the people at BrandImage - they have come up with a paper water bottle. Clever yes, but is it reusable - well, yeah, kinda...better than not. A step in the right direction, fer sher...hopefully, tho, someday we can force ourselves to be reverse-weaned from our disposable water bottle ("bah-bah", as we called it in infancy) addiction...? Start now!

Colby College Dumps Bottled Water!

2011-04-25T18:21:00.001-07:00

Colby College in Maine said hello to Earth Day on Friday. And goodbye to bottled water!

A three-year student-led campaign against the ubiquitous clear plastic containers culminates when remaining bottles are removed Friday from the shelves at the Colby Bookstore and the Spa, Colby’s on-campus snack bar. Sarah Sorenson ’11, who led the campaign called “Take Back the Tap,” announced that Colby’s athletic teams also agreed this week to forgo purchasing cases of bottled water for games and road trips beginning next semester.

Sorenson, president of the Colby Environmental Coalition (Enviroco), reported that the student organization already persuaded officials to virtually eliminate bottled water from catered events on campus, including meals, lectures, and meetings, and from campus-wide events such as commencement, reunion weekend, and orientation.

All together the efforts will have removed more than 10,000 bottles a year from the waste stream and will save thousands of dollars in purchase costs. “This is a great example where a student, working with faculty, staff, and the administration, can effect real change,” said Douglas Terp, Colby’s vice president for administration and chair of the College’s Environmental Advisory Group.

Alternatives introduced to replace bottled water on campus include pitchers of tap water at events, bulk containers, and reusable water bottles. The College has installed several new water stations, including fountains with spigots designed for filling water bottles.

Cheers to Colby for helping to lead the way and take back the tap! What a great way to Rise Above Plastics, Click Here for the full story.

Great Day For Some Greenwashing!

2011-04-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

No Glee from Environmentalists for Coca-Cola “Plant Bottle”. We got this info recently from our friends at the Earth Resource Foundation after a last-minute invite for an Earth Day dog and pony show to launch Coke's new plastic bottle. (Photo Courtesy of Beth Terry - Hawaii)

"Some California environmental groups got a last minute invite to an unusual spectacle taking place on Earth Day to launch Coke’s new “plant bottle” packaging for Coca-Cola brand “Dasani” bottled water. The invitation cheers the “exciting packaging advancement” that will allow Coca-Cola to bottle its plain old municipal water without the coke syrup in a bottle that is “made with up to 30 percent plants – and up to 30 percent less petroleum.”

“Although our event is taking place this Friday – and we apologize for the short notice – we really would love to see you there. The event is a fashion show featuring models clad in garments made from plants that cover up to 30 percent of their bodies. The show will be hosted by actor and singer Matthew Morrison from FOX TV’s “Glee.”

Again, we apologize for the short notice, and we sincerely hope you can fit it into your busy schedule. Please RSVP… “

On behalf of environmentalists in the know about plastic packaging and bottled water, we send our regrets, as follows:

1. We Regret that while many areas of America face drought, your bottling of municipal water uses three times as much water in the process of bottling it as the amount of water that came from the tap to fill the bottle. http://clatl.com/atlanta/tap-water-wears-a-bow-tie-when-its-put-in-a-bottle-and-sold/Content?oid=1271054

2. We Regret that despite your green leaf logo, your “plant bottle” is still just a PET plastic bottle and is not biodegradable or compostable on land or at sea.

3. We Regret that Coca-Cola will not be collecting and recycling their own PET “plant bottles,” and that only approximately 20.9% percent of PET bottles are “recycled” (mostly into lower grade material that is not used in bottles again) in America. The remainder, at over 20 billion bottles, last forever in our landfills or in our environment, including our oceans. We also regret that Coca-Cola failed to achieve it’s own pledge of using at least 10% recycled content in PET bottles and has just announced the shut down of its PET recycling joint venture in South Carolina. http://www.container-recycling.org/

4. We Regret that Coca-Cola is substituting its chemical-laden petroleum plastic bottle with a chemical-laden petroleum and plant plastic bottle.

5. We Regret that estrogenic compounds in your PET “plant bottle” may leach into the water and impair human health and reproduction. http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/04/29/2555698.htm
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.1003220

6. We Regret that advertising has tricked people into believing that bottled water is safer when in fact your product has been recalled for contamination and gets a grade of “D” on Environmental Working Group’s evaluation of bottled waters.
http://www.ewg.org/bottled-water-2011-search?id=36

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/pure-cokes-attempt-to-sell-tap-water-backfires-in-cancer-scare-567004.html

7. We Regret that Coca-Cola Corporation has been so slow to properly label the source of the tap water that it bottles. http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/04/20

8. We Regret that single servings of water are sold in disposable packaging that will last longer than any of us will be on this planet, and that future generations will have to deal with our waste. www.storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/

9. We Regret that you aren’t screening the documentaries Tapped and Bag It! at your event.

10. We Regret that Matthew Morrison, a beloved singer and actor, is involved with such a green washing sham. We wish he talked with us first.

And although we appreciate the promise of 30% clad models, we believe it would be more appropriate for your models to be nude, as in “the emperor has no clothes” because this kind of green washing doesn’t fool us at all."

Well put!! Click Here and take a moment to sign the petition yourself.

'Bag It' Webcast with Jeb!

2011-04-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

Earth Day has blown up and turned into Earth Month as everyone is trying to ride the green wave. Hopefully they are not just posers and are the real-deal soul surfers that will truly make a positive impact.

The folks from the award-winning documentary film 'Bag It' are the real deal and are putting on a cool webcast tomorrow in honor of Earth Day. Sure, you have probably seen the movie already but this is your chance to check it out again, this time with an interactive Q&A with Bag It director Suzan Beraza, film star Jeb Berrier and special guests!

Point your browser to www.vokle.com/series/8709-bag-it at 9:15 pm EDT on Thursday, April 21 and join the fun!

What Is The #1 Single-Use Plastic Item?

2011-04-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

If you said cigarette butts, you are correct! Only 15-20% of the US population smokes but the cigarette butt waste seems overwhelming. Since butts are made from cellulose acetate, a type of synthetic plastic, they can be considered a single-use plastic. No one wants to reuse those toxic butts, but our friends at Ripple Life are looking for ways to recycle them.

Data from the Ocean Conservancy show that in 2009, over three million (3,216,991) cigarettes or cigarette filters were removed internationally from beaches and inland waterways as part of the annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), including 1,362,741 collected from the U.S. This represents 28% and 35% of total debris items collected worldwide and in the U.S., respectively, making it by far the most prevalent item found.

Surfrider started our Hold On To Your Butts program in 1992 as local surfers were fed up from cigarette waste at the beach. The idea that Gary Sirota and Oscar Gonzales started blossomed into a successful awareness program that helped to spur smoke-free beaches in San Diego, outdoor ashcans in local communities and the super-fun annual Hold On To Your Butt day each year.

But, it's not enough. While the beaches are cleaner, there is increased butt waste on the streets and sidewalks that the additional outdoor ashcans are not catching. What else can be done? Maybe stricter litter enforcement from police or greatly increased producer responsibility programs from the cigarette manufacturers?

Tune in tomorrow (Tuesday April 19th at noon Eastern) for a special webcast in observance of Earth Day 2011 focusing on how public health experts, policy leaders, environmental activists and even the tobacco industry can help prevent and put an end to this type of toxic waste. Point your browser to www.legacyforhealth.org/buttreally and join in on the discussion.

Hawaii RAP Ads (...and my foot)

2011-04-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

Why all the recent buzz about Hawaii on the RAP blog? NOAA recently hosted it's sorta-semi-annual "Marine Debris" (not our choice of title) Conference, so, of course, ya gotta pack the sunscreen and check it out! What we have here today is a small collection of advertising "collateral" that the Hawaii Surfrider chapters (Kaua'i, Maui, O'ahu, Big'Island) have been using to get the Rise Above Plastics word out there and IN YO FACE!

The first two (top left and Barbie, on the right) have already appeared in Green Magazine Hawaii and the third one (bottom left) is actually a photograph of two 4'x 5' art pieces made by artist Susan Scott which are made of plastic items found in the ocean (lotsa lighters and bottle caps in their "native" colors) - and they are the most intricate I've seen of that genre - take a closer look!

The last shot is of my pudgy foot on Oahu's Kahuku beach, over on the north east side of the island...4 days after a beach cleanup was conducted there. We were told that, for Oahu, it is THE beach that gets the brunt of the plastic-trash spin-out from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Pretty plasticy if you ask me...and coming to a beach near you, if we don't start whoopin'-*ss on the problem NOW.

Click on any of the images for a more detailed view! ...and as always have an ONO ("tasty") weekend!

Bag Bans Work - Maui Style

2011-04-14T13:55:00.001-07:00

Just look at these photos from Maui and decide for yourself. It seems they are having a little trouble getting 100% compliance from all of the local stores but the impact has been immediate. Plastic bags were phased out on January 11th and bag litter seems to have decreased dramatically.

I was fortunate to be there on vacation a few weeks back and stoked to see the new ordinance. But, I was a bit bummed to see how many people simply switched to paper bags. I always travel with a couple of reusable bags and had them ready at the check out stand but why were there so many people plowing through the paper bags? The store have big signs reminding customers to 'BYO' but increased awareness is needed. Or maybe a 5-10 cent fee on paper bags? It still gives people options, and a little more incentive to remember their reusable bag.

Click Here for the full story from The Maui News.

Plastic-Bag-Free-Olympics?

2011-04-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

That's what Greener Upon Thames in the U.K. is proposing and it sounds good to us! They are trying to persuade London Mayor Boris Johnson and Olympic organizers to host a plastic-bag-free Olympics in 2012 and calling for a total ban on all outlets at the Olympics from issuing plastic bags. Click Here to help out by signing their petition.

I smell collectible reusable bags! I doubt that they will be as stylish as this retro bag from the 1960's but hopefully it happens and they make the most of this opportunity. Up next: getting all athletes to utilize reusable water bottles and finding alternatives to the single-use gooey gel packs.

Jackson Browne on TEDx

2011-04-10T09:06:00.001-07:00

We've reported about TEDx Great Pacific Garbage Patch presentations on this blog before, but this one may surprise you - Jackson Browne performing a new song about plastics in the ocean. It's certainly not the stuff he used to sing about in the old days...before we found ourselves awash in single-use plastics.

You may be wondering what Jackson has been doing since the peak of his pop music popularity in the 1970s - he is still touring and performing AND over the last couple of years, has been bit by the news about what plastics are doing to our environment and now has a new song, in his own signature style (same hair too!), describing how he feels about it. Check it out, I think you'll be sUrPrIsEd!!

NICE!! I love that line, "Trying to see the world through the junk we produce everyday." - well put JB! "If I could be anywhere in time and change the outcome, it would have to be now.", indeed! You can read more about how the song came about here.

Gordon's Pick

2011-04-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of finally meeting Dr. Gordon Labedz a couple of weeks ago at the Surfrider Hawaii Chapter Conference. The man is a legend in my eyes as he helped shape Surfrider early on in Long Beach as the idea of chapters was developed and is now one of the top activists for the Kauai Chapter. Here's a fun Friday video he recently shared on facebook that I thought was worthy of sharing here...

(Does it really take that long for someone to pick up a bottle near a recycle bin?)

Middle School Students Say 'No More Styrofoam!'

2011-04-06T16:54:00.000-07:00

Kids can seem to cut right through the point with clear thoughts and emotional appeal. Students from Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Angeles prove that with their passion against plastic, in this case polystyrene, aka styrofoam.

The good folks at www.good.is recently featured their story of disposable lunch trays that are used at alarming rates. Large school districts can go through millions of them in one school year. Small steps can lead to big change. Check out the full story for their school project to raise awareness.

More Jack Johnson Action!

2011-04-01T13:10:00.001-07:00

Honolulu hosted the NOAA Marine Debris Conference last week and you can imagine the interactions going on there between the anti-single-use plastics activists (us!) and the single-goal (money, Money and more MONEY!) plastics producers (the ACC!) - well, I have a couple of nice zingers on that front: one from the conference closing ceremony ("Exhibit A") and one that was coughed up ("Exhibit B") in response to Exhibit A after the conference.

Exhibit A: Oahu local Jack Johnson, long supporter of cleaner oceans, and BIG advocate of rethink, reduce, reuse, and well, stapling things, got the coveted closing minutes of the conference to sing a new song about aliens, pyramids and plastics (sorry about the FB link...shot by Wayne Sentman, this one is not yet available for embedding):

Facebook link to Jack Johnson's NOAA conference-closing tune (:41).

Exhibit B: Also, seizing on the super-mod, hip & trendy Twitter application, the super-mod, hip & trendy American Chemistry Council, which had a strong presence at the NOAA conference (and whom apparently now own computers...?), up-chucked this gem of a tweet (as reported by RAP superstar Nicole Parisi-Smith):

Jack Johnson must not have a dog. Lol. 90% of people reuse their plastic bags. They're not "bad" just recycle what you don't use. #5IMDC (link)

Oh gawd, whatevahhhz...Still not gettin' it, ACC - but for future reference, guys, you may not get that Mid-East-revolution style surge from Twitter that you may be expecting if the best you can do is bad-mouth one of the most popular global performing stars of the last ~10 years..."lol" (do people still use that?) indeed!

It's pau hana, so a hui hou malama pono everybody!!!

PS - below is a different vid of Jack from the same ceremony - just missing the part where the Kokua kids shout, "BE FANTASTIC, DON'T USE PLASTIC!", ahem, lol.

