What you can do about marine debris.

Here in the bay area we are surrounded by water so it's no wonder that we want to keep it as beautiful and as pristine as possible to pass on to future generations. What can you do? Want to help but don't know where to start or what to do to really make a difference? Here are a couple of upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. Just click on either Save the Bay or Pacific Beach Coalition to find out.

Head to our Sources for Educators' page to learn more about these two organizations and many others.

Kaleidoscope of Trash RALEIGH — A new public art installation at one of the city’s garbage and recycling facilities encourages viewers to think about their role in minimizing waste in their communities.

Image credit: Midtown Raleigh News article by Sarah Barr January 21, 2014 Wilders Grove public art project focuses on recycling & Courtesey of City of Raleigh

The colorful 8 feet by 40 feet relief wall inside the Wilders Grove Solid Waste Services Facility is made of layered recycled materials such as t-shirts, cereal boxes and plastic grocery bags and features interactive video kaleidoscopes that focus on the recycling process.

The city will unveil the work at an open house on Jan. 25. The piece is the first of three works of public art officials expect will open in the city before late spring. Matt McConnell, one of three artists who helped lead the project, said the project was a great one, especially because of the level of community involvement. More than 200 volunteers helped collect materials and assemble during 1,200 hours of work. McConnell, who worked with artists William Lee Cherry and Marc Russo on the design and production, said he hopes the project allows viewers to consider carefully how their decisions affect the earth.

“I hope that they can think about the way that they consume and how the waste that they create contributes to the environment,” he said.

Midtown Raleigh News article by Sarah Barr January 21, 2014 Wilders Grove public art project focuses on recycling

The Key is Education

Leslie Tamminen, director of the Clean Seas Coalition and part of Seventh Generation Advisors, agrees that stopping the epidemic of plastic waste takes more than bans and laws. It takes “wide and sustainable changes in consumer behavior. Data from the over 121 local plastic bag bans has proven that bans are effective at reducing litter and changing consumer attitudes, and have refuted industry’s claims of apocalyptic impacts on jobs and poor communities.

A state plastic bag ban saves taxpayers the huge amount of money spent on litter cleanup, and protects the environment.” But the key, she goes on to say, is education – and organizations like hers and like PPC are focusing on exactly that. There is one more side of the issue that is just as important to Cohen as clean oceans and fiscal responsibility: the risks of plastic toxicity to human health and wellbeing, not to mention that of other living creatures. “Plastic pollution doesn’t just foul landfills, water ways, and ocean currents, the ‘bloodstream’ of our earth. It also contributes to the fouling of our blood streams, and those of animals who ingest it or become entangled in it.”

Article from Plastic Pollution Coalition, article written by Tracy Russo Sept. 30, 2014  

Wilderness and the Millennial

Image credit: Sierra Club article Wild Connections by Jeff Wagner

There's a growing hunger in my generation for something raw and true. To be on the loose, free from traffic jams, professional references, and masses of people lost in the pale glow of their electronics. Young people tell me they want a different lifestyle, one where simple things like peace and health are more important than a quick profit or instant visibility on the internet. They want to live in a society that values the things that pay off in the long run, like clean air, clean water, and a starry night sky. They want things that pay off in human terms. Lots of things come in instant form, but not happiness, kindness, peace, empathy, genuine connections, and certainly not patience. So what's the role of wilderness for my generation? All those twenty-somethings trying to make their way in this world? Environmentalists have no greater ally and teacher than wilderness. I see it in every person I spend time with in wild places and how it changes their perspectives on the world. Wilderness lets us experience an alternative to what humans have created, and it demands that we ask ourselves where our world is going.

Article: Nov/Dec issue of Sierra Magazine Green Life: Wild Connections by Jeff Wagner

"Realizing the meaning behind his photos of waste “was an experience that was almost like waking up from ‘The Matrix.’ “ -- Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan is a photographer and filmmaker who documents the effects of our mass consumption on wildlife and the planet. Read more about Chris here.

Image Credit: www.chrisjordan.com/contact.php

When we show fourth-graders a four-minute film by Chris Jordan called Midway, the effect is profound. The film shows exactly what plastic means to a colony of birds on Midway Island; watch this and you, too, will feel a strong resolve to stop adding plastic to our planet.

Chris Jordan was once a corporate attorney who loved photography. After ten years of work as a lawyer, he quit his day job and used his talents to show how our garbage was affecting the planet.

His films and photography are beautiful, compelling, and startling. His photo series “Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of Mass Consumption” gave people a new perspective on how much waste we generate.

Midway: Message from the Gyre shows where some of the plastic we discard ends up – a fatal attraction to birds. Please watch Chris Jordan’s short film and tell us what you think.

Creating a healthier planet one Rippl at a time

From the Ocean Conservancy: The Blog Aquatic July 2013

Rippl helps you remember to make simple, sustainable choices that save you money and keep the ocean and all its wildlife healthy. According to the EPA, more than 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year. Of those, approximately 100 billion are plastic shopping bags. Thanks to Rippl users, we’re helping to lower that number.

We’re inspired on a daily basis by the small changes individuals are implementing into their routines. Whether it’s remembering your reusable bag at the grocery store each visit or picking up that piece of trash you see on your commute into work, each action is adding up to make a big difference for the health of our ocean.

We all can use a reminder now and again to help us make smart choices in our daily lives. But Rippl isn’t just a way for you to remember small actions to take to help create a healthier planet, it’s also a way to share your inspiring environmental habits with others.