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Don’t be deceived by a beach that appears to be clean. When you look closely, you will find nurdles and microplastics hiding in the strand-line. Pick up a clump of sea grass and all sorts of unnatural things might just appear. #nurdles #microplastics #plasticpollutes #plasticpollution #marinedebris #planetorplastic #breakfreefromplastic #litterati #2minutebeachclean #take3forthesea #shoresweepScientific name: Bombus Plasticus . The pieces of plastic that I used to create this bee will exist forever in some form, while a study recently published in Science, found that populations of bumblebees are disappearing at a rate that is “consistent with extinction.“ . Between 1975 and 2000, bumblebee numbers in Europe decreased by 17%, and in North America, the decrease was an alarming 46%. Researchers from the University of Ottawa found that the climate crisis is at least partially to blame because rising temperatures in some areas are above what bumblebees can endure. . We must act to ensure their survival, because bumblebees are excellent pollinators, and ecosystems are dependent upon them. Study co-author Peter Soroye stated his concern that “...the loss of bumblebees could adversely affect food diversity in the future.” . In addition to reducing our carbon footprints, there are simple things everyone can do to help. We can limit pesticide use, and we can plant a variety of native flowers and shrubs in our yards and throughout our communities. For regional pollinator-friendly plant lists and many other useful resources, please visit the Xerces Society (linked in my profile). . #bumblebee #bumblebees #bombus #xercessociety #climatechange #plantnatives #reducepesticides #plasticpollutes #bombusplasticus #shoresweepHappy Valentine’s Day! ❤️ The heart-shaped cookie cutter is filled with nurdles, which are preproduction plastic pellets used in the manufacturing of plastic products. Due to their tiny size, nurdles can easily escape during manufacturing or transportation and often end up polluting the environment. Sadly, when they enter the watershed, nurdles can to travel to the ocean where fish and other marine life mistake them for food. ❤️ For an interesting introduction to nurdles, please watch the short animated TED-Ed video called "The Nurdles Quest for Domination.” ❤️ To show your love for the planet and to reduce your plastic footprint, refuse single-use plastic items, such as take-out containers, take-away coffee cups, plastic utensils, stirrers, and straws, polystyrene cups and clamshells, etc. Join the reuse revolution! ❤️ #happyvalentinesday #nurdles #plasticpollution #plasticpollutes #planetorplastic #2minutebeachclean #shoresweep #reuserevolution #bedisposablefree #refusesingleuseLEGOLAND is taking the lead on reducing single-use plastics at venues around the world by hosting its first Sustainability Forum this Wednesday, Feb. 12 from 3:00pm-5:00pm at LEGOLAND California, and all North County business and city leaders are invited to attend. . ShoreSweep will be tabling along with @surfridersandiego, @oceana, and other environmental groups. Vendors with sustainable options, including zero waste businesses like @revessel and @sonorarefillery will be sharing information about best practices. . Huge shout out to Carlsbad City Council Member @priyabhatpatel for co-sponsoring this event with the @carlsbadchamber! Thank you for leading the way in North County and beyond! . #legoland #sustainabilityforum #sustainability #reuserevolution #refusesingleuse #dithdisposables #bedisposiblfree #pladticfreenorthcounty #plasticpollutes #plasticpollution #marinedebrisPepsi Pollutes . According to BreakFreeFromPlastic’s 2019 brand audit, PepsiCo is the third largest plastic polluter behind only CocaCola and Nestle. As top ranking polluters in both 2018 & 2019, little more than promises have been offered as solutions and even those commitments are mostly greenwashing. . PepsiCo has stated that it will make all its packaging biodegradable, compostable, or recyclable by 2025 but making something that can be recycled doesn’t mean it will be recycled. In fact, only 9% of plastic ever created has been recycled, and biodegradable and compostable plastics are also problematic. . Many people believe that biodegradable plastic will decompose in the landfill, but this is not the case because the high heat and humidity requirements are rarely met. In addition, very few municipalities provide industrial composting facilities with the conditions necessary for composting plastic. Both biodegradable and compostable plastic items will more than likely either end up being hauled away to a