I awoke this morning as usual, wishing I had more sleep and wishing the coffee would brew itself and magically appear at my desk. While waking up, a tweet caught my eye and gave a little more meaning to the day than was there before : Today is World Ocean Day [ thank you, Stephen Fry ]. I watched the trailer above, then surfed through various ocean-related websites. I found great info at The Ocean Conservancy about the problem of ocean debris and whole-heartedly suggest you read ‘The Rising Tide of Ocean Debris’ report based on the International Coastal Clean-Up 2008 [ I couldn’t bring myself to post a pic of the little seal tangled in the web that is their cover image ]. The top three key findings include :
1. A tidal wave of ocean debris is a major pollution problem of the 21st century.
2. Certain categories of debris show up more often in certain places.
3. Of the 43 items tracked during the Cleanup, the top three items of trash found in 2008 were cigarette butts, plastic bags, and food wrappers/containers.
I tend to get frustrated when I read about a pressing environmental issue, and yet feel like there is nothing I can do to make it better. Sign up for a clean up event in your area here.
Thanks as well to Ted Danson, for this calm and impactful call to action :
Posts
2 comments:
thanks for posting this. i'm always ready for a nudge to be a better person for the planet. we put the nix on the beach trip this year b/c i just can't be around the gluttonous overconsumption of everything anymore. feel terrible for breaking tradition, but it's unnerving....
I completely agree, Jan. It is hard for me to take action, too - my everyday life is SO busy that to make time is always hard. I don't want to be preach-y about it; I just think that the more we collectively understand about our planet, the better choices we'll make across the board.
sorry about your beach trip; re-create the beach in your backyard ?
Post a Comment