Museum of Litter

Sanibel Island, FL: The water's fine. Come on down.

Happy to report hardly any litter and no oil as of July 26. Sanibel Island beaches are pristine.

Didn't do much litter picking on Sanibel ...not much there. Mostly, played tourist and rode bikes in preserve and bike paths. I LOVE Sanibel. They've done a fabulous at preserving the natural environment of Old Florida. Last morning there I intended to pick up enough cigarette butts from the beach to make an angel. It takes about 12 butts to make a cigarette butt angel and I couldn't find enough. A good sign!

BP Oil Spill, Day 49 -- Happy World Ocean Day

Today we celebrate World Ocean Day. How timely.

With everyone feeling helpless regarding the Gulf Oil Spill, today is a good day to ask, what CAN I do to make a difference?

 

I started the day with an hour coastal cleanup at my Florida beach. I figure if I pick up litter, especially at the tide line, it will be prevented from joining the Atlantic Garbage patch and I'll be able to protect fish, turtles and birds that mistake it for food.

 

What can YOU do? What WILL you do?

If you live near the ocean can you pick up litter along the shore to prevent it from going into the Atlantic or Pacific Garbage Patch? Can you clean up a river or lake? Can you be more mindful, just for today, of refusing single use fast food containers? Can you bring your own coffee mug?  Your own reusable water bottle?

Even if you live nowhere near the ocean, we can all volunteer, donate, contribute in some way. Even a conversation. Bringing up World Ocean Day may just be the thing to motivate someone else to take action.

This is not an Obama problem or a BP problem. It's not even a national problem. It's an international, planetary problem. We are ALL in this together.

As the oil spill crisis continues to cloud our Gulf waters, do you think we can find the silver lining? Can we use this tragedy to come together as a global eco-community to preserve and protect the environment and ocean we all share?

The Dolphin & Starbucks Litter

On Naples (FL) beach watched a dolphin frolic in the Gulf waters. The beach was relatively clean but couldn't help but notice the clear plastic Starbucks cup. We need to keep the litter off the beach and out of the water if we want to protect these beautiful creatures from ourselves.