Last time I strolled out to the beach with my elderly yellow dog, I returned with not only a stinky beastie who’d found enough youthful energy to race down the beach and roll in a dead bird – why are dogs so gross?! – but also a chunk of styrofoam, some bullet casings, a plastic water bottle and a shredded plastic bag. At least the yucky thing the dog found was a natural part of the ecosystem. My haul, on the other hand, evidence of the ongoing problem of ocean litter.
This, of course, is not limited to Humboldt County’s beaches. In March, Ocean Conservancy released figures from last year’s International Coastal Clean up. In honor of 4/20, here’s some “high”-lights regarding what and how much volunteers picked up off beaches all over the world:
In the past 26 years of cleanups, volunteers found:
- Fifty-five million cigarettes butts, which if stacked vertically, would be as tall as 3,613 Empire State Buildings.
- Enough glass and plastic bottles to provide every resident of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia a cold beverage on a hot summer day.
- Enough appliances (125,156) to fill 37,434 single-axle dump trucks.
- More than 870 thousand (870,935) diapers – enough to put one on every child born in the UK last year.
- Enough cups, plates, forks, knives and spoons to host a picnic for 2.15 million people.
Yuck, right? While stopping littering at the source is the ideal solution, you can nonetheless help make a dent locally this weekend. From Humboldt Surfrider and Humboldt Baykeeper:
Cleaning up our beaches is a great way for families, service groups, and neighbors to join together, take care of our shared natural resources, enjoy the outdoors and have fun!
Join Humboldt Surfrider, Humboldt Baykeeper and Tobacco Education Network for an Earth Day beach clean-up Sunday, April 22 at theNorth Jetty parking area from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for some good, clean fun.
Bring water, closed-toed shoes and garbage grabbers if you got them!
In an effort to reduce plastic bag use, please bring 5-gallon buckets for trash collection. We will be consolidating the garbage and disposing of it properly.
Snacks provided by Los Bagels!
For more info, call Humboldt Baykeeper at (707) 268-0664.
Directions: From Arcata, take Hwy. 255/Samoa Blvd. west for 7 miles. Continue onto New Navy Base Road past the Samoa Bridge for another 5 miles. New Navy Base Road turns right and becomes Lincoln Road. Past the Coast Guard station there is a large dirt parking area.
From Eureka, take Hwy. 255 to Samoa, turn left on New Navy Base Rd. and go 5 miles to where New Navy Base Road turns right and becomes Lincoln Road. Past the Coast Guard station there is a large dirt parking area.
And, remember, encourage your smoking friends to…
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