The 5th International Marine Debris Conference: 5IMDC

2011-03-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

This week, Surfrider Foundation participated in the Fifth International Marine Debris Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. The conference brought together over 440 participants from 35 countries to discuss the most pressing issues surrounding plastic pollution in our oceans and waterways. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and NOAA were the co-organizers of the conference, and it brought in strange bedfellows in terms of sponsorship, including Coca-Cola and the American Chemistry Council (ACC). The ACC has also been pouring money into campaigns against single-use bag bans popping up in progressive cities, regions and countries across the world as a means to prevent marine debris. On the other hand, the UNEP has issued this statement:

"Some of the litter, like thin-film single-use plastic bags, which choke marine life, should be banned or phased out rapidly everywhere," UNEP director Achim Steiner said in a report overview. "There is simply zero justification for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere.”

Here is an interview with one notable conference keynote speaker, Roz Savage, ocean rower and amazing individual engaged in the issue of plastic pollution. Roz was also recently interviewed by Newsweek.

Since the conference brought together NGO's, government, scientists and industry, it was difficult for conference attendees to all agree on all solutions to plastic pollution issues, such as bans or fees on easily littered items (recommended by Surfrider Foundation and many other NGOs) or just the recycling of products (recommended by industry). Due to the less than 9% recycling rate from the latest EPA data and the increasing rate of generation of these products, Surfrider and many others argued that there cannot be more of the same policies. We want to take a step forward to stop the increasing amount of trash found in our oceans.

The conference organizers strived to formulate a Honolulu Commitment and Honolulu Strategy. The Commitment references target reductions and bases it's action items on the Strategy, which has yet to reach final form. Conference Participants will have the next two weeks to enter comments on the Strategy and decide whether to sign on. For Surfrider Foundation, this decision will hinge on whether the Strategy document truly calls us to effectively stem the tide of plastic pollution.

One thing everyone could agree on was the excitement of seeing Hawaii's own Jack Johnson, noted supporter of organizations like Surfrider Foundation and Kokua Foundation, play at the final session of the conference. Jack's opening number, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" illustrated his commitment to reducing plastic pollution in his hometown of North Shore, Hawaii and across the globe.

What Inspires?

2011-03-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

This one kinda surprised me – reading a recent interview with Nick Denton, known for his family of irreverent and often snotty blogs (gawker, gizmodo, wonkette, fleshbot, etc), I found some inspiring words that neatly lend themselves to environmental activism.

In commenting on an “inflexibly idealistic” colleague of his, he was quoted with, “[people like that] never succeed. And you don’t need to indoctrinate a whole other generation of people to lead frustrated lives.” He finishes the thought with, “I don’t see what the point is [for any pursuit] unless you succeed at what you’re doing. I don’t have a huge amount of time for noble failure.”

Noble Failure, indeed. Who's got time for that? Let’s keep that to a minimum in our single-use plastics abatement schema! How do we boost our success rate at Surfrider?? We use a campaign planning worksheet to plot our moves to counter “urban tumbleweeds”, plastics in our oceans and that nasty, ubiquitous Styrofoam Scourge. The worksheet focuses us to identify our campaign adversaries, allies, short/mid/long-term goals, costs, etc, etc – it’s the magic pill in staunching off them Noble Failures.

Above all, remain flexible in your idealism – and - If you are involved with Surfrider, ask your local chapter leaders about obtaining the campaign planning worksheet – and FILL IT OUT to plan your attack! If you are not yet involved with Surfrider, hitch your wagon to this foundation (now celebrating 150 Victories!), get active and start your Noble Successes here & now! BOOM!

Roamin' RAPster

2011-03-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

5Gyres employee and Surfrider Rise Above Plastics volunteer-activist (and I emphasize "active") Stiv Wilson was written-up in an Oregon weekly recently. In this blog we've given you updates on his work with 5Gyres founders and anti-plastic-pollution superstars Marcus Eriksen and (wife) Anna Cummins, as they sail the globe exploring the world's ocean gyres to pull eyes toward and raise awareness of the extent of plastic pollution littering our seas.

Sailing the globe! Outing the bad guys (us)! Check out the in-depth Willamette Weekly article about Stiv and Oregon's Ban The Bag effort here, check out 5gyres & plan your ride-along on one of their expeditions here and HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND with dreams of sailing the bounding mane!

Is BPA Free Plastic Safe? Do You Want to Take the Chance?

2011-03-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Out of the UK comes an article wondering if BPA free plastic is safe. Well, we do know that it isn't safe for our oceans and other water bodies but is it safe for our bodies? The article points to a US report published on March 2 that tested BPA free plastic items and still found them to release harmful chemicals. And yeah, plastics industry this is a National Institutes of Health report not something someone did in their garage.

Read the study here.
And the article here.

Forked Tongues... and =======> GO OREGON!

2011-03-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

A couple of recent articles in plasticsnews.com finds the plastics industry’s fork-ed tongue flashing with great agitation and directionless floppery. One article tells of the sorry state of recycling for plastic bags, sheeting and “films”, while another has “stupid plastics” (my quotes) single-use-plastic-bag-producer Hilex Poly telling us, via their vapid bag-the-ban “campaign”, that we can easily recycle our way out of the worldwide plastic bag trash problem.

EVERYBODY RECYCLE – YAY!

You may remember Hilex as a source of much of the cash that was dumped into the wide-open, money-stained, overfed jowls of California and Seattle politicians in successful efforts to stop recent bag ban efforts in those places. Seems that the only thing successfully being recycled is the $$$ that orbits back and forth between lobbyists and ‘electeds’ when grassroots movements aimed at improving American and international life need a good quashing in favor of “jobs”. Our Oregonian Surfrider brethren (and sistren) are battling these nimrods right now over the proposed state-wide bag ban. Do what you can to help ‘em beat down whack plastics, check in on these chapter sites – they are each calling out for RAP volunteers: Newport, Portland & Siuslaw. GO NOW!! [Read the heinous article & get fired-up about Oregon's proposed STATEWIDE BAG BAN.]

Disclaimer: Though recycling is one of our few current tools to stem the flood of single-use plastics into our unsuspecting world, I, for one, feel that if I have gotten to the point where I need to recycle a single-use plastic item, I have failed by acquiring that item in the first place. The plastics industry hypes recycling as the “solution” to the disposal problem that they have neatly assigned to us – it has somehow become our problem to dispose of the waste of their manufacturing process. It’s flat bass-ackwards…and it fails to address the root problem (the long life of single-use plastics), while instead only directing attention to easing just the symptom (trash on our beaches, plastics in our ocean, dead sea life and jacked-up food chains) – the very thing that makes junkies junkies.

I know, kinda heavy, but DANG – it’s a war out there...

BAN THE BAG!! GO OREGON!

What is 'Rise Above Plastics' by Angela Howe.

2011-03-10T09:36:00.000-08:00

Surfrider Foundation's Legal Manager Angela Howe talking about the "Rise Above Plastics" Campaign, it's far reaching battles and victories and how you can plug in on a local level!

New RAP Czar!

2011-03-07T21:15:00.000-08:00

He was once crowned “Lifeguard of the Year” in Rehoboth Beach Delaware. Enviable!

He has been an activist, professional environmentalist, and more officially, the Chapter Coordinator for the San Diego chapter of Surfrider, the largest Surfrider Foundation chapter in the known universe. BOSS!

He was in the room the day that Rise Above Plastics was conceived six (or so) years ago. (Along with Stefanie Sekich, Alan Honadle, Belinda Smith AND Julia Chunn, among other heavy hitters.) He’s got the bug!

Every wave comes to him when he’s out surfing, even the cr@ppy ones – and he catches ‘em all, rides ‘em all, somehow w/o snatching any of yours. Nicely bizarre…or bizarrely nice!

I THINK I heard him cuss…twice, in the seven years we’ve been friends. RARE!

He got married on my birthday (odd, but true). I’ll probably remember his anniversary better than he will!

He calls “PLASTIC FANTASTIC!” on me when he catches me with some item of unavoidable plastic trash (the kind you can only avoid if you live in a cave – and never leave). Punk!

His hair is SUPER surfy! He could make a pillow from the spoils his annual haircut (but not a pillow that you’d actually want)!

I think he owes me $10. PUNK!

He is my friend.

Now…he is the new RAP Czar (I’m not sure HQ has named the role yet), taking over for Surfrider Legal Maven/Temptress/Oracle Angela Howe, Esq., who’s now got room on her plate for all of that other stuff stacking up on her desk that her boss has been yelling at her about. CONGRATZ!

His name is Bill Hickman.

Expect Surfrider’s Global Rise Above Plastics campaign to RAMP UP -->to-the-max<-- from here on out. So, join us as we continue to “kick @ss and take initials” – we don’t have time for names!

Watch this space for future blog entries from the very dewd himself – OK!

Simple Step by Staples

2011-02-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

I just got a few coupons in the mail from Staples since I am one of their Rewards Members. To my surprise and delight, the coupons were printed on cardboard, not plastic as they previously were. The cardboard is real sturdy, just a little thicker than a cereal box.

I was so psyched. I always hated getting plastic cards in the mail, either coupons, sample credit cards, or whatever. I called Staples immediately to register my approval.

It is just a simple step. No one pushed them to do this to my knowledge, and if I don't want the coupons I can recycle them!

I'd say Staples arose above plastic cards in the mail.

John Weber
NJ

Don't Eat Lead Bags!

2011-01-28T10:58:00.000-08:00

Do you know that heavy feeling you get after eating a giant plate of pasta with plenty of wine and fresh bread on the side?? Yeah, well the feeling is worse if you eat a plateful of lead. Hopefully you already know that anecdotally VS from first hand experience...

Why this tidbit of info now? Oh, because of the big pseudo-scare about reusable plastic shopping bags being tested for lead this last week. I have some good follow-up advice from John Weber, Surfrider's Northeast (US) Regional Manager.

He reminds us that, "lead has been used in plastic for a long time, as a hardener (or a softener I can't remember). But that would not be the case with anything made in the USA. Stuff from China is much more likely to have lead, especially vinyl products." He provides an article from the New York Times on the subject.

Building on that info, John recommends, "If you buy a reusable bag, buy American, don't buy vinyl, buy polypropylene or PET or buy cotton." Here are some recycled-cotton bags, made in USA, from EnviroTote (no affiliation with Surfrider). Sweet!

Johns final advice, is not just for the weekend, it's for everyday: "Oh and don't eat your reusable bag or put it in your mouth."

Sage advice! Pass it on!

Santa Monica Enables Bag Ban - MD & VA In the Hunt!

2011-01-27T12:49:00.000-08:00

This just in...

I have good news and I have GREAT NEWS - the good news is that we (okay, I) are having trouble keeping up with all of the news of municipalities banning single-use plastic bags (gotta call my contacts at the ACC to stay dialed in!), the GREAT NEWS is:

LA coastal burgh Santa Monica debated a ban and decided to actively look into it just about two years ago, and on Tuesday they voted to now (after a hitch caused by lawsuits threatened by the plastics industry) go through with it - to take effect in September of this year. NYCE!

California's patchwork of bag bans continue to sweep the state with Calabasas (think Topanga North) considering the option next week. Local environmental groups led by Surfrider ally in the anti-bag movement, Heal the Bay, are now drawing a bead on the Cit of Los Angeles. INCOMING!

The LA Times article quotes Mark Gold of HTB, "... local governments are going to address this critical issue despite threats from industry and state inaction. The plastics industry knows the writing is on the wall." ...Ya know, I think I've seen that wall - and I believe that the first word written there starts with "F"? ...or maybe it was a "B" (as in "Ban!") - those letter can look similar when scrawled... ;)

On the opposite coast and on the same day as Santa Monica's doin's, the Washington Post Op/Ed told Maryland and Virginia to push forth on placing fees (that have worked so well in DC) on their ubiquitously trashy "urban tumbleweeds". Most excellent.

This is shaping up to be a verrrry niiiice new year!

Lead in Bags? BPA in Receipts...

2011-01-25T10:25:00.000-08:00

Death-spiral in action: The ACC is grasping at any-dang-thing to stop the tidal wave of bag bans sweeping the entire planet (we are having trouble keeping up in order to report them all in this blog). This month's panic du jour brings us the news that [some] reusable shopping bags contain lead. Search deeply and single-mindedly enough and you may find trolls under bridges too. Expect a new study soon proving that reusable bags are now causing a resurgence in ACID RAIN!!! Time to bust out the tin-foil hats to protect ourselves.

Lead in reusable bags, eh? Maybe that's how all of those people unlucky enough to have gone through life in the days before the life-saving single-use plastic shopping bags came along had died...they all got lead-poisoning - or ya think maybe it was old age? Oh, where is a spurious ACC "study" when you reeeeally need it?

Okay...back to reality. Whew - welcome back! This last item is a tad stale, but worth a mention in regards to the current LEAD-IN-BAGS scare... Last November it was reported that cash register receipts not only contain Bisphenol-A (BPA - you know, the sex-change chemical used in plastics to enhance pliability), but are AWASH in them...read about it here, and don't forget to wear your gloves to the grocery store - it's a dangerous place!

Anatomy of a Bag Ban

2011-01-21T08:34:00.000-08:00

Okay, a bag FEE – anything to get the job done! I’m talking again about the wildly-successful, single-use plastic bag fee put into place in our nation’s capital, Washington DC, just one year ago.

You’ve seen blog entries here detailing the progress and the resultant pollution-reduction numbers, but how did it all happen to begin with? How did the advocates of the ban/fee beat out the usual lobby-money torrent from the ACC, right there in DC – the home of the universe's “greatest” (term used verrrrry loosely) lobbyists? This one-page article details it all. Time to bust out the pencils and take some notes!

…and there is plenty to detail! The usual-suspect tools of Youtube, facebook, twitter, combine with a badly plastic-polluted river, a Methodist minister, greaseball plastics lobbyists, a former Google exec and even…Marion Barry to make it all happen! For as short as it is, the article is quite a read that takes you through the process that it calls “a lesson in old-fashioned politicking and new-fangled social networking”.

