Scrubbing Out Sea Life
EXFOLIATING PLASTIC BEADS FEEL GOOD—UNLESS YOU LIVE IN THE OCEAN.
By Hillary Rosner
Posted Monday, June 16, 2008, at 2:45 PM ET
Is your exfoliant harming marine life?
A smiling model glides, mermaidlike, through a lush underwater garden. Undulating ribbons of something resembling kelp rise from the sea floor, and tiny enchanting pearl-like beads bubble up though the aquamarine water. Polish your troubles away with Olay Body Wash Plus Spa Exfoliating Ribbons, the subject of this commercial, and you too might feel as if you're floating through a luxurious Atlantis.
The trouble is, the more you exfoliate, the less Edenic that underwater realm becomes for the creatures who live there. That's because the exfoliating ingredient in Olay's body wash, and in most similar big-brand products (such as Dove Gentle Exfoliating Foaming Facial Cleanser and Clean & Clear Daily Pore Cleanser), is actually made out of plastic: tiny particles of polyethylene that scrub the dirt from your face and then wash straight down the drain and into watersheds and, eventually, oceans.
Read more HERE
Monday, June 16, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Grist.org: Hitting the Squids
Deep-sea squid and octopi full of human-made chemicals
Posted at 12:10 PM on 13 Jun 2008
Human-made chemicals have snuck on down into the ocean depths, showing up in the tissues of deep-sea cephalopods, says new research. In a study to be published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, researchers found various persistent organic pollutants -- including PCBs and DDT -- in nine species of octopi, squid, cuttlefish, and nautiluses. "The fact that we detected a variety of pollutants in specimens collected from more than 3,000 feet deep is evidence that human-produced chemicals are reaching remote areas of the open ocean, accumulating in prey species, and therefore available to higher levels of marine life," says study coauthor Michael Vecchione. "Contamination of the deep-sea food web is happening, and it is a real concern."
source: SPX
Posted at 12:10 PM on 13 Jun 2008
Human-made chemicals have snuck on down into the ocean depths, showing up in the tissues of deep-sea cephalopods, says new research. In a study to be published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, researchers found various persistent organic pollutants -- including PCBs and DDT -- in nine species of octopi, squid, cuttlefish, and nautiluses. "The fact that we detected a variety of pollutants in specimens collected from more than 3,000 feet deep is evidence that human-produced chemicals are reaching remote areas of the open ocean, accumulating in prey species, and therefore available to higher levels of marine life," says study coauthor Michael Vecchione. "Contamination of the deep-sea food web is happening, and it is a real concern."
source: SPX
Sunday, June 8, 2008
World Ocean Day 2008
Make World Ocean Day 2008 a day without plastic. Join thousands of others around the world who will make this coming World Oean Day, June 8th, 2008, plastic-free. It's not so hard.
Email us at info@oceanrevolution.org and let us know you will be plastic-free for a day!
Email us at info@oceanrevolution.org and let us know you will be plastic-free for a day!
Friday, June 6, 2008
OpEd: Live like you love the ocean
World Ocean Day OpEd: Live like you love the ocean
San Jose Mercury News
Everywhere I go, people ask: “What one thing can I do for the ocean?”
My daughter, a kindergartener, answers simply: “pick up your trash.” Of course, using energy efficient light bulbs or driving a hybrid are good answers, since global warming is fundamentally an ocean issue. Then again, the simple act of choosing to eat only seafood that is sustainable and healthy can help the ocean.
But our ocean is in serious trouble. Reading recent news and scientific papers is enough to make your head spin. They tell us that there is no corner of our vast ocean that is not free of human fingerprints.
As an oceanographer, I’m quite familiar with the relentless bad news. Keeping up-to-date on it all is a part of my job. Since the ocean holds the majority of life on Earth and governs our air, our climate, and our food, that means we’re in real, big trouble.
As daunting as it appears, the ocean crisis can be boiled down to three problems: we’ve put too much in, we’ve taken too much out, and we are wrecking the edge.
Who wouldn’t be concerned about the ever-expanding Texas-size “garbage patch” in the Pacific Ocean, the shutdown of West Coast salmon fishing, right whales and sea turtles drowning in fishing gear, and the summer closure of beaches due to toxic pollution?
Obviously, there is no silver bullet … or, is there? If I had one answer to give to those who ask, “What can I do for the ocean?” it would be this: “Live like you love the ocean.” Living like we love the ocean means putting less in, taking less out, and protecting the ocean’s edge where so much life lives.
Less in. Less out. Protect the edge.
Simple.
Rather than wringing our hands, hope is on the horizon. We can live like we love the ocean in many ways.
First, shop like you love the ocean.
Buy products that are ocean-friendly. Use a canvas bag to get your stuff from the store to your car to your house, rather than a plastic bag that will stick around forever. Drink filtered tap water from a refillable glass or steel bottle instead of buying water shipped halfway around the world.
Second, eat like you love the ocean.
When you choose seafood, be sure it’s caught sustainably. That’s gotten a heck of a lot easier lately as Whole Foods, thousands of local restaurants, and even WalMart are going organic and sustainable.
Third, vacation like you love the ocean.