landfill where they will emit methane or littered and left behind to harm the natural environment. The best solution is to ditch disposables and switch to reusable/ refillable containers—and big polluters like @pepsi must act to make truly sustainability options readily available to consumers. Until then, please refuse single-use items, including plastic beverage bottles, take-away cups, utensils, stirrers, and take-out containers. Choose to reuse instead. . #pepsipollutes #plasticpepsibottle #ditchdisposables #refusesingleuse #reuserevolution #breakfreefromplastic #plasticpollutes #plasticpollution #litterati #2minutebeachclean #take3forthesea #shoresweepThe balloons were really blowing today! #balloonsblow . By now, most people know that when they are released, balloons pollute the environment and can injure or kill wildlife, but many don’t realize that there is a helium shortage that is also causing problems. . A lack of helium not only puts a strain on party supply stores, it impacts medicine, industry, technology, and science. In fact, Tom Welton, a professor of sustainable chemistry, stated “When you see that we're literally just letting it float into the air, and then out into space inside those helium balloons, it's just hugely frustrating. It is absolutely the wrong use of helium." . Instead of wasting helium in harmful party balloons, it should be reserved for essential purposes. Did you know that helium is used for MRIs and respiratory treatments? It also used in hard drives and makes high speed internet possible. In addition, helium is used in fiber optics for telecommunications—and the list goes on. . For a fascinating look at the helium shortage, watch the video linked in my profile. . #balloonsblow #mylarballoons #balloons #helium #heliumshortage #balloonsaregarbage #litterati #2minutebeachclean #take3forthesea #shoresweepVery belated happy holiday wishes! I found this oversized ornament on the beach on January 5, 2020—over ten years after it was dedicated to “Andy + Maggie.” Every winter people decorate a tree on the bluff overlooking the coast, and my guess is that this ornament once hung from one of its branches. #litterati #2minutebeachclean #take3forthesea #ornament #happyholidays #plasticpollutes #plasticpollution #planetorplastic #plasticisforever #marinedebris #shoresweepThe Trashy Way Galaxy* . Space might be infinite but “the orbits around the Earth are not inexhaustible.” Currently, there are 3,000 decommissioned satellites and millions of other pieces of debris orbiting our planet. Traveling more than 17,000 miles per hour, something as small as a fleck of paint can cause critical damage to a spacecraft. In fact, an ever-increasing amount of debris could threaten the satellites that make so many things possible here on Earth. . Innovative cleanup technology is in development. In fact, a mission by Swiss startup ClearSpace set to launch in 2025 will use “a four-armed robot to latch onto debris before diving back down to Earth, where both machine and junk will ‘burn up in the atmosphere....’” . However, cleaning up is only part of the solution. Preventing satellites from becoming debris in the first place is essential. Companies are beginning to build satellites that will drop toward Earth and burn up upon re-entry at the end of their usefulness. However, it’s up to individual organizations/governments to set their own guidelines because international regulations do not exist. . Sadly, space has been treated much like the ocean has been, and neither can continue absorbing our trash without causing irreparable harm. . For a brief overview, watch “Attack of the Cosmic Space Junk!” from the It’s Okay to Be Smart series produced by PBS. . *The Trashy Way Galaxy was created with plastic pieces of marine debris found on North County San Diego beaches. . #spacedebris #marinedebris #planetorplastic #protecttheplanet #protecttheocean #plasticpollutes #trashyway #milkyway #galaxy #orbitaldebris #spacejunk #shoresweep #shoresweep #spacesweep #clearspace1Happy New Year, everyone! I am optimistic that the next decade will be a time for even greater activism that will lead to healing for the planet—and humanity. I resolve to continue fighting for environmental and social justice through art, advocacy, and education, and I am grateful for all the warriors, both near and far, who are fighting right alongside me. Thank you to all my litter-picking, beach-cleaning, art-making, photo-taking, kid-teaching, community-organizing, rabbel-rousing friends and colleagues who inspire me and give me hope. . The “fireworks” were made with nurdles, biofilters, and other pieces of plastic all found on San Diego’s