Surfrider DC had a major role in it all and to be sure, the process wasn’t a Sunday stroll in the park – it also involved “feet on the street” gathering signatures, speaking at city council meetings and flooding online article comment sections with the good word. Good things come to those who bust their butts fighting for justice, yes?

Something nice to start the weekend with – have a GOOD’UN!

The Shift

2011-01-19T10:33:00.000-08:00

Surfrider is working hard. We are all working hard.
We know the problems. We know the solutions.

Our job is to overcome the obstacles to the solutions. Figuring out the problem is the easiest part. Figuring out the solution isn’t much more difficult. The obstacles? Ah…now we’re on to something. Something nebulous and nasty…and not too sensible.

The obstacle to EVERY environmental problem solution is societal - based in politics and economics, rather than, well, common sense. What happened to common sense? It fell by the wayside, kicked to the curb by convenience and greed. You can also factor in strident media and belief manipulation…complicated by selfish litigation to force the wasteful status quo.

The Shift. How do we do it? How do we push society back to the sunny, sensible side? Uhmmm…strident media-and-belief manipulation, along with selfless litigation to force a shift in the status quo? Sounds good, though lacking in creativity? The envious bottom line is that our arguments and goals are based in reality and common sense. We want the world to work the way that makes sense - and that means that we want the world to work in ways in which it originally presented itself to us VS the way we have made it fit and feed our inconsiderate society.

Sounds like a lot to ask? Nope –
KEEP ASKIN’,
KEEP PUSHIN’,
KEEP SHIFTIN’!

Hooey, Hokum & Hogwash

2011-01-14T08:52:00.000-08:00

Oregon State U published an article about 10 days ago detailing their study on plastics in the ocean had determined that the North Pacific Garbage Patch (NPGP) ain't "nearly as big as portrayed in the media". Apparently forgotten at OSU is the Nike shoe incident that 1) besmirched Oregon beaches in 1990 and 2) gave us an early indication that the Pacific Ocean had a growing problem trying to accommodate our land-based infusion of garbage...? Who knew? ;)

One person that can speak with authority in rebuttal is a man that has traveled (and is currently traveling) through all of the world's ocean gyres to survey the extent of plastic pollution worldwide (while academics debate garbage patch sizes back home...?). Marcus Eriksen, PhD, co-founded (with his wife, activist & Stanford graduate, Anna Cummins) the 5Gyres Institute to go beyond the research in this field that they were doing while working with Algalita Marine Research Foundation. You may know Algalita as the group that "discovered" and initially drew our attention to the NPGP, and you may know Marcus from his adventure "sailing" to Hawaii from the US mainland in a "JunkRaft" made of trash, again bringing attention to the problem of the NPGP. Here is his word on the matter of debating the NPGP's size/existence, the media AND how we can help fight the plastic pollution problem:

====================
Beyond the absurdity of a “Texas-sized Garbage Patch” lies a larger menace of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans

Media is sometimes the tail that wags the dog of science. One oceanographer described finding plastic in his relatively tiny Texas-size study area of the North Pacific Ocean, while another began describing these areas of concentration as “garbage patches”. A mis-information frenzie birthed a mis-conception of an island of trash. Hurry, someone plant a flag - sell real estate! Disappointing to the entrepreneurial spirit that aimed to fix it for a fee, there are no such islands. They do not exist. Having traveled 20,000 miles across 4 of the 5 subtropical gyres, returning from crossing the South Atlantic Gyre in December 2010, I assure you that reality is much worse.

It’s a patchy patch. In 1999 Captain Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation based in Long Beach, CA, published an observed 6:1 weight ratio of plastic to plankton in the swirling center of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. I joined him in 2005 and 2008 to the same region. In this decade of research, the foundation was heavily criticized by other oceanographers for quantifying plastic this way. What was hidden in this criticism was the fact that the science of Oceanography was caught off guard. No one knew of this plastic plague on the world’s oceans, until a Long Beach surfer/sailor turned scientist made it known. It is true that plankton is extremely variable, and can bloom and dissipate with the season, temperature, moonlight, and a dozen other variables, therefore the margin of error is huge. But the plastic/plankton ratio serves a good anecdote for relative abundance of plastic to available food for scavenging fish and filter feeders, like from jellies to baleen whales. So, it’s important to describe plastic to plankton ratios as an anecdote, but not worth quantifying.

1999 was not the first time scientist studied plastic pollution in the ocean. Thor Heyerdal observed plastic in 1969 crossing the North Atlantic on Ra I. Two years later Edward Carpenter, from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, netted pellets and fragments of plastic pollution between the east coast and Bermuda. Plastic pollution in the North Pacific Gyre was first described by Robert Day in 1989 near the coast of Japan, and in the South Atlantic Gyre near Cape Town, South Africa in 1980 by Robert Morris of the Institute of Oceanographic Science in the UK. It was a quiet, poorly-understood menace that palled in significance and interest to oceanographers. Then the story broke about an island of plastic, with sensationalized accounts beyond science, mythological masses of synthetic detritus, an illusive terra aqua.

“Somebody do something,” cried the ocean advocates, artists, celebrities and politicians. And the scientists followed. Media called them to action. But not before the industrialists. A problem precedes a solution ready to sell. Groups with little or no experience at sea rose to the occasion with fanciful technofixes, contraptions of grandeur, robotic vagabonds to sieve the sea in solitude and bring the trash back to land, or parachutes that spin sickle-shaped islands that net plastic pollution in their path. All have failed, realizing that going to the ocean to remove floating plastic particles is like standing on the top of a skyscraper with a vacuum cleaner to remove air pollution. It’s not impossible, just impractical. There is no island to retrieve. We have run expeditions across the North Pacific Gyre, North Atlantic Gyre, Indian Ocean Gyre, and in December 2010 we crossed the South Atlantic Gyre. We found plastic in every surface trawl, in varying concentrations. Imagine a handful of degraded plastic confetti spread across a football field of the ocean surface. That’s as thick as it gets, but it’s everywhere. It’s a think plastic soup over 2/3rds of the earth’s surface. So far the 5 Gyres Institute has traveled to 4 of the 5 subtropical gyres in the world, conducting over 400 surface trawls, with plastic in every one. That is the menace of plastic pollution. It’s everywhere, thinly distributed, and extremely impractical to clean up at sea.

But if no one cleans it up, will the garbage patches keep growing? No. Studies in the North Atlantic Gyre and North Pacific Gyre have been repeated with interesting results. There’s no massive trend in plastic accumulation over time. Kara Lavender Law, of Sea Education, compiled data from 22 years of data from the North Atlantic Gyre, the same area that Carpenter studied 3 ½ decades earlier. “We observed no strong temporal trends in plastic concentration…” Last week we returned from 31 days crossing the South Atlantic Gyre. As we sailed into Cape Town we revisited half of the locations that Morris studied 3 decades ago and repeated his exact methods. Though our samples have not been analyzed yet, I can anecdotally report that the samples do not appear to show a tremendous trend in plastic accumulation over this time. Sure, there’s more, but the increase does not parallel the rapid increase in plastic production and consumption on land. So where does it go? We believe some sinks as absorbed chemicals, like PCBs, PAHs and other persistent pollutants, and biofouling make smaller and smaller particles more dense than seawater. Much of it washes ashore on islands in the gyres, like Hawaii and Bermuda, or is kicked out of the gyres onto mainland beaches as the gyre’s center wobbles east and west. Then there’s still room for unknown answers. What we now know is that if we stop adding more plastic to the ocean, in time the gyres will kick out the plastic pollution they currently hold. If you want to clean the gyre, clean your beach.

We want to know a few things. How much plastic is out there, what is the fate of plastic in the ocean, what is the impact of plastic pollution on fish, including fisheries we harvest to feed the world, and how do we end the plague of plastic in the ocean? The 5 Gyres Institute will sail across the South Pacific Gyre in the Spring of 2011 from Valdivia, Chile to Easter Island. You can follow this expedition on 5gyres.org. In January and February 2011, at the moment I’m writing this paper, we are crossing the South Atlantic Gyre again. The South Pacific will be our 5th gyre, and provide a snapshot of the global distribution of plastic pollution. We will also be freezing fish to look for toxins in tissues, which we are currently doing with fish collected from South Atlantic Expedition. Other expeditions conducted by SCRIPPS, NOAA and Sea Education, are contributing answers to these questions with rigorous science. All of this will be shared by colleagues in March 2011 in Hawaii during the 5th International Marine Debris Conference.

In the recent decade of rogue-science, media spun mis-information, a new revitalized science of synthetic pollution at sea has emerged, replacing confusion with clarity and commitment by many to solve the problem. The idea of cleanup at sea is no longer a sensible option, knowing that an island twice the size of Texas is actually a thin soup 2/3rds the surface of the planet. Sensible solutions now focus on preventing the flow of waste to waves in the first place.
=======================

Oh yessss - one other item of interest: an article from French and Belgian scientists about the growing problem of plastic "micro-debris" in the Mediterranean. Synopsis: "The only solution is to stop micro-debris at the sources," said Expedition MED's Bruno Dumontet.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

New DC Bag Fee Numbers

2011-01-14T07:51:00.000-08:00

The latest post-bag-ban/fee numbers are in on Washington DC's year-old legislated bag-reduction effort. This report is from Julie Lawson, one of the local DC Surfrider Superstars there:

"Good article out today from the AP about the sustained reduction in bag use in DC since our 5-cent fee was implemented a year ago. Through the end of November, the city has collected $1.9 million from the fees, meaning about 55 million bags were distributed in our city of 600,000.

Compare to 270 million bags used each year before the fee. That's a 78 percent decrease.

Sessions in Maryland and Virginia start next week. We have a lot of momentum in Maryland with our Trash Free Maryland campaign. Virginia has two bag fee proposals up for consideration--5 cents and 20 cents."

Work it! Work it!

Why Plastic Bags Suck

2011-01-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

[...in addition to all of the other obvious reasons, that is!)

Everyone asks, "Why don't we just recycle the single-use plastic shopping bags (or plastic wrap, or six-pack holders, etc) instead of banning them?"

San Diego, California, the 8th most populous city in the USofA, has a robust recycling program (72,000 TONS/year!!), and has recently upped the variety of plastics that they will accept - they even take plastic toys and lawn furniture now - but they refuse to accept single-use plastic bags. Why? Let's ask the expert...

Ken Prue, San Diego's recycling program manager, as quoted in a recent Voice of San Diego article, gave this solid list (and, I quote):

1) It is cost prohibitive to recycle plastic bags or other types of plastic film or plastic wrap in the curbside program.

2) The recycled bags have little value, and when collected get badly contaminated, decreasing their value further.

3) There are virtually no markets in the U.S. for curbside-recovered plastic bags, and international markets are not much better.

4) A bigger problem with collecting plastic bags curbside is that they get wound up in collection and processing equipment, requiring maintenance that costs money and time, and creates inefficiencies for processing all the recyclables.

Tell your friends! 'nuff said!

Italy: Ciao Plastic Bags

2011-01-10T07:44:00.000-08:00

Boom. The whole dang country. Done. CIAO-CIAO!

A grand measure more extensive than them banning plastic water bottles from the world famous Cinque Terre region last fall, this ban is against single-use plastic shopping bags and covers the Whole. Dang. Country.

AND - It takes effect immediately - like, NOW! Un altro morde la polvere...!

Bravo Italy - molto bene!

[bag image snatched from CafePress - no affiliation to Surfrider]

South Padre Island, TX Bans The Bag!!

2011-01-06T06:40:00.000-08:00

I have waited a very long time to post something like this. Very stoked....

Last night, January 5th, the South Padre Island City Council unanimously voted yes on a proposed plastic bag ban making South Padre Island the second city in Texas to pass such an ordinance! The ordinance which prohibits the point of sale distribution of non-compostable plastic bags and allows for the use of reusable bags, recyclable paper bags that are not made from old growth trees and are composed of at least 40% post consumer recycled content and compostable plastic bags will go into effect as a voluntary ban on February 1, 2011 and would become mandatory on January 1, 2012.

The City Council Board Room was filled with individuals that supported the ban and many made comments including the Surfrider Foundation South Texas Chapter and Sea Turtle, Inc. All City Councilpersons made comments that the feedback that they had received had been overwhelmingly positive. However, some concerns were brought up. The first and foremost was the impact on businesses and the expense of changing over from the old bags. The Council resolved this by directing city staff to explore ways to aid these businesses in the conversion over the next year which included possibly having the city purchase a large amount of reusable bags with Hotel Occupancy Tax funds that would be branded with the SPI logo and then sold at little cost to interested businesses. Another concern was a possible future suit against the city by the American Chemistry Council on the ban. Councilman Sam Listi was heard saying, "Bring it on!" at the raising of this concern!

I would like to personally thank Councilwoman Alita Bagley, Environmental Health Director Victor Baldovinos for all of their hard work in getting this ordinance to the city council and especially thank everyone who spoke and emailed the council in favor of the ban!

THANK YOU SOUTH PADRE ISLAND!!

The Dude Does Not Abide Plastic Water Bottles

2011-01-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

At about 2:20 into this clip, hear Jeff Bridges rant about "those little plastic water bottles"...and then Jimmy jumps in too. Definitely not abiding...NICE!

More Califonia Bans!

2011-01-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

San Clemente (the home of Surfrider Headquarters), Marin County (near San Fran) AND Arcata (waaaaay north) have "jubilantly" and "enthusiastically" adopted various plastics bans over the last month. I hate to say "I told ya so!" Sacramento, but...

Marin voted 4-0 (that's right, four-to-ZERO) to ban plastic bags and charge for paper ones. Boom! Done! Read about it here.