This summer, hike in a coastal park or visit an aquarium. Go on a sea turtle or whale watch where your visit supports conservation. Surfing, kayaking, and snorkeling are all ocean-friendly activities. Why not join Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup and make a day of it with your friends?
Lastly, vote like you love the ocean.
Many local, state, and national politicians support bold efforts to tackle global warming, create ocean parks—our so-called “Undersea Yosemites” that Ocean Conservancy is helping to build—and better fund cutting-edge ocean science. With our votes, we must be perfectly clear: we want leaders who bring about sea change.
We are entering a decade of progress in the culture of conservation and sustainability. Millions who care deeply about the ocean are joining to transform our relationship with the sea … they are starting a sea change.
Each of us must be part of this ocean revolution -- each in our own way, each as part of a connected whole.
Join for yourself. Join for others. Join for the ocean. But, when you join, please remember to live like you love the ocean.
June 8th is World Ocean Day. Find out more at www.oceanconservancy.org
Dr. Wallace J. Nichols is a senior scientist at Ocean Conservancy and a research associate at California Academy of Sciences. He was featured in the documentary film The 11th Hour. On World Ocean Day he will be speaking in Baja California Sur, Mexico, on the shores of the Bay of Loreto National Marine Park.
San Jose Mercury News
Everywhere I go, people ask: “What one thing can I do for the ocean?”
My daughter, a kindergartener, answers simply: “pick up your trash.” Of course, using energy efficient light bulbs or driving a hybrid are good answers, since global warming is fundamentally an ocean issue. Then again, the simple act of choosing to eat only seafood that is sustainable and healthy can help the ocean.
But our ocean is in serious trouble. Reading recent news and scientific papers is enough to make your head spin. They tell us that there is no corner of our vast ocean that is not free of human fingerprints.
As an oceanographer, I’m quite familiar with the relentless bad news. Keeping up-to-date on it all is a part of my job. Since the ocean holds the majority of life on Earth and governs our air, our climate, and our food, that means we’re in real, big trouble.
As daunting as it appears, the ocean crisis can be boiled down to three problems: we’ve put too much in, we’ve taken too much out, and we are wrecking the edge.
Who wouldn’t be concerned about the ever-expanding Texas-size “garbage patch” in the Pacific Ocean, the shutdown of West Coast salmon fishing, right whales and sea turtles drowning in fishing gear, and the summer closure of beaches due to toxic pollution?
Obviously, there is no silver bullet … or, is there? If I had one answer to give to those who ask, “What can I do for the ocean?” it would be this: “Live like you love the ocean.” Living like we love the ocean means putting less in, taking less out, and protecting the ocean’s edge where so much life lives.
Less in. Less out. Protect the edge.
Simple.
Rather than wringing our hands, hope is on the horizon. We can live like we love the ocean in many ways.
First, shop like you love the ocean.
Buy products that are ocean-friendly. Use a canvas bag to get your stuff from the store to your car to your house, rather than a plastic bag that will stick around forever. Drink filtered tap water from a refillable glass or steel bottle instead of buying water shipped halfway around the world.
Second, eat like you love the ocean.
When you choose seafood, be sure it’s caught sustainably. That’s gotten a heck of a lot easier lately as Whole Foods, thousands of local restaurants, and even WalMart are going organic and sustainable.
Third, vacation like you love the ocean.
This summer, hike in a coastal park or visit an aquarium. Go on a sea turtle or whale watch where your visit supports conservation. Surfing, kayaking, and snorkeling are all ocean-friendly activities. Why not join Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup and make a day of it with your friends?
Lastly, vote like you love the ocean.
Many local, state, and national politicians support bold efforts to tackle global warming, create ocean parks—our so-called “Undersea Yosemites” that Ocean Conservancy is helping to build—and better fund cutting-edge ocean science. With our votes, we must be perfectly clear: we want leaders who bring about sea change.
We are entering a decade of progress in the culture of conservation and sustainability. Millions who care deeply about the ocean are joining to transform our relationship with the sea … they are starting a sea change.
Each of us must be part of this ocean revolution -- each in our own way, each as part of a connected whole.
Join for yourself. Join for others. Join for the ocean. But, when you join, please remember to live like you love the ocean.
June 8th is World Ocean Day. Find out more at www.oceanconservancy.org
Dr. Wallace J. Nichols is a senior scientist at Ocean Conservancy and a research associate at California Academy of Sciences. He was featured in the documentary film The 11th Hour. On World Ocean Day he will be speaking in Baja California Sur, Mexico, on the shores of the Bay of Loreto National Marine Park.
Monday, June 2, 2008
21st Century Waterfall
Computer animation comparing the US rate of plastic water bottle recycling (approx. 100 bottles/second) to the nonrecycled
rate (approx. 845 bottles/second; see image) for 2005.
This computer animation was made to raise awareness about bottled water, and its surprisingly poor recycling rates. Since its recent popularization, bottled water (in all its flavors) has become ironically one of the most consumed, yet least recycled beverages. For example, it is estimated that in 2005 alone approximately 30 billion plastic water bottles were purchased in the US, with only about 12% recycled (in part due to out-dated deposit laws), and the remaining 25 billion bottles landfilled, littered or incinerated.
Reduce, reuse, recycle. Innovate.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