North County beaches. To learn about one way plastic is harming the environment, please watch a short animated film called The Nurdles Quest for Domination—and let’s all keep working together to reduce plastic pollution in 2020 and beyond! . #happynewyear #fireworks #microplastics #nurdles #resolve #artivism #advocacy #education #socialjustice #environmentaljustice #plasticpollutes #litterati #2minutebeachclean #take3forthesea #planetorplastic #shoresweepInvasive species: tropicalis fishius plasticus . #plasticfish #nurdles #pladticinvasion #invasivespecies #plasticpollutes #plasticpollutes #planetorplastic #litterati #2minutebeachclean #take3forthesea #shoresweepA hairy surfboard fin, a Christmas tree ornament, and other scary stuff. #litterati #2minutebeachclean #take3forthesea #shoresweep #surfboardfin #christmastreeornament #plasticwaterbottle #plasticbag #pickuponemillion #vo5 #plasticpollution #plasticpollutes #planetorplasticWrack Wreath #4 . Check out the beautiful wreaths posted with the #wrackwreath hashtag and be inspired to make your own. . #wrackwreath #biofilters #litterati #2minutebeachclean #take3forthesea #plasticpollutes #plasticpollution #microplastics #marinedebris #planetorplastic #plasticisforever #shoresweepHappy Winter Solstice! (revisiting my snowflakes made with marine debris, including plastic flossers, bio-filters, and the tops from Kool Aid Bursts all found on North County San Diego beaches) ❄️ Even though remote mountain tops appear pristine in scenic photos, microplastics have been found in snow samples taken from the Sierra Nevada, the Alps, and the Pyrenees—and 90% of samples collected in the Rockies contained microplastics. ❄️ There are things we can do to help. We can reduce our use of single-use plastic items, and we can rethink polyester clothing, which sloughs off micro-fibers when washed. Micro-fibers are actually one of the most ubiquitous micro-plastics found in snow samples taken around the world. ❄️ Visit the link in my bio to watch an interesting video and read about a citizen science snow sampling project being developed by Columbia University. #snowflakes #snowflake #biofilters #koolaidbursts #flossers #plasticpollutes #plasticpollution #marinedebris #microplastics #microfibers #planetorplastic #litterati #take3forthesea #2minutebeachclean #shoresweepSharks have been around for 400,000,000 years and have survived several mass extinction events of the past, and now, we must ensure that they live beyond the Anthropocene (human-influenced era). . Sharks are facing many threats, including overfishing, poaching, shark finning, and accidental by-catch. They are also being impacted by plastic pollution and biomagnification, the process by which toxins become increasingly concentrated as they move up the food chain. Microplastics “attract and absorb persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as PCBs and DDT,” and those chemicals can be absorbed into the tissue of animals that consume them. Consequently, microplastics can end up being most toxic to predators at the top of the food chain, including sharks—and humans. . There are simple things everyone can do to help protect sharks, including avoiding products that include shark oil and/or cartilage, reducing overall consumption of fish, and refusing single-use plastic items and unnecessary plastic packaging. . #sharksighting #plasticshark #shark #shark #shoresweep #litterati #take3forthesea #2minutebeachclean #plasticpollutes #plasticpollution #plasticchemicals #marinedebris #microplastics #biomagnificationUpcoming Events
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Category Archives: Education
Be Disposable Free
Plastic cutlery is often among the top ten items found during shoreline cleanups, and I have certainly collected my fair share while walking at the beach. Plastic knives, forks, and spoons are not recyclable in most waste systems, because they … Continue reading
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The Butterfly Effect
The butterfly effect theory comes from meteorologist Edward Lorenz and the idea that the development of a tornado can be “influenced by minor perturbations such as the flapping of the wings of a distant butterfly several weeks earlier.” In other words, … Continue reading
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Sea Turtle
More than half of the world’s sea turtles have ingested plastic, and sadly, they are especially susceptible to its harmful effects. According to Sea Turtle Conservancy, their anatomy prohibits the regurgitation of debris, and the accumulation of plastic in their … Continue reading
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