Arcata is going forward with work on an EIR (environmental impact report...a fallout requirement of the plastic's industry's "environmental" lawsuit to stop plastic bag bans), and they are doing this within a strict timeline to ensure that the a plastic bag ban is instituted quickly and efficiently. The city is making this determined move in reaction to the failure of AB 1998 (Statewide ban effort)...ya see, it's really happening. Great quote from Jim Test of Humboldt Waste Management Authority, "”It will be a lot of fun tweaking the plastic industry's nose". Bravo to the Humboldt Surfrider Chapter!! Read about it here.

"It's everywhere!" says Surfrider's trend-setting South Orange County chapter's chairman Rick Erkeneff, speaking of the polystyrene sprawl in San Clemente. It can only help your cause when one of your city council people has discovered styrofoam pieces in a fish that he personally caught - sad, but true. "What was the vote tally there?" you ask ==> 5-0 thankyouverymuch (yes, again, five-to-ZERO). BOOM! DONE! Read about it here.

The beat goes on!

RAP Map

2010-12-30T10:23:00.000-08:00

Well...perhaps we (Rise Above Plastics activists) can't take credit for all of the little red balloons on the map, but those balloons DO point to localities that are rising above the plastics plague.

Chico Bag (manufacturers of fab nylon reusable shopping bags) has put together this boss interactive map, along with a listing of cities with embedded links to news stories about their local bag ban/fee efforts (my Firefox browser hiccuped a bit on this [but I am on the employers network...shhh! ;) ], so FYI, the page may best be viewed via the IE browser). Pretty slick compendium!

Chico Bag was the originator of the Bag Monster (as seen in earlier posts on this blog), and offers an Activist Tool Kit in PDF form to aid you in your battle against the bilious bummer of the ubiquitous single-use plastic shopping bag.

Hey - have a safe new years eve and SEE YA NEXT YEAR - 2011 is shaping up to be the best yet!

San Jose Knows The Way!

2010-12-20T08:08:00.001-08:00

In the wake of the failure of a statewide legislative bag ban initiative (AB1998), the city of San Jose is another California burg taking matters into its own hands - moving to fashion an ordinance to ban single-use plastic bags, and to charge for paper bags.

...and those paper bags - YES, they have to be of recycled material...which pretty much harpoons the ACC's CEQA lawsuit strategy, which at face-value, appears to require cities to continue to pollute their environments via the scourge of the "urban tumbleweed".

So the landslide has begun - damn the ACC's penny-ante "solution" to the problem they've created for themselves...and the rest of us. We can only hope that other manufacturers are watching the ACC's un-neighborly litigious approach go down in flames. Meanwhile, pass the gasoline!

It's always exciting talking about California - but frankly, the "land of fruits and nuts" ain't proving to be that progressive at heart - I'm hoping for other states to push through some statewide bans - GO USA!

Details, particulars & minutiae:

San Jose Mercury News article.

Bay area TV news from KTUV.

RAP Rap Vid

2010-12-17T14:45:00.000-08:00

He who hesitates is losssst...?

PLASTIC STATE OF MIND - Empire State of Mind Parody [IN YO FACE!]

RAPper: AshEL Eldridge
Singer: Jenni Perez

THANKS TO RISE ABOVE PLASTICS on FACEBOOK for hippin' me to this!

DAY W/O A BAG is...

2010-12-15T07:56:00.000-08:00

TOMORROW, December 16th!

This global event was initiated by Heal The Bay just a few years ago and it comes each year amid the holiday shopping rush - giving shoppers not only something to use repeatedly (a reusable shopping bag), but something to ponder as well.

So ponder this: find your local Surfrider chapter's homepage here to see what they have planned in your area for this event, or to contact them about getting involved. I've been told that the San Diego Chapter has given away upwards of 10,000 (ten thoooouusand!) bags since DWOB commenced.

Need more info?? ==> Check out the Day Without A Bag website, and the "au populaire" Bag Ban Report website (both cleverly "hidden" in Heal The Bay's elaborate network of substantive web resources). WARNING: this website has TONS of information and tools for the budding bag-banner - so be sure to explore every nook and cranny - they're all there for YOU.

I got a fee-vuh and the only prescription is MORE REUSABLE BAGS!

Another One Bites the Dust

2010-12-13T22:24:00.000-08:00

Herrrre weeee goOOoow (implied Mario Bros call)…! California cities are out of patience. That’s it. Done. Kaput. Finis. Ciao bella. Sayonara. Adios. EL FIN.

Bags are done. It was fun for a while, but let’s really get real. How many times can you put up with a pack of BPA-suckling inbreds with beet-stained teeth travelling 3000 miles to your little town just to sue you for tidying up your neighborhood? I think the towns’ residents reached have reached their limit, thankyouverrrymuch.

The city of Long Beach, with a grand measure of “encouragement” from the hard-hitting Long Beach Surfrider chapter, voted 6-2 (sorry, not even close) last week to fashion an ordinance to ban single-use plastic bags by next summer. Fabuloso Maximo!

So last month it was unincorporated LA County, now the city of Long Beach…who’ll be next…? Can you say "dominoes"? Hello Clean Beaches! Bravo Surfrider Long Beach!

California tried to be nice about this bag ban stuff this summer via AB1998 – in which the entire state could have had a nice uniform bag ban in place, but nooOOooo…the slack-jawed dingbats at the ACC had to make things difficult on everyone – AND now, themselves. They did their level-best to promote filthy neighborhoods by knocking that bill down with a landslide of payola, and now they should have their hands full suing every Golden State municipality that chooses to clean up their environs and reduce waste that ends up in the ocean. Gentlemen, start yer engines!

I can just hear the ACC parents telling their kids this holiday season, “Sorry Elwood, but we are being forced to spend your Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa pony money to sue every city in California – please accept this thrift-store athletic-support garment instead of the pony this year, OK?...oh, by the way, do you have your law degree yet, hmmmmm?”. What a tired paradigm…perhaps one day they’ll find value in working with bag-banning cities instead of against them, ya think?

It's gettin' dusty out west - NICE!
[Queue the last two seconds of AC/DC’s Shot Down In Flames.]

LA County Cans the Bag!

2010-11-16T18:07:00.001-08:00

Great news - the presence of progressive thinkers (or fed-up urban-trash observers) exist in greater Los Angeles County!! AND they have voted to stop allowing retail stores from even offering plastic take-out bags, while enforcing a ten-cent charge for paper bags. Whoa - GUTSY - take that, Sacramento==>>>Wa-BAM!

Like all moves like this - we are in the initial phase: The final ordinance will be drafted and voted on next week, and if approved then, the ban will go into effect on July 1, 2011, for some stores and January 1, 2012 for all stores.

This ordinance is mildly complicated in that it only covers the "unincorporated" areas of LA County. The LA Times article has a great map showing the coverage area. The Fresno Bee offers some other fun insight.

Of course, the leading advocates of the scourge of urban and environmental garbage, the American Chemistry Council (ACC), is threatening to sue the unsuspecting souls of LA in order to continue their assault on the environment (and to maintain the constant fire hose flow of $$$ into their bank accounts)...so stay tuned on that tip.

The whole macadamia was put into neat perspective by Heal The Bay's Mark Gold when he said, "The cost of convenience can no longer be at the cost of the environment for centuries to come."

Amen, hallelujah, HOT-DIGGETY!

[The above image is from a non-Surfrider-affiliated bag retailer, check them out here .]

Welcome To ... The Crapola Islands

2010-11-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

Again, our friends at the Plastic Pollution Coalition are making headlines...they've created a new country: The Crapola Islands, a place that "nature could not have created alone", where "the emerald waters teem with sea turtles and the sea turtles teem with tiny pieces of plastic garbage".

Drop by the Crapola Islands website and become a citizen - but beware, to become a citizen you must take the following pledge (suitable for framing and placement near the coffee machine at your office!):

"I, (state your name) pledge allegiance
to the nation of the Crapola Islands.
and by that I mean:

I will use less disposable plastic items
and not go through like 5 styrofoam cups a day;

I pledge not to be that guy.

I further pledge to spread the word
and bring others to the cause because together,
we can solve the plastic pollution epidemic.

Honestly, I see like zero downside to this."

Don't be that guy - but do havva Happy Monday!

NY Bottle Bill Update

2010-11-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

One year ago the state of New York (with the help of NE Region Surfrider chapters!) instituted the “Bottle Bill” – essentially a bottle-deposit on plastic bottles. According to Surfrider’s NE Regional Manager, John Weber, “If you believed the critics of bottle bill expansion, it was all gloom and doom, the economy was going to grind to a halt, overtaxed consumers were going to end up in the poorhouse, etc, etc. As you can see the actual results were a little different.”

Yo! Vive La Différence!

Not only did the state pick up a cool 120 MiLliOn bucks in unclaimed deposits, but, as we read in the recent press release, “The number of registered redemption centers which take back empty containers grew by 113 in 2009 and an additional 131 as of October 2010. Many of these small businesses have been able to expand and increase their employees’ wages and benefits.”

Yo! Helloooo Green Economy!

Sadly, no studies have been completed that can give us any statistical insight into the health changes New Yorkers experience by ingesting so much BPA from drinking out of all those bottles…hmmm...

Yo! Something to ponder this weekend! - have a plastic-free one…

TEDx: Pacific Garbage Patch .....THIS SATURDAY, Nov 6th

2010-11-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

If you are wondering what all the buzz about TEDx is all about...well, according to their website, "TEDx is a new program that enables local communities such as schools, businesses, libraries, neighborhoods or just groups of friends to organize, design and host their own independent, TED-like events."

And, if you are still wondering about the whole TED thing, to be "TED-like", an event will entail open, in depth and interesting discourse about a particular subject, in a sort-of-a TV studio setting (think Oprah, NOT), bright lights and an attentive, participatory audience.

OK, so TEDx: Great Pacific Garbage Patch? YES! Our cohorts over at the Plastic Pollution Coalition is hosting this exchange - THIS SATURDAY Nov 6th:

"Where leaders and innovators will come together to explore solutions for the global problem of plastic pollution. With speakers like Dr. Syliva Earle, Van Jones, David de Rothschild, and Ed Begley, Jr (with more being added daily!) the event will challenge humanity to stop plastic pollution."

That line-up again:

Dr Sylvia Earle - Sometimes called "The Sturgeon General", she is an oceanographer, and was Chief Scientist at NOAA in the early 1990's.

Van Jones - Environmental advocate, civil rights activist and attorney - called by one of 2008's Most Creative Minds by Fast Company, and a Hero of the Environment by Time mag.

David de Rothschild - Made a boat, Plastiki, out of plastic bottles and sailed it across the Pacific recently.

Ed Begley Jr - Best known for his role on the television series St. Elsewhere (six consecutive Emmy Award nominations, thankyouverymuch), He currently hosts a "green living" reality show called Living With Ed on Planet Green.

...and they are encouraging you to stage your own viewing party - all you need is a place to host it, a reliable internet connection and an audience of your friends - NICE!

More info:

The TEDx Garbage Patch website. Take The Pledge while you are there.

The Plastic Pollution Coalition website - take their Pledge too - lotsa fun celeb videos and great plastic pollution content there as well. Checque eet aut!

Suck 'Em Up!

2010-10-29T07:57:00.000-07:00

Remember that old 70's Island saying? You can still find that salutation on a thrift store T-shirt now and then, but...I digress (and this is just the second sentence of the blog entry)...

Where was I? Indeed! Sorry for the couple-week layoff - lotsa work, a birthday and a few stitches to the hand can keep a blogger away - so let's get back to it!

This is a FRIDAY QUICKIE, and it's noteworthy nonetheless - get this: a vacuum cleaner made with beach trash - FUN! (what?)

OK, straight away, give the eco-friendly & super-hip folks over at Electrolux's Desgin Lab a slap on the back for bringing attention to the plastic-filled gyres in our oceans! The Swedish household electronics company has been doing their best to be trend-setting earth-huggers and this idea is curious, fun and, well, the units look good too!

But...a vacuum cleaner made, not really out of beach trash, but made with beach trash already in it - not exactly a vacuum pre-loaded with trash (not too forward-thinking...), but...how can this be described...? [click image for larger view]

Aw just go take a look, it is been named by Electolux the "Vac From The Sea", freshly unveiled this week - we've found several articles on it:

Here's one from Fast Company.

From the online rag, Gizmag.

The source itself - Electrolux's VacFromTheSea website, where you can read all about Plastic Karma....Ohhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Suck 'em up!

The Plastic Disclosure Project

2010-10-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

Initiated by the Clinton Global Initiative, this effort aims to track corporate plastic usage, creation and management, toward offering investors more information in making better-informed investment decisions.

Another aim of the effort is to help (re)direct corporations into leading "examined lives", in which they can better understand how their actions (manufacture) create reactions (plastic trash)...and how they can continue in business and be kinder partners of the earth.

At least that's what I think is going on with this initiative! You can read all about it here and reach your own conclusions!! The story is on the GreenBiz website - explore it a bit for more related news.

Plastics Are Forever <------------ YOUTH SUMMIT!

2010-09-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

The sleepless souls over at Algalita (and 5Gyres) are finding ways to engage the energy and creativity of the world's youth to help combat the plastic pollution problem that our oceans are facing.

This effort, called the Plastics Are Forever Youth Summit, encourages you to "Find a couple friends and come up with a solution for plastic pollution. Enter the contest, you and your friends could win a trip to come to the Plastics Are Forever Summit taking place on March 11-13, 2011 in Long Beach, CA. If you are one of the 100 students selected, you will join us for the Summit, where we will train you to become a "Plastics Are Forever" expert and join us in find the solutions to plastic pollution!". GREAT STUFF - makes some of us at the RAP Blog desk wish we weren't so creepy and old! ;)

Watch videos by MTV's The Buried Life and others, get into the nitty-gritty of the problem (and your yet-to-be-devised solution!), read the FAQ and other pertinent info at the PAF website. It's a killer website, with lotsa media, maps as well as ideas - AND the opportunity to plug into a solution to one of the oceans' most dire threats - plastics from you and me.

