Coastal Cleanup Day at Malibu Lagoon in Malibu, CA
This past Saturday, September 20 was International Coastal Cleanup Day, which is sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy. Here are a few photos of the cleanup efforts at the Malibu Lagoon in Malibu, CA.

On my trash scorecard, note that 53 food wrappers/containers were found. This did not even include the countless small pieces of styrofoam that were likely once a cup, food container, etc. It's awful for these things to be laying out in the open so close to bird and marine life. The animals often ingest the waste and cannot digest it and become victim to an untimely death.

With very little effort, I also found 53 cigarette butts. In addition to the fact that animals ingest cigarette butts, it's awful that so many people discard their smokes in an area that's so full of dry brush and plants. Southern California (and many other areas) are very susceptible to fire and if you recall, one of last year's fires in Malibu was thought to have been started by a cigarette that was thrown out of a car window.
Hundreds of pounds of trash was collected:


Please do your part to keep beautiful places like the Malibu Lagoon clean and free of trash. If you see trash around any coastal area, please take a moment to pick it up and help keep our environment clean.

Ten Ways to Help Save the Ocean
Long Beach's Aquarium of the Pacific suggests following these 10 guidelines to help protect our oceans and conserve resources:
1. Eat sustainable seafood. Learn about the status of current species on NOAA's Fishwatch site.
2. Bring your own coffee mug or water bottle. Use fewer disposable items.
3. Carpool or use public transportation.
4. Bring your own bag. Carry reusable cloth bags when you go shopping. Plastic bags often end up in the ocean and post a risk to marine life.
5. Recycle as much as possible.
6. Say no to junk mail. Opt out of junk mail by visiting the Direct Marketing Association's web site.
7. Sign up to pay bills online to help eliminate paper waste and save money on stamps.
8. Protect our waterways. Watch what you wash into storm drains and do not overfertilize your lawn.
9. Choose native plants.
10. Explore the natural world! Help educate children, friends, and family members about the environment and conservation.

Recycle Your Plastic Bags...Or Better Yet, Use Cloth
It's not yet posted on their web site, but the July 2007 print version of the "Southern Sierran" from the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, has a story about the number of plastic bags that humans use every year and the damage they are causing to the environment. Did you know that Californians alone use over 19 billion (yes, billion) plastic grocery bags every year? Think of your last visit to the beach or a hiking trail...there's a good chance that you saw a plastic bag sitting around. Not only are the bags a big problem in our landfills (according to the article, CA's plastic bags account for 147,038 tons of waste/year), but they also pose a severe threat to wildlife, especially marine life. When plastic bags, large or small, end up in the ocean, they can often be mistaken for food. A white or transparent bag can easily be mistaken for a jellyfish or a squid. When an animal ingests the plastic, death will be the likely result. The article says that the U.S. EPA estimates that "marine debris has had a negative impact on at least 267 species around the world." It also mentions the juvenile minke whale that was found dead on the shores of France in 2002. About two pounds of plastic packaging and plastic grocery bags were found in its stomach, which researchers believe were the cause of its death. We can all do our part to help this problem by taking our plastic bags back to the grocery store for recycling, or by using re-usable bags and not taking the plastic bags in the first place. And next time you see plastic of any sort when you're out enjoying nature, especially at the beach, take a moment to pick it up and dispose of it properly...it just may save the life of the marine wildlife in the area.