The odds look pretty good: they are choosing 100 students to attend the Summit in California and participate in expert training to become Plastics Are Forever ambassadors...NICE!

Git right on it!

Italy Bans Plastic Bottles!

2010-09-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well...*part* of Italy has banned plastic water bottles - the Cinque Terre (Five Lands) scenic region on the country's northwest coastline. Cinque Terre is recognized on the Unesco World Heritage list of environmental and cultural conservation sites, and the Italians want to keep it that way.

They say that tourists leave behind THOUSANDS of plastic water bottles that topple from the steep terrain and end up on their limited beach space (....and most certainly contribute to the yet-to-be quantified Mediterranean Garbage Gyre) - so the have banned plastic water bottles from the region and have gone so far as to offer low cost one litre metal bottles for just one Euro - complete with the Cinque Terre National Park logo. Nice!

If you've ever actually been to Italy (well, at least the southern part), you may ask "Oh, they finally noticed the trash that is strewn everywhere without regard to aesthetics or environmental health?"...but the Italians estimate that in August alone (when ALL Europeans go on holiday...usually to the warm beaches of Italy), the CT area is trashed by as many as 400,000 (400,000!!!) carelessly discarded plastic water bottles. That's a lot of frikkin' bottles by anyone's count.

Nice move - setting the pace for the rest of the world's special areas! Read more about the savvy move in the UK Telegraph.

We say, MOLTO BENE...THAT'sss AMORAAAAAAAY!

LA Polystyrene Ban: Game ON!

2010-09-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

Jeez - maybe the ACC has run out of lobby money? ...or maybe the county of LA is tired of cleaning up single-use plastics? Either way, the County of Los Angeles has initiated a -partial- styrofoam cup and food-container ban, eliminating these dodgy and hazardous scourges from "most county buildings and concessions". THAT is the best news we've heard all week. All month!

This move marks the beginning of a yearlong period of study, in which the county administrators will assess the impact of this kind of reduction in useless, poisonous instant trash.

So...at the end of the test period, they shall ask themselves things like, "are we OK without them?", "has the municipality saved zillions of taxpayer dollars in not having to clean them out of our storm drains, our streets, our parks, our beaches and our otherwise beautiful California countryside?", and (I hope they don't leave this Q out) "ain't life grand without that crap?". yes, Yes, YES!

This came outta nowhere (at least for us here at the RAP News Desk), and you can read all about it in the LA Times.

Let the joy begin!

Let Them Drink Bubbles

2010-09-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

Paris wants to reduce plastic bottle use. Will they Ban the Bottle? Non! They will dispense carbonated water at public fountains to redirect sparkling water fans toward refilling reusable bottles. How refreshing and au courant! Get this: the Italians have been doing it for years, grazziverymuch.

Read about it in the Guardian UK and the NYTimes.

Could something like that happen in the USA? Fat chance, Pierre - the portly plastics and bottled-water lobbyists would bums-rush our capital and execute a full-court press on our impre$$ionable politicians. "OH, THE JOB LOSSES!","TAX-PAYER BOONDOGGLE!"...ZZZZzzzzz...

Riiiiight...those Frogs are on to something!

Bagless in Brownsville

2010-09-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

WOW! Texas leaves California in the dust...along with all of the discarded plastic shipping bags accumulating and swirling around there in that dust heap of a state!

Brownsville, TX has banned single-use plastic shopping bags...AND...will charge shoppers a one dollar fee if they forget to bring bags and have to use plastic. Yo no comprendo how a shopper can be charged for being issued a plastic bag if there is a bag ban in effect, but they've got it all figured out there in B-ville and the whole shebang goes into effect in January 2011. OOOWweeeee-dawggies!

See the news video and/or read the story here - and note that they refer to Brownsville as the "first city in the [Rio Grande] valley to ban plastic bags" - which, to my hopeful mind translates to, "and the rest will soon follow!".

Imagine that, progressive, sad, old California digging out from under the blizzard of plastics industry lobby money, wondering what just happened to AB 1998, while Texas is KICKING A** and TAKING INITIALS (they don't have time for names, duuude - they're busy saving the planet!!)!!

As the saying goes, DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS!

Sailors Sink SUP Bottles!

2010-09-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

Ahoy, and splice the main brace, RAPsters!!

This brief, welcome and unsolicited message arrived at the Surfrider HQ offices this week from the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA)operative (co-captain of the Christopher Newport Univ Varsity Sailing Team & a Mid-Atlantic ICSA Southern Rep) Maxwell J. Plarr:

"As a sailor, surfer, and a person who loves the water I thought you guys should know that the ICSA, the governing body of ALL college sailing in the United States, passed legislation banning the use of plastic water bottles at our regattas to cut back on waste. In the past this has been a HUGE issue trying to protect our environment and I thought it would be really cool to let you guys know that we are doing are part to make our oceans cleaner. Sail Fast, Surf Often!"

According to their news release for this announcement, this smart change will amount to an estimated annual reduction of over 25,000 (twenty-five THOUSAND!) single-use plastic water bottles. Working with sailing environmentalists Sailors For The Sea, and metal bottle-maker, KleanKanteen, this is going to be an easy, fun and forward-thinking transition. BRAVO, Maties!!

...and who says that "True sailing is dead"? P-shawwwwww!

Amazon Fights Clamshells

2010-09-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Monday shortie: we all hate those insipid plastic "clamshells" entombing many of our, mainly electronic, purchases - well Amazon says that they want to reduce it for several reasons, one of them environmental.

Intended mainly as a way to keep theiving shoppers from pocketing tiny valuable items from store shelves - and inadvertently causing major frustration on the consumer that's trying to open the package w/o destroying the item itself (what do they care - they already have your $$$) - well, the lat time it checked, Amazon didn't have store shelves and it has put the word to its suppliers to nix the clams.

Nice name for a campaign, "NIX THE CLAMS!" (they are actually calling it the Anti-"wrap rage" campaign), and reportedly, Fisher-Price, and Mattel are already on board - read about it here.

Happy Monday!

Samoa Bans the Bag!

2010-09-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard (it's been a busy month!), on August 27th Samoa banned single-use plastic bags. This island group, another inadvertent dumping spot of ocean gyre-based plastic trash, has decided to end the possibility that it can be a source of this kind of pollution.

Thoughtful consideration by the locals brought this to bear. Can you imagine that? A place in the world perhaps free from lobbyists? Regardless, a hard-working local government representative, Taotasi Archie Soliai has been driving the effort for the ban for four solid years - that is dedication. Soliai's respect for Samoa's limited environmental paradise kept him at it until the law was eventually signed.

Even local businessmen see the movement as a "small price to pay" for the eventual rewards that an action like this will garner. If we could only get corporations to toe that line - truly a paradise...a world where all players find value in protecting the environment - versus protecting the "bottom line"? NICE!

The ban kicks in in late February next year... The locals are also cognizant of the overall impact of paper bags as well, and overall urge increased use of reusable bags. Read about it all in Samoa News, and in the Huffington Post.

Have a great weekend - and dont forget to leave all extraneous product packaging at the check-out stand if you go shopping this weekend!

Let's Do the Numbers...

2010-09-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

Further refining our analysis of the recently-failed California single-use plastic shopping bag "ban", AB 1998 - let's take a deeper look in to the blizzard of money falling into the hands of the legislators, as put there by the plastics lobby:

South Carolina plastic bag manufacturer, Hilex Poly Co. gave $10,000 to the California Democratic State Central Committee on Aug. 5. On Aug 6th, Exxon gave the Republican Party $10,000, building on other donations it has piled up in California this summer.

Tim Shestek, the American Chemistry Council's state and local public affairs director, calls it “building relationships and support". Borrowing a line from a popular California bumpersticker, Tourist Go Home.

Making more per$onalized/targetted “contribution$” to our local $tate legi$lator$ over the $ummer as they contemplated thi$ bill, Hilex, Exxon, and the ACC (American Chemistry Council, the PR arm of the plastic$ industry) gave the maximum per-election direct donation of $3,900 to, some and more/less to others:

Tony Strickland, R-Moorpark, $3900 (voted...?)
Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Niguel, $3900 (voted NO)
Curren Price, D-Inglewood, $3900 (voted NO)
Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, $3900 (voted NO)
Lois Wolk, D-Davis, $2,500 (voted NO)
Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, $1,500 (low-balled, and voted YES!)
Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, $4500 (voted...?)
Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Chino, $3000 (voted NO)

Total: $47,100…that we know of… Pretty cheap dates overall. Out-of-state businesses making contributions to California-local state senators. Think about that a minute.

The Sacramento Bee article detailing these transactions goes on to quote $enator Loi$ Wolk: "People are dealing and wheeling - There is a great deal of push on both sides." $he claim$ that her vote, had “nothing to do with contributions – at least it doesn't with me." Ooooh my...she's a $lippery one! Her simple, flippant use of the term "dealing and wheeling" gives great insight into the lobbying process.

Looking at the list, that’s EIGHT VOTES – enough to turn the outcome over in favor of the bill, ya think? We couldn’t have counted on all of them, so no tears shed there – but I, for one, bristle at the thought of greaseball out-of-staters greasing the palms of local electeds for consideration.

Either way, that’s what we’re up against in these fights…the greasers and greasees… Lobbying...or Lubing - you make the call!

Stay tuned for good news tomorrow on a similar front...

See Ya In Court!

2010-09-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

Well, what can ya say. California’s bag ban effort fell short. Looking at it another way, after a week of perspective, I have concluded that some politicians are just stupid. [REVELATION!] “Stupid” is a harsh word, yes, but Forest Gump reminded us that “Stupid is that stupid does.” Which, defined, means “a person is judged ‘stupid’ by the stupid acts (s)he commits”. And well, just follow the logic…and the actions.

…or maybe it could be just plain old selfish ignorance – for instance, my local senator kept asking us, “what will I use to pick up my dog droppings with if single-use plastic shopping bags are banned?”. So, to her, her dog’s feces were more important than unsightly, and at times, deadly plastic pollution strewn across her district and beyond. Go figure…or go fetch?

Here are the elected California senator yayhoos who lack both thinking caps & vision for the future, and/or are on the lobbyist gravy-train (these senators voted against the bag ban):

Aanestad, Ashburn, Calderon, Cogdill,
Correa, Denham, Ducheny, Dutton,
Emmerson, Florez, Harman, Hollingsworth,
Huff, Negrete, McLeod, Price,
Runner, Walters, Wolk, Wright,
Romero, & Wyland

Some Senators are greedy and vote with an eye to fattening their wallets. Note that self-bepuffed Senator Lois Wolk (D-Sacramento) spoke out against the bill on the floor AND was one of the Senators that the Sacramento Bee exposed as taking money from the ACC. Read the Sac Bee article that fingers the other California State Senators caught feeding their portly jowls and wallets at the plastics industry’s lobbyist money-tree. BUSTED!

…and then there are the SMART SENATORS, with VISION and CONCERN. These are the ones that could see the value in preserving our environment for future generations, who are not swayed by money-grubbin’ lobbyists, and who should be praised for their thoughtful “YES!” votes on AB1998 (note that the State Assembly is jammed with smarties too, as they passed the bill before it ever went to the Senate):

Alquist, Cedillo, Corbett, DeSaulnier,
Hancock, Kehoe, Leno, Liu,
Lowenthal, Padilla, Pavley, Simitian,
Steinberg, Yee, AND Schwartzenegger (said he’d pass it!)

Please contact these senators and thank them for voting YES ON AB 1998!

So it’s back to the courts – a much simpler prospect, now that Santa Monica has published their EIR required by CEQA, to show that banning bags won’t hurt the environment more than keeping them around to litter our landscapes & oceans, and kill our wildlife. Back to the plan of each municipality forging their own bag bans. Like I said, SEE YA IN COURT!

More good news in the wake of AB 1998 – 1) the greater awareness about the plastic plague problem has motivated many California cities to go forward with local bans, 2) that raised awareness has blanketed the world, and other countries continue to BAN THE BAG, 3) our Clean Seas Coalition has grown stronger and more organized and are ready for the next fight!

Also, it's now time to schedule your showing of BagIt, a new indy film all about single-use plastics and in particular, the devil incarnate: single-use plastic shopping bags. Surfrider has been granted rights to show this award-winning film, so contact your local Surfrider chapter and see about show times!

This last item is for my local California State Senator – maybe I was too harsh, perhaps it is actually her dog that is the dumb one. I mean really, smart dogs clean up after themselves…Ms. Senator, please show this image to your dog and tell him to get with the program!

Have a single-use bag-less week!!

Bag Monster ACTION!

2010-08-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

Your local Bag Monster is on tour...just looking for a friendly home. The world is demonstrating that it dislikes single-use plastic shopping bags, so the monster is crossing the USA to find love where it can (not an easy task).

So sad - keep up with the Monster's quest and other Monster doin's (public art, activist marches, etc, etc!!) at the entertaining Bag Monster blog.

[Meanwhile...Californians: contact your state senators and tell them to pass AB 1998 - the state-wide single-use plastic shopping bag ban bill. More info here.]

Have a reusable weekend!

California Bag Ban - HAMMER TIME!

2010-08-24T23:09:00.000-07:00

OK – hammer time is upon us. I’m told that this week is THE week for action on the California Bag Ban, AB 1998 – your mission (f you choose to accept it) is to call your senator [list below] and tell them that you want them, NEED them to pass AB 1998 and PASS IT NOW.

Why? China, Mexico, Ireland (tax), Bangladesh, Zimbabwe (just did it!), Israel (tax), UAE have already banned these environmental scourges and the list of places that have goes on. California, #7 on the world GDP list (ahead of all but one of those listed above), sets progressive trends for the world and sports a stunning array of environmental jewels that need protection from the now-ubiquitous “urban tumbleweed” – not least of which is its famous, unmatched coastline. Single-use plastics are nothing more than INSTANT TRASH – we don’t need that cr*p!

Take a look around your world – how many discarded plastic shopping bags do you see strewn about? LOTS! Did you put them there? H***, NO! Do you think anyone did it on purpose? NOT LIKELY! In a nutshell, that’s the whole enchilada…pretty easy to understand – per their basic design flaw, these bags are genetically predisposed to a life of being unsightly, sea-animal-choking weapons against an innocent, unknowing environment. We’re all guilty for letting it get this bad – now is the time for us all to act!

OK Californians, if you’ve been on the sidelines (or if you’ve already made the calls), this is THE time to dial up your senator and tell them how you feel. Easier than you think – you won’t get a 20-question grilling, your taxes won’t go up and you can knock the call out on the walk between your car/bus/bike/skateboard and your office…and you can do it up to once a day. Tomorrow is a new (call) day!

So check the list below for your jurisdiction - these are the Senators that need to hear your voice – so, please, GIT ON IT! You’ll be glad you did (as will your neighborhoods and your oceans). ☺

Los Angeles Area:
1. Azuza, Baldwin Park, Covina, Duarte, El Monte, Irwindale, La Puente, LA, Monterey Park, Rosemead, West Covina - Gloria Romero 916-651-4024
2. Montebello, Huntington Park - Ron Calderon 916-651-4030
3. Santa Ana/Fullerton - Lou Correa 916-651-4034
4. Huntington Beach/Costa Mesa - Tom Harman 916-651-4035
5. Laguna Niguel - Mimi Walters 916-651-4033
6. Compton, Gardena, Hawthorn, Inglewood, Lawndale, Long Beach, LA, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro - Roderick Wright 916-651-4025
7. Alhambra, LA, Maywood, San Marino, South Pasadena and Vernon) - Gilbert Cedillo 916-651-4022
8. Bakersfield, Coalinga, Delano, Dinuba, Fresno, Hanford, Lemoore) - Dean Florez 916-651-4016
9. Chino, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona) - Gloria Negrete McLeod 916-651-4032
10. Canoga Park, North Hills, North Hollywood, Northridge, Pacoima, San Fernando, Sun Valley, Sylmar, Van Nuys, Winneka) - Alex Padilla 916-651-4020
11. Culver City, Hancock Park, Hollywood, LA) - Curren Price 916-651-4026

San Diego Area:
1. Brawley, Calexico, Cathedral City, Chula Vista, Coachella, Coronado, El Centro, IB, Indio, National City, SD, San Ysidro - Denise Ducheny 916-651-4040

San Francisco Area:
1. Leland Yee 916-651-4008

Sacramento Area:
1. Davis, Fairfield, Manteca, Stockton, Tracy, Vacaville, West Sacramento - Lois Wolk 916-651-4005

Jack Johnson's "All At Once" Network

2010-08-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

All At Once, Jack Johnson's social action network, encourages you to become active in your local and world community. All At Once connects you with local non-profit groups creating change through Your Actions, Your Voices and Your Choices.

This year's All At Once campaign features over 150 non-profit groups and focuses on supporting Sustainable Local Food Systems and Plastic Free Initiatives. Jack Johnson's To The Sea tour proceeds will go to these groups to support their projects.

All At Once introduces you to Plastic Free Initiatives. Plastic waste is harmful to the environment because it doesn't break down. Almost every bit of plastic that has ever been created still exists. The plastic pollution threatens our wildlife, oceans, and our health. Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour-every HOUR! Recycling isn't always the answer; most of the plastic waste ends up in landfills. Do your part to minimize single use plastic.

Here is what you can do to Strive to be Plastic Free!

Your Actions

Here are three actions you can take to support a vision for a plastic free environment. Your individual ACTIONS make a difference!

• Pledge to reduce your plastic waste. Take Surfrider Foundation's Rise Above Plastics pledge and the Plastic Pollution Coalition's S.U.P.E.R. Hero Pledge and learn more about what you can do to be plastic free.

• Bring your own reusable bag for purchases and use reusable beverage and food containers. Nearly every plastic bottle ever made still exists today. Do your part and reuse!

• Get involved with projects that are raising awareness about plastic free alternatives. Check out what others are doing to make a statement- Follow the Plastiki Voyage across the South Pacific and see what the Algalita Marine Research Foundation has discovered in the North Pacific Gyre.

Your Voice

Here are three more things you can do to support a vision for a plastic free environment. Let your VOICE be heard!

• Join the Take Back the Tap Campaign. Ditch single-use bottled water, support local water infrastructure, and refill at the tap.

• Support local or national policies and efforts to reduce or find alternatives to single use plastics. If you're in California, send a letter to your Assemblymember in support of Heal The Bay's Plastic Ban Policy to ban single use plastic bags, limit the distribution of paper bags, and require reusable bags for purchases.

• Sign up and stay informed on Plastic Free Initiatives. Check out RiseAbovePlastics.blogspot.com

Your Choice

Here are three choices you can make to support buying seasonal, locally grown, organic food. It's your CHOICE - make conscious purchasing decisions!

• Shop at your local farmers market or farm stand. Visit www.LocalHarvest.org for a farm or market near you.

• Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Become a shareholder of a local farm, support its operation, and receive fresh food throughout the growing season. Find your CSA here.

• Eat at restaurants that serve local organic produce. Check out Eat Well Guide's map for the To the Sea 2010 tour! Custom guides have been created for each city of the tour to help your find fresh, local and sustainable food.

Connect to the All At Once non-profit partners promoting sustainable local food systems.

At the Jack/All At Once Shows- Fill Up at Brita's FilterForGood Water Stations.

In an effort to be more plastic free, Jack Johnson's 2010 To The Sea Tour has partnered with Brita's FilterForGood Campaign to bring free water refill stations to every show on the U.S. Tour.

The FilterForGood campaign raises awareness of simple changes everyone can make to live eco-friendly lives. Help us improve the environment one bottle at a time by staying hydrated with filtered water and a reusable bottle instead of disposable bottled water. Come fill up your reusable bottle for free at the Brita Water Stations in the Village Green at the shows and take the FilterForGood Pledge to reduce plastic bottled water waste.

For more information on the Village Green, Brita Water Stations, and other To The Sea Tour Greening information, visit www.JackJohnsonMusic.com/greening

Learn more and become an All At Once member to explore, share, discuss, volunteer, and donate at www.AllAtOnce.org

[Thanks to Nicole Parisi-Smith of Surfrider San Fran, Head Count and MOP]

Jeremy Irons Plastic Bag Vid

2010-08-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

Brought to us by our friends at Heal The Bay, and complete with helicopter shot and night-vision cams, this is a high-quality production about the lonely trials and tribulations of a discarded plastic grocery bag, just trying to get through the day. You see them everywhere, everyday, but have you ever pondered their difficult "life" path?

Similar to the Werner Herzog vid of a previous post on this blog, this one has a touch more humor and well, is quite a tear-jerker - wait 'till you see the "deadly" teacup yorkie open a can (cup?) of whoop-ass on our bag/friend...not sure whom to weep for in that scene, but pass the tissues, pleeeez.

In Heal The Bay's words: "Filmed in the style of a nature documentary and narrated by Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons, this 'mockumentary', though lighthearted in tone, hammers home the stark reality of California’s plastic bag pollution situation. View on YouTube and share to help get AB 1998 approved by the Senate!"

Aloha From Plastic Beach!

2010-08-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

A quick shout-out to Surfrider Oahu. They took out a RAP advert (designed by dream team: Lora Lamm, Sheila Sarhangi, Rob Barecca, Ryo Kubota) in the new-ish local mag Green Magazine Hawaii - fulfilling the "A" in Surfrider's C.A.R.E., "awareness" (call your local chapter for the other 3 points of CARE). You can see the mag and the ad in the current issue (page 22).

While you're there, skip back an issue or so for a cover article (page 34) on 5Gyres' Dr. Marcus Eriksen (of JunkBoat & JunkRide fame), oceanic plastic trash and it's play in 'the islands' - written by Surfrider's Stuart Coleman (famous as author of island tomes, Eddie Would Go and Fierce Heart).

Hawaii catches the brunt of sea-going trash, being on the spin-out fringe of the North Pacific Garbage Patch - bizarre...paradise filtering the world's cast-off junk. Lono don't like dat mess.

Nice work by the Oahu Nalu Ohana! It may only be Thursday boyz, but take an early PAU HANA & catch the end of the swell...MUCHOS MAHALOS! :)

PS - Stuart Coleman wrote another article about Dr. Marcus Eriksen in the Honolulu Civil Beat, revealing some interesting points about this peace & environmental activist. Check it out to find out who he's calling a "fossil fool".

California Bag Ban Update: Slimy Lobbyists Steering YOUR Future!

2010-08-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

The time for the big push is NOW. As the selfish, narrow-minded, non-local ACC (bag manufacturer LOBBYing assn based in Virginia & Washington DC) tries to convince YOUR California politicians (hmmm…money, meals, & “special services” anyone?) that their profits are more important than your neighborhoods and the earth’s environment, it is time for us to contact our representatives and let them know how we feel.

The vote on California Assembly Bill AB 1998 should finally come up in the next couple of weeks. The ACC has been able to toss extra hurdles in front of the bill by somehow (wink-wink) convincing our local reps to require the bill to pass thru yet another committee before coming to a general vote on the senate floor. The ACC lobbyists are trying to delay, delay, delay until it becomes difficult to move the bill forward, those selfish little @#$%&*s!

Californians, take this time to use Surfrider’s handy state senator letter-writing gizmo to punch a letter of AB 1998 support out to your senator – click this link to DO IT! Don’t let some out-of-state greaseballs dictate your state’s future. (better yet, CALL the representative – the Surfrider tool will display your local rep’s phone number – mine is: Rep Christine Kehoe, Phone:(916) 651-4039 Fax:(916) 327-2188)

Meanwhile…check out Ed Begley Jr & Kate Conner's little video about good reasons to GO REUSABLE on your bags (the scenario in the van should look and feel familiar).

Buried in Plastic PSA Plastic Pollution Coalition from Dianna Cohen on Vimeo.

It’s Hammer Time!

Holiday Video Round-Up!

2010-07-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

A few vids to ease back into the work week - all dealing with the scourge of single-use plastic bags:

1) California State Assemblywoman Julia Brownley announcing (fairly) recent progress of her Bag Ban bill currently working thru the legislature (it's a bit further along than when this vid was produced). Be on the look-out for favorably lit hot celebrities!

2) Actor Ed Norton and National Geographic team up for this Strange Day On Planet Earth anti-bag ditty. Oh man, this one reeeeally hits the spot - and who can argue with NatGeo? I mean, really.

3) An Israeli PSA (I think it's a PSA...?), reminding all Hebrew-speakers to bring their own reusable bags to the store. Plastic bag trash is just not kosher...it's a dang fashla gadol! ;)

4) House cats can be terrorized by single-use plastic bags (or maybe it's the Don Henley music?)...good for them, their owner-friends have hands with fingers & opposable thumbs and can come to the rescue. Wild animals ain't so lucky... :(

5) Saving the BEST for last. With first-"person"[bag] narration by famed film maker Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man; Aguirre, the Wrath of God; The Wild Blue Yonder; etc!), this one laments the sad life of a single-use plastic bag. It's a film by Ramin Bahrani called "PLASTIC BAG" made for Futurestates TV - take time to check them out. Live it up and go FULL SCREEN - and tell your friends about this one! [Note: this Futurestates full episode is 18+ minutes long...just so ya know.]

NOW - take time to roll down to the next blog-post here at The RAP Blog to sign the action alerts, contact your state senator(s) and help support Assemblywoman Brownley's AB 1998 Bag Ban bill!! Thanks a heap.

CA Bag Ban - What's Next??

2010-07-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

Ok…well…”What the H-E-double-hockey-sticks is going on with the California Bag Ban bill?”, I ask myself everyday. To assuage my confusion of CA state government, I've contacted the experts, have sussed it all out, and, employing my superior desktop/spreadsheet/ninja-nerd skills, have created this handy matrix’d cheat-sheet (current as of July 2, 2010) - Click it to enlarge:

So, checking the smart-indicator color-keyed image – it looks like we may be more than half way there. It now sits in the trembling hands of the California State Senate. This is where YOU come in: this is the time to contact a California state senator to let them know that you support The Bill, The Ban and The Environment. Nice!

Here’s how you do it:

Click here to choose your senator.

Click here to sign Surfrider’s Action Alert.

Click here to explore Heal The Bay’s legislator contact options.

Click here to use Environment California’s Action Alert senator-contact tool (with example letter!).

Take your time, mix & match, tell yer ma to do it, but just do it - NOW IS THE TIME.

Meanwhile, for your "Friday-Lite" reading pleasure, our good friends over at the Plastic Pollution Coalition have compiled a list of supporters and opPOSERS of the bill. I have taken that list and eliminated crazeee environmental groups, and/or businesses that could make money on the ban and/or businesses who may lose money due to the ban and...the remainders are below – there are a few surprises (Steven Bochco Productions?)…cheque it out!!

Supporters:
California Grocer’s Association
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Association of Communities United of South Los Angeles
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
California State Lands Commission
City of Burbank
City of Del Mar
City of Long Beach
City of Newport Beach
City of Pasadena
City of San Buenaventura
City of San Clemente
City of Solana Beach
City of Ventura
Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Market Inc.
Humboldt County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County Solid Waste Management Committee/ Integrated Waste Management Task Force
Marin County Board of Supervisors
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
Monterey Regional Waste Management District
Neighborhood Market Association
Planning and Conservation League
PW Supermarkets Inc. (San Jose)
Rite Aid
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Save Mart Supermarkets
Solid Waste Solutions Inc
Alameda County Waste Management Authority
Steven Bochco Productions
Super A Food Inc. (Commerce)
State Lands Commission
Washington Elementary PTA
Western States Council of the United Food & Commercial Workers
WinCo Foods Inc.
Wisdom Academy for Young Scientists
Youth Opportunities for High School and Associations of Communities United of South Los Angeles

Opposers:
Californians for Extended Producer Responsibility
Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Corona Chamber of Commerce
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce
Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce

Have a trash-free July 4th beachy weekend!

Oil Spill Prevention Starts at Home...!

2010-07-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

This from cartoonist/realist David Horsey:

I think our subject is also wearing those annoying Crocs - perhaps petroleum-based? Do I see inorganic cotton clothing items as well? Something to think about during your normal, daily goings-on - a LOT of what we "do" as humans nowadays is rooted in petroleum use/abuse - ESPECIALLY IF IT INVOLVES PLASTIC! Show this to yer mom too - some moms think that this stuff comes from plastic (and meat and Croc) trees... :(

The original posting site is here.

LA Times Hates Plastic Bags!

2010-06-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe hate is too strong a word, but yesterday the LA Times took an Op/Ed stand in favor the California Bag Ban Bill, AB 1998. NICE! They state all of the known points about why we advocate squelching the flow of the nearly useless trash into our world, and go on to suggest that a fee on all bags (a similar, but weaker variation on what’s being proposed in AB 1998) could be a better plan of action, due to that idea’s resounding success elsewhere…but, in the end, the LA Times Op/Ed’rs embrace Brownley’s bill as being a “good compromise”.

Citing the low cost to business of the actual mechanics of the proposed ban and the fact that the California Grocers Assn wholeheartedly supports it, The Times goes on to call AB 1998, “the easiest and most effective step Californians can take toward cleaning up plastics pollution.” So that’s some great news! Let’s hope that the politicians considering the bill have taken time out to read the opinion – contact your CA state senator and give ‘em the Op/Ed link. GO!

On a whole ‘nuther front…and on the same day, in the same daily…a blog entry, essentially paid for by plastics manufacturers (“american chemistry council”…google it), touts a “study” that claims that reusable bags test positive for bacteria!! LIONS/TIGERS/BEARS/OH-MY! Just so ya know, the ACC always finds ways to (re)issue the findings of this elaborate science project in municipalities that are considering bans…so we’ve seen this before… ZZZzzzzz... :( The entertaining comments immediately following that spurious blog/report are worth the time you waste reading the blog entry itself, so go for it!

Jeez – I hope grandma knew about this cRaZeE bacteria “problem” back before plastic bags were unleashed on us – she might have died of BACTERIA POISONING (luckily she succumbed to old age before bacteria had a chance take her down - whew!). Well…frankly, bacteria resides on just about e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g, including your face. Crops would not grow if not for the bacteria in the soil, and w/o it you can forget about vinegar, yogurt, cheese, etc, etc, etc…it even helps to break down oil spill pollution.

Really, if you're that worried about threats from bacteria, you should avoid using the grocery store shopping carts - EEEW! Just to be safe, do like me: always refrain from fishing things out of the commode with your reusable shopping bags, and you’ll probably be OK. ;)

Please take time to sign the Surfrider Action Alert supporting the ban bill.

Have a good 'un!

Kids Get It - AND Give It

2010-06-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

Today, a couple of stories about how news of plastic pollution is inspiring kids to create awareness projects. Great news, as kids effectively "up-teach" their parents...the ones that can actually "vote with their dollars" to reduce plastics.

First off – renowned photog Chris Jordan keeps plenty busy with his Running the Numbers and Midway series images, and recently, the revelations illuminated by his work have done more than open a few people’s minds to the plastic-gyre problem. Seattle's Bertschi School 2nd graders have gone on to create their own representative art, and the two artists meet in this video.

Next up – An endearing video created by school children, of The International School of Monterey, about how, well…we are trampling the planet – but they have a savior: The Ocean Guardian! My mind's eye sees single-use-plastics manufacturers drowning in their own tears as they watch this one...prepare to bust out the un-bleached, recycled cotton/hemp towels. WARNING - Cuteness Factor: HIGH!

Enjoy summer vacation!

[OH YEAH, don't forget to contact your CA senator to tell them that you want them to pass AB 1998, the California BAG BAN Bill! Please sign Surfrider's AB 1998 Action Alert as well - it's crunch time!]

BBC: Hip to the Tip

2010-06-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

Another report from the UK's BBC2 on the oceanic plastic pollution problem. Documentarian Simon Reeve has made a couple of ace short reports of his trips around the world, exploring the dodgy, pear-shaped state of the world's natural environment (what there is of it, such as it is...), and this is his latest and it's quite stonking - in it, he really takes the biscuit and reminds us that it's time to stop faffing around.

Tell your mum that it's naff and to give it a look - that British accent has a way of calming and focusing the viewer - and frankly, RAP's essentially NorthAmerica-centric campaign right fancies any and all international insight and raised-awareness. Fab, indeed.

Stay spot-on and get gobsmacked - watch it on your telly, it's totally brill!

Tara (TTFN!)!

[OH YEAH, don't forget to contact your CA senator to tell them that you want them to pass AB 1998, the California bag ban bill! Please sign Surfrider's AB 1998 Action Alert as well - it's crunch time!]

Walmart...Getting a Head-Start on the Bag Ban in California

2010-06-16T09:57:00.001-07:00

Well, well, well...hello to progressive retail, from...Walmart? YEP! Walmart, the largest grocery retailer in the United States, AND the largest private employer is starting to kick the single-use bag habit. Three Walmart stores in Norther California are conducting a pilot program in which they are operating as if the pending state bag ban had been passed. According to reports, things are going well, with the biggest "complaint" being the usual "I never remember to bring my reusable bags with me..." - but in this case, shoppers w/o bags find that their only option is to buy bags at checkout.

Pretty astounding? Well, yeah, but really it's just smart business - especially if the pending ban ban legislation being considered becomes law this year. Businesses can either grump and complain, or...get into the spirit of the movement and make it a positive change for themselves AND their customers...either way, Mother Nature will be grateful...!

Be sure to contact your CA state senator to tell them that you want them to pass the bag ban , AB 1998. It's now in the hands of the state Senate, having passed the Assembly earlier this month. Do what you can!!

A couple of articles on Walmart's progressive action:

Fast Company & Good Magazine.

The video embedded in the above articles probably won't work for you [youtube wants the ad revenue ;)], so here is the direct link for that.

Santa Monica Posts Its Bag Ban Environmental Impact Report!

2010-06-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

Looking for a little summer reading? Well, the City of Santa Monica is dishing it up - 246 pages worth! Enough to choke a horse - OR an American Chemistry Council (ACC) attorney - KhHACK!

Ever wonder what an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) looks like?? I mean, we hear about 'em all the time, we know their function, but have you ever looked under the hood? This is the real thing - all killer, no filler.

For background, the City of Santa Monica (near Los Angeles, CA), attempted to ban single-use plastic bags a couple of years ago, and were clothes-lined by the non-local and obtusely un-neighborly ACC, who legally forced the city to produce an expensive (~$300,000) EIR to prove that the expected increase in the use of paper bags would not harm the environment...and no one is debating whether the ACC cares about the environment, because, well...aw never mind. Riiiight. ;)

The bottom line is, no city of this decade is in the position to spend the $$$,$$$ to produce the EIR - but Santa Monica accepted the mission and have produced the doc.

BRAVO SANTA MONICA!!

What's the next step? Expect the hanging legal debate to restart, with this new (draft) EIR as "Exhibit A". Stay tuned here for subsequent updates - and meanwhile, watch the Bag Monster at the SM city council meeting back in Feb 2008 when the whole shebang was just starting - NICE!

5Gyers Call To Action!

2010-06-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

While we wait (after directly contacting our local politicians, of course) on the hanging-in-the-balance California Bag Ban legislation's (AB 1998) peristaltic movement through the Cali-legislature, some of us are busy back at the ranch-gyre...

Look at this: the "JunkRide" and "JunkRaft" team, 5Gyres, is building two new vessels to grab needed attention to the persistent pelagic plastic pollution problem (5Ps?). Read below and do what you can! (click to enlarge)

Bottled Water = OIL (French?)

2010-06-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

With all this talk about filthy oil lately... From the Tapped movie people - a nice reminder that each water bottle comes pre-loaded with a 1/3 volume of petroleum - yummy-yum-yum! So, remember to keep your toothbrush and dispersant handy if you buy bottled water...

On the lighter side...comedian Jim Gaffigan reminds us of the ridiculous folly of bottled water, and how the French may be behind not only this whole, sick bottled water conspiracy...but they may also be to "blame" for the homogeneous nature of Mexican Food as well...quel/que catastrophe/lastima!

Jokes.com

Jim Gaffigan - Bottled Water

comedians.comedycentral.com

Futurama New Episodes

Ugly Americans

Funny TV Comedy Blog

Eat 'em up!

Recycling Myths 4 U

2010-06-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've heard this "argument": "It's OK to buy those plastic water bottles, because, I RECYCLE THEM!" (Usually followed by an unvocalized "YAY 4 ME!"...) The concept in our heads - as placed there, to a large extent, by plasti-manufacturers - See: Misconception #5! - versus the reality of what actually happens to stuff you toss into a recycling bin are separated by a wiiiide-a** gap.

FunFact/Misconception #2: "Curbside collection will reduce the amount of plastic landfilled". Plastic items don't come back as those same items. Those that actually make it into a recycling bin (and truly end up at a plastics renderer...) come back as un-recylable stuff...so they end up in the dump (or your surf break) eventually...

Find this helpful & informative list here - SEVEN Misconceptions About Recycling and FIVE Strategies to Reduce the Environmental Impact of Plastics. Pretty slick - show it to your parents (no matter your age)!

Today was a good day at my local break - One CapriSun (the Devil's drink) mylar 'pouch', one Pooh toy part, a plastic shopping bag, and a couple of bottle caps. Yesterday was GnArLyer: One CapriSun (the Devil's drink) mylar 'pouch' [I guess I didnt get them all this day], Two water bottles, one full (though empty) Happy Meal set, some unhappy plastic toy parts, one 'travel-size' shampoo bottle several plastic straws, and four bottle caps...all gathered on my short walk from the water to the parking lot - maybe 60 yards of beach to traverse - and this was AFTER the city's "beach-grooming" contraption had made its passes. D'ya see why we have a problem with plastics around here? DAMN!

Schwarzzi's On Board - How About =====> U?

2010-06-07T09:28:00.000-07:00

Check this out - Arnold Schwarzenegger, the King of the Land of Fruits & Nuts (insert his odd pronunciation of the state's name here...), is ready, willing and able to sign the California Bag Ban bill, AB 1998 (fact sheets here), as soon as it gets through the senate (it has already passed the Assembly). Check this bold, concise, and bulgingly-muscular statement from Der Governator:

“I commend the Assembly for passing AB 1998, which would make California the first state in the nation to ban plastic bags. This bill will be a great victory for our environment and I applaud Assemblywoman Brownley for working on this effort.”

AWRIGHT! DOOD! There's no question about his stance on the issue! Now it's the electorate's chance: have your zip code ready and go sign the Action Alert AND call your assigned politician's office - I did mine and it took less than a minute. Believe it or not, this direct contact really works.

Git On It!

Welcome To Your World [Stop-Action Video]

2010-06-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

Ask any whale, and you'll get a terse, "Been there, done that." :(

[From our HARDCORE friends over at the Plastic Pollution Coalition - check them out and DONATE!!!]

Stop [Plastic] Motion from Taina Uitto on Vimeo.

CA Bag Ban Update

2010-06-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

Though Californians can't yet start singing "Ding-dong, the witch is dead!", they can start crossing their fingers for a enviro-happy ending. AB 1998, the state's bag ban bill, passed the Assembly yesterday and now has just two remaining hurdles: 1) the State Senate and 2) Der Governator.

Experts say step two will be a breeze, and with grocers backing the bill, step one...well, I don't wanna jynx the forward momentum - and THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP & SUPPORT. We shall keep you posted if we are able to fashion a new Action Alert for local state senators - those are easy and effective.

Time schedules can vary for bills passing through the circuitous CA state legislature, but our teams are monitoring progress closely, so stay tuned for more good news...!

BPA Avalanche

2010-05-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

I followed my own advice after yesterday's BPA/EPA post, and JEEZ - seek a little information about BPA (and we’re not talking about the British Parachute Association) and you'd better get ready for the flood gates to open on you. A little poking around unearthed these verrrrry interesting items:

==> Business is more worried about their $$$ than your health. Pushback, Baby, Pushback!

==> Two states have already banned BPA and a Senator from California has proposed banning it across the country. Ban the BEEP!

==> Canada and Denmark were the first countries to blanket-ban this toxic chemical in food containers...the dominoes are starting to fall... Dominoes!

==> Consumer reports finds BPA in most all tin-can liners – including organic products AND cans labeled as “BPA Free”. That just ain’t right.

It's definitely info to keep an eye on, and the list is ennnndlessss, fer sher…but don’t let it ruin your weekend – try parachuting, it may be safer than drinking from a plastic bottle!!

EPA (re)Discovers BPA - YAY!

2010-05-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

The EPA has finally recognized bisphenol-A (BPA) as a “chemical of concern” – whew, and we thought that they didn’t even care. Go get ‘em, EPA! Let’s hope that it’s not too late for us – but the article in Natural Foods Merchandiser quotes a study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which declares that 93% of humans studied, ages 6 and up, have BPA in their urine. 93% = you. :(

Frankly, this shouldn’t be all that surprising (93%?! - WT*?), considering that BPA is delivered to you, at no extra charge, by way of sources like plastic drink bottles and even the liners of the majority of canned foods! You pretty much have to be Amish to avoid the stuff…

What’s the fuss? BPA is a “reproductive, developmental and systemic toxicant”, according to the EPA’s own Action Plan Summary. Translated: BPA can cause lab frogs to change sexual orientation (not meaning that they 'go gay' - it's more of a sex-change operation) as they grow through adolescence, among other things, so the thought of what it may do to humans is well, scary. The fact that the EPA is just now getting on the bandwagon with/against BPA, now that we all have it in our bodies, is even scarier.

Why does Rise Above Plastics care? BPA is a poison that is very useful as a "binder & stabilizer" for plastic formulas, and it leeches into our oceans as plastics photodegrade there (see: North Pacific Gyre)...and absorb other Persistent Organic Pollutants, which fish then inadvertently eat, which we then inadvertently eat...and well, as you can see, it's complicated...!

Read the NFM article here…its is packed with helpful links to more info about BPA and all of the organizations involved in this recent revelation.

Other BPA fun-links:

Another report of the new EPA plan, from a plastics industry website.

Wikipedia entry for BPA.

Product description by a company that produces BPA for sale.

Ancient articles about concerns of BPA are easy to find...just internet search "BPA" or "bisphenol-A".

Looking forward to a plastics-free day - have a good'un!

Oceans Lobby Day in Sacto

2010-05-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

As previously detailed in this blog, California State is considering a bill to curtail all single-use bags at retail outlets (AB1998) and the Clean Seas Coalition has organized a number of environmental groups (Surfrider, Heal the Bay, etc) for a “lobby day” up in Calif’s state capitol in Sacramento. It’s today…so you can only imagine the free lunches (“there is no such thing as a free lunch”) and the large-denomination bills changing hands (our meager bank accounts do not allow us to afford this kind of “influence”), and full-tilt AcTiViSm (that’s US!) carpeting the city there today.

Among the influencers is Surfrider’s Sara Bayles – not only an Oceana “Ocean Hero” award winner, but she’s also the creator and author of The Daily Ocean blog – check it out, she is keeping a 365-day log of daily beach cleanups that she’s conducting in Los Angeles beaches…so far: day 121, 483 lbs, 244 days to go.

Her site is packed with beach garbage photos and videos – and ya know what – she’s good at talkin’ trash too!

Shocking Plastics Video

2010-05-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

Beware: this is a tough one to start you week with…you may instead want to come back in a couple of days to see it – but it will strengthen your resolve against plastic pollution. Along with production footage from a plastics factory, images of long-chain plastic molecules and music by Queen, this high-quality video starts out with a few gruesome clips of animals meeting their demise eating and tangled in single-use, and other kinds of, plastics.

An ugly reality, but ya know, this is the reality that we are facing as the natural world collides head-on with our cast-off plastic garbage.

It’s the reality that drives us here at Rise Above Plastics. It’s the reality that lies at the core of all of the plastic bans that we push legislators to foster and pass. It’s the reality that fuels the rage against selfish plastics manufacturers that urge us to recycle our way out of this problem as they make their tidy profits. It’s the reality that will only get worse if we idly sit by and watch it all happen. It’s the reality that needs to be seen by all to confirm that it really is happening – forward it freely and get with the Rise Above Plastics movement!!!!

With that proper warning, here is “Our Today is Forever”.

The associated YouTube page lists a number of other plastics-related videos of note.

Have a Single-Use Plastics-free week!

Entangled Whale News

2010-05-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, it’s been hard to keep up with the entangled-whale stories these days – and this one looked hopeful last week when Sea World biologists removed netting, ropes and other lines from a young gray whale in Southern California’s Dana Point harbor, allowing it to swim free after the rescue episode.

Coming just one month after Dana Point’s 39th Annual Festival of the Whale, this distressing occurrence joins a growing list of whale entanglements presenting themselves in 2010. You can read about the rescue and see video of the whale here.

Sadly, the emaciated whale died just hours after it was freed. The nets and debris had entangled its tail and one of its fins, not allowing it to swim unencumbered, and presumably, feed. After a short display of renewed energy, it seemed as though the adolescent whale would swim off to resume the migration north – instead, it meandered listlessly near the harbor entrance and eventually died of…well, experts hope to examine the carcass for indications of cause of death. A short report of the death is here.

CA State Bag Ban Legislation

2010-05-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

It's a LEFT COAST kind of Friday...!

Well, ask and ye shall receive – in the last post to this blog, a statewide ban against single-use plastics was politely proposed …and guess what – there IS one in the works, AB 1998 aiming to ban plastic bags, that’s percolating its way through the convoluted, gassy bowels of the California State legislature. The following blurb was (blatantly) stolen from the Surfrider CA Policy blog:

“Many of California's cities have been trying to regulate plastic bag consumption for years, recognizing that something must be done about the flimsy petroleum-based product that is difficult to recycle and all too often ends up as a littered eyesore.

Due to the outcry of our Chapters to address the issue of plastic pollution on our oceans and beaches, Surfrider Foundation has been working to support statewide legislation to Ban the Bag. Right now, Assembly Bill 1998 (Brownley) is being assessed by our legislature. The bill would ban all single-use carryout plastic bags, limit the distribution of paper bags, and require reusable bags to be available for purchase. This is the most progressive effort of any other state in the nation!

To find out more and take action, check out this action alert from Heal the Bay and Environment California, our partner organizations for addressing plastic pollution.”

Read a bit more about the details of AB 1998 at this cool website.

Granted, similar legislation has been tried, and has failed, before in California, but ya gotta exercise Surfrider’s sub-motto of “constant pressure, endlessly applied” in situations like this! If you are a California resident, hit up the Action Alert – SO EASY, you supply your name and address and the website sends the letter to your appropriate “elected” for you – it’s a SNAP, as in “OH! SNAP!”

Please do it ASAP - the legislators need keep this bill on schedule!!

THANX and happy pau hana!

Foam-Free Fremont (Calif)

2010-05-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

Great News! Fremont will become the fifth city in Alameda County, California (SE San Francisco Bay Area) to implement a plastic-foam ban, joining Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland. (Santa Cruz county has been verrrry progressive on this action as well - check it out!)

Slated to begin on 1/1/2011, the Fremont styrofoam ban was proposed and passed by the local city council and will be applied to restaurants and those doing business with the city…though grocery stores will not be subject to the ordinance. Read all about it here.

California is knocking these ordinances out, city by city…perhaps it’s time for a state-wide initiative? I vote YEA!

Two from SOUP

2010-05-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

These two stories are from Surfrider’s SOUP, “a weekly serving of coastal news Action Alerts” – which delivers ocean-related stories and images of the week.

First off: An entire town has banned plastic water bottles! Soup reports, “Concord, MA has become the first municipality in the country to ban sales of bottled water. Town residents last week approved the ban which will become effective January 1, 2011. The effort was led by 82-year old activist, Jean Hill who lobbied neighbors and officials about the consequences of plastic bottles clogging our nation's streets, landfills and oceans. The measure would allow the sale of refillable containers of water, which could still be sold and delivered in town.“ We could all use an 82 year old (82!!) activist that can kick a** like that, with BOTH FEET! Go Jean! Read the article here.

Next up: A group of Aussie surfers, "Guardians of the Pacific", has started a DIY (“do it yourself”) semi-guerilla campaign against plastic bottles. They have seen enough trash in the ocean and are fed up, so... They place uninvited stickers and placards in store display cases and on vending machines to encourage shoppers to make non-plastic choices. So far…stubbies still come in glass only… Check their website for downloadable items with which you can plaster your own local stores. AUSSSome.

You can sign up for Surfrider’s non-inbox-clogging weekly SOUP email variety blurbs, by going here and signing up (“Stay Informed” signup box is at the top left). Totally RAD!

Wash it GREEEN!

2010-05-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

The latest from C.R.A.P.P. - remember: Think "Look! Dolphins!!" to distract your mind from evil thoughts, and see true value in seeing the word "recyclable" on everything plastic:

Taylor's Plastic Story

2010-05-06T04:48:00.001-07:00

7 year old Taylor helped her Mom clean up litter this year in Port Aransas, Texas. What resulted is below.

Cupcakes, Dolphins, & Rainbows!

2010-05-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

It’s the LA Times versus the American Chemistry Council…choose your sides, and make your bets.

Essentially, the Times recently wrote an Op/Ed proposing a bag fee on ALL shopping bags dispensed at retail outlets, and the ACC then responds with a keep-buying-and-managing-the-disposal-of-our-product opinion piece, going so far as to admit that their plastic bags are a “scourge on our streets, beaches and oceans”…along with a plea to keep recycling them since the recycling programs are finally “working” (this is the “Dolphins, Cupcakes & Rainbows” part – meaning: in dreamland everyone recycles…and eats yummy cupcakes for all meals and has dolphin friends that leap over never-ending rainbows) – even though only 5% of bags are recycled, according to the LA Times.

The Times Op/Ed mentions a California State Senate bill that proposes an outright ban on bags, and then reigns that in with the idea of the more realistic, and recently-proven concept of a fee on all bags. The fees have tended to work WELL in places that adopt them (just google “Washington DC bag fee” and/or see this recent post). There have been a number of bills in California’s senate over the last couple of years – ever since San Fran attempted a bag ban – and each has fallen by the wayside, victims, no doubt, to prodding by lobbyists and fear of any change from the status quo.

While we digest all of that, take a look at this – a PDF doc, compiled by Surfrider San Diego and San Diego Coastkeeper, that details a few years' worth of beach cleanups in San Diego County (and is partially pictured above). These two groups catalog everything that is picked up along the San Diego county’s ~75 miles of beaches…and nearly everything that was found was….plastic. Please feel free to publish and distribute this info - BTW, here's the accompanying press release.

Lastly, but not leastly, keep track of what you pick up at the beach...and see if your totals don't match the trends detailed in the above report.

Happy Monday!

Friday Video Roundup!

2010-04-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

Time to slide into a relaxing weekend with some visuals from the boob tube – all three dealing with the presence and increasing levels of plastic trash on the beach [do you see a theme at this website? :) ]. Three shorties to get you through your Friday morning:

==> One from the BBC, visiting a Hawaii’s Kamilo plastic beach (have patience, it takes a minute to load) – the same beach that Charles Moore has made us aware of.

==> One from the Kaisei Pacific garbage patch trolling project of last summer. In it they talk briefly about the lab activities that follow any scientific field collection trip:

==> Last, but most, is a vid featuring Surfrider CEO Jim Moriarty – as shot by Surfrider Portland and 5Gyres activist Stiv Wilson.

ALSO - Bonus Yahoo article about the Atlantic Garbage Patch as recently discovered (uncovered?) by 5Gyres - the photo below is from a shoreline on one the Azores islands, in the middle of the Atlantic ocean...yuk.

The weather is shaping up well for some outdoor activities here in lower-upper California – beach cleanup anyone??? Sounds like Hawaii, the Azores and San Onofre are good places to start.

Have a g000d weekend!

Banksy on Bags

2010-04-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

This one is a couple of years old, but worth a replay, considering the new film (Exit Through the Gift Shop) about secretive street artist Banksy, opening in US theaters this week.

Using the image of a ubiquitous plastic shopping bag, this unauthorized London neighborhood "installation" has come to be called "In Tesco We Trust"...and has since likely been obliterated... :( ...even though his impromptu and uninvited paintings instantly add considerable value to the target buildings...

According to a UK blogger, Tesco is "the UK equivalent of Wal-Mart, a dirt-cheap, mega chain supermarket that has taken over the British landscape and pushed out Mom & Pop shops wherever it opens. Tesco also recently expanded into the U.S. West Coast, opening a chain of convenience stores called Fresh & Easy.". Just so ya know...

Here is an article about the art piece, with a mention of a UK retail chain, self-imposing a bag fee.

Cheerio!

Plastics Get There First (Malloy Brothers Vid)

2010-04-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

The surfin' Malloy brothers are known for their world travel to places so remote that they may have actually been the first people to visit. But as you will see in this video, put together by the good folks at the Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC), man's trash had gotten to these places before the exploratory surfers ever did:

Take time to visit the dedicated souls at PPC, both at their home website and at their YouTube channel which has several other plastics-related video shorts.

You'll be glaaad you did!

The Story of Bottled Water

2010-04-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

From the folks that brought us 'The Story of Stuff', this animated documentary highlights many issues with bottled water in an easy to understand way. You probably know most of the content so the best thing to do is pass it on to someone who may still need convincing... Rob Nixon posted this great little flick here a month ago - definitely worth a second viewing!

Time Mag Article on Bioplastics

2010-04-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

Weekly newsmag, Time, tackles the subject of "biodegradable plastic" in next week's issue...w/o any outright mention of "jumbo shrimp" or "military intelligence"... but they gave it a catchy, realistic title: "The Promise And Pitfalls of Bioplastic".

Stuff we all know (ya gotta compost it under proper conditions, ya can't recycle it, it'll last nearly as long as petro-plastic if tossed in the trash AND..."it's a start"), neatly presented in a fashion that your mom can understand.

Thanks to Time for another to-the-point article on our plastic problem!

[oh yeah...the image is of a fake Time magazine cover...but the article is for reals!]

Anti-Plastic Hero-ess

2010-04-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

I saw her on TV last week (while she was choosing her prom dress) talking about how her Los Angeles-area Environmental Charter High School is reacting to being named one of six finalists on Obama’s “Race To The Top” grant competition.

I met her in person at a Rise Above Plastics event in Los Angeles last fall (and thought she was one of the teachers…but is actually a senior at the high school).

She even has her own website.

AND NOW…

She has been identified as one of the top Ten Anti-Plastic Heroes by the Huffington Post!

Her name is Jordan Howard, she's a Rise Above Plastics activist, and though she’s only 18, I’d say keep an eye on her as she’s probably gonna be your boss someday. Don’t worry, you could do muuuuuch worse.

GO JORDAN! GO ECHS!

Vote for ECHS in Obama's Race To The